Dr. Paul Klemme
A Headline Person
Jeannine: What is your philosophy of church music?
Dr. Klemme: I am a mission oriented individual in my work. I think it is important when you are leading people, volunteers or professionals, in either performances or rehearsals, that there is always a mission behind everything you are doing. I am also a headline kind of person. The headline I work with in church music ministry is to bring people closer to Christ and the Gospel of Christ through music.
My philosophy is then to allow people to give of their gifts, either paid or non-paid, to truly fulfill that mission. That is the underlying headline in everything I do.
I also believe that people want to be asked to give. The spirit of volunteerism is different now than it was 25-30 years ago. People’s lives are full of choices. I do not think the spirit of volunteerism is dead, but that it has a different book cover to it now. I sincerely believe that people want to be asked to give – whether it is to give of their time, their talent, or their money. I have tried to shift my thoughts to being a recruiter—a recruiter for Christ through music. I am a person who is not afraid to get on the email or phone and simply ask.
J: When attending St. Paul’s I have noticed that many people are involved in the music ministry in roles other than the traditional choir. What is your philosophy in this regard?
Dr. Klemme: Frankly, I try in my work to work myself out of a job. I am the lead musician at St. Paul’s and I am paid to be a music minister. People to expect me to lead and perform, but if I can give up my organ voluntary on Sunday morning to a 15-year-old kid who is learning to play and wants to play, then I am going to give up my spot and sort of work myself out of a job on Sunday morning to allow that young minister to fly and give of his gifts to God. And you are right, I try to involve as many people as possible in our music ministry.
J: Another aspect of worship at St. Paul’s that David and I enjoy, is that there is order and excellence in everything. Would you please speak to your philosophy of excellence?
Dr. Klemme: The Old and New Testaments tell us that if we are to give of our gifts to God, we are to do it in a first-class manner and with a feeling of excellence. We should not give anything to God that is compromised or mediocre—God would not expect that nor would any of us who work together. We strive for something that is beyond ourselves—something that is heavenly and divine.
I tell my partners in music ministry that we must prepare and rehearse, then give our music as a gift. However, that gift has to be really really well done—or we agree not to do it—or to work on it longer before we perform. I will not let anyone, young or old, present something for worship that is not ready.
J: What is your philosophy of music in a liturgical context?
Dr. Klemme: I feel strongly about the fact that when we get to church, we want to be fed. A kernel of thought should permeate the service from the beginning to the end. Every hymn we sing, every solo, every anthem, every word spoken should be directed toward that one kernel of thought.
Of course this is very challenging. It is one of my biggest issues as a church musician now. I wish we could be more cohesive in our worship. I think clergy want to work toward cohesiveness, but the inspiration for that cohesiveness comes much later for a pastor than we can deal with as musicians.
Are we being effective ministers through worship? Do we hit the homerun every week? Are we truly giving people what they want? I always come back to the kernel and how we as musicians and clergy can present that kernel to our corporate body with great integrity so that they can take that thought into the world with them.
J: St. Paul’s is known for its outstanding Evensong Concert Series. Is there a “headline” for your work with this series?
Dr. Klemme: Yes, in fact there is. St. Paul’s Evensong Concert Series is the title, but the headline is Sacred Music in a Sacred Space. It is important for the congregation of St. Paul’s to have monthly Evensong service and in addition it is now equally as important for St. Paul’s to share a world-class concert attached to the service.
This is a patron based series. People give to the series as they are able. We have 175 people who give regularly every year at different levels which enables me to bring in artists from all over the world, our country and certainly regionally.
It is mostly classical in nature featuring a yearly organ concert, a yearly piano concert, a church based concert featuring our music ministers, a concert by a young person from our congregation, and even a jazz concert. We also present Amahl and the Night Visitors and a Renaissance feast on a rotating basis.
There is a purpose behind all this and that is to bring people closer to Christ through music. St. Paul’s opens their doors to the community so the public can hear and participate in an Evensong Series and hear extraordinary sacred music. It is a gift to the community.
J: I see you have a stunning new piano at St. Paul’s and know this is a dream realized. Please tell us more.
Dr. Klemme: The new piano is an outgrowth of the concert series. When I came to St. Paul’s 15 years ago, the pianos were not very good. It was my hope and dream to have a concert instrument. After years of dreaming, there was a window of opportunity about a year ago when I asked for a gift of a piano from a couple in the church.
We now have an amazing piano—a 9-foot Yamaha CFX! This is an instrument that will lead music effectively in worship and will complement a high-class concert series.
J: Do you have any words of advice for those of us in church music ministry?
Dr. Klemme: Church music ministry is my career. I am a guy in my early 50s and I am starting to think about the end of this runway. In order to stay fresh and be effective to the end of the runway, I think it is important to be connected through my colleagues, to share, to learn, to go to workshops, and to reflect and pray.
I also think it is important to remember that our work is a ministry. At first to use the title Director of Music Ministries seemed strange to me, but after 15 years I have found myself to be a minister. I minister through my keyboard work and my singing, but also I have found myself in a situation where I am pastoral person as well. It is important that we as musicians realize that there is a pastoral component to what we do and that we should not shy away from it.
Dr. Paul Klemme is the Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem, Oregon, where he conducts four choirs at the church and serves as the parish organist. Having over 25 years experience as a church musician in many denominations, Paul often finds himself in demand in presenting workshops involving historical sacred music. Paul received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington.
