N O T E S F R O M A L O F T 
Notes from A-Loft 
Music Ministry Newsletter May 10, 2008 
A CALL TO CANTOR 

by Susan McKenney 

Pat rescued me from “musicianship abuse.” 
During my freshman year in high school, 
four of us decided for an American Literature project that we would perform some 
American folk songs. We enjoyed doing it 
so much that we continued to get together 
and sing. The four grew to six; by sophomore year many of us had our driver’s licenses, so that gave us the freedom to perform around the state of Maine. Soon we 
were doing gigs every weekend. 


Mind you, this was folk music: we performed at Grange halls, Elks clubs, and high

school reunions... we even appeared on 
WCSH’s Dave Astor Show. I was the only 
one not in the high school band or musically 
trained. Tom became the leader, Joanne soon 
became his girlfriend. She had a beautiful 
strong soprano voice. Since there were six 
of us and Joanne’s voice was too unique and 
powerful, I doubled up on the tenor part one 
octave higher. 

Although I loved being in this group, rather 
than build my confidence musically, the 
situation made me feel disposable and lacking. When I left high school, I never sang 
again for 22 years, I was so insecure about 
my musicality. 

We moved to Cumberland in 1986 and 
started attending Sacred Heart Church. I 
was very impressed with the choir. I let 
several annual church bulletin appeals for 
new singers go by. It took me until 1991 to 
gather the courage to talk to Pat about joining the choir. One day after the bulletin announcement appeared, I followed Pat to the 
back of the church after mass and asked if 
she would accept me into the choir. I don’t 
remember Pat’s exact words, but she was 
trying to find out a little about me musically. 
My answer was “I don’t read music, but I 
have an okay voice, and I can carry a tune.” 
Well, as they say, the rest is history. 

Pat’s gentle way made me feel very comfortable and welcomed from the first rehearsal. 

After a year, I heard the call to cantor. I was 
absolutely terrified of cantoring, but something told me fear was not going to be an 
excuse. The first year I cantored my heart 

was pounding so hard in my chest I didn’t 
know how I was going to breathe. My knees 
would knock and my legs shook so badly, I 
wore long skirts because I was convinced 
people could see my legs thrashing. It was 
only through Pat’s kind teaching that today I 
can experience a sense of peace about sharing a gift I have been given. 

It is so important to me to keep Pat’s vision 
alive. The best way to do that is with the 
Endowment Fund. We all have our stories 
about how Pat impacted our lives. Our storytelling can only go so far in keeping her 
memory and work alive. It is said that 
money can’t buy everything, but I believe it 
will buy her the legacy she so deserves. 

Excerpt of April 6, 2008 presentation to the 
Patricia Siviski Music Ministry Endowment 
Fund Advisors Committee