A Headline Person
Jeannine: What is your philosophy of church music?
Dr. Klemme: I am a mission oriented individual in my work. I think it is important when you are leading people, volunteers or professionals, in either performances or rehearsals, that there is always a mission behind everything you are doing. I am also a headline kind of person. The headline I work with in church music ministry is to bring people closer to Christ and the Gospel of Christ through music.
My philosophy is then to allow people to give of their gifts, either paid or non-paid, to truly fulfill that mission. That is the underlying headline in everything I do.
I also believe that people want to be asked to give. The spirit of volunteerism is different now than it was 25-30 years ago. People’s lives are full of choices. I do not think the spirit of volunteerism is dead, but that it has a different book cover to it now. I sincerely believe that people want to be asked to give – whether it is to give of their time, their talent, or their money. I have tried to shift my thoughts to being a recruiter—a recruiter for Christ through music. I am a person who is not afraid to get on the email or phone and simply ask.
J: When attending St. Paul’s I have noticed that many people are involved in the music ministry in roles other than the traditional choir. What is your philosophy in this regard?
Dr. Klemme: Frankly, I try in my work to work myself out of a job. I am the lead musician at St. Paul’s and I am paid to be a music minister. People to expect me to lead and perform, but if I can give up my organ voluntary on Sunday morning to a 15-year-old kid who is learning to play and wants to play, then I am going to give up my spot and sort of work myself out of a job on Sunday morning to allow that young minister to fly and give of his gifts to God. And you are right, I try to involve as many people as possible in our music ministry.
J: Another aspect of worship at St. Paul’s that David and I enjoy, is that there is order and excellence in everything. Would you please speak to your philosophy of excellence?
Dr. Klemme: The Old and New Testaments tell us that if we are to give of our gifts to God, we are to do it in a first-class manner and with a feeling of excellence. We should not give anything to God that is compromised or mediocre—God would not expect that nor would any of us who work together. We strive for something that is beyond ourselves—something that is heavenly and divine.
I tell my partners in music ministry that we must prepare and rehearse, then give our music as a gift. However, that gift has to be really really well done—or we agree not to do it—or to work on it longer before we perform. I will not let anyone, young or old, present something for worship that is not ready.
J: What is your philosophy of music in a liturgical context?
Dr. Klemme: I feel strongly about the fact that when we get to church, we want to be fed. A kernel of thought should permeate the service from the beginning to the end. Every hymn we sing, every solo, every anthem, every word spoken should be directed toward that one kernel of thought.
Of course this is very challenging. It is one of my biggest issues as a church musician now. I wish we could be more cohesive in our worship. I think clergy want to work toward cohesiveness, but the inspiration for that cohesiveness comes much later for a pastor than we can deal with as musicians.
Are we being effective ministers through worship? Do we hit the homerun every week? Are we truly giving people what they want? I always come back to the kernel and how we as musicians and clergy can present that kernel to our corporate body with great integrity so that they can take that thought into the world with them.
J: St. Paul’s is known for its outstanding Evensong Concert Series. Is there a “headline” for your work with this series?
Dr. Klemme: Yes, in fact there is. St. Paul’s Evensong Concert Series is the title, but the headline is Sacred Music in a Sacred Space. It is important for the congregation of St. Paul’s to have monthly Evensong service and in addition it is now equally as important for St. Paul’s to share a world-class concert attached to the service.
This is a patron based series. People give to the series as they are able. We have 175 people who give regularly every year at different levels which enables me to bring in artists from all over the world, our country and certainly regionally.
It is mostly classical in nature featuring a yearly organ concert, a yearly piano concert, a church based concert featuring our music ministers, a concert by a young person from our congregation, and even a jazz concert. We also present Amahl and the Night Visitors and a Renaissance feast on a rotating basis.
There is a purpose behind all this and that is to bring people closer to Christ through music. St. Paul’s opens their doors to the community so the public can hear and participate in an Evensong Series and hear extraordinary sacred music. It is a gift to the community.
J: I see you have a stunning new piano at St. Paul’s and know this is a dream realized. Please tell us more.
Dr. Klemme: The new piano is an outgrowth of the concert series. When I came to St. Paul’s 15 years ago, the pianos were not very good. It was my hope and dream to have a concert instrument. After years of dreaming, there was a window of opportunity about a year ago when I asked for a gift of a piano from a couple in the church.
We now have an amazing piano—a 9-foot Yamaha CFX! This is an instrument that will lead music effectively in worship and will complement a high-class concert series.
J: Do you have any words of advice for those of us in church music ministry?
Dr. Klemme: Church music ministry is my career. I am a guy in my early 50s and I am starting to think about the end of this runway. In order to stay fresh and be effective to the end of the runway, I think it is important to be connected through my colleagues, to share, to learn, to go to workshops, and to reflect and pray.
I also think it is important to remember that our work is a ministry. At first to use the title Director of Music Ministries seemed strange to me, but after 15 years I have found myself to be a minister. I minister through my keyboard work and my singing, but also I have found myself in a situation where I am pastoral person as well. It is important that we as musicians realize that there is a pastoral component to what we do and that we should not shy away from it.
Dr. Paul Klemme is the Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem, Oregon, where he conducts four choirs at the church and serves as the parish organist. Having over 25 years experience as a church musician in many denominations, Paul often finds himself in demand in presenting workshops involving historical sacred music. Paul received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington.