Music brings people together and after years of creating music and sharing it with others, Solon resident Christie Dilisio knows it all too well. After all, it’s the music, she says, that has connected and bonded her to everyone who has listened to her and worked with over the years.
Ms Dilisio retired as Music Director of Holy Angels Church in Bainbridge at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To honor his years of service to Holy Angels and several other churches in the area, a special event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 28 at St. John’s the Evangelist Cathedral in Cleveland.
There she will reunite with the choristers she led for so many years at Holy Angels and they will sing at a mass at the cathedral.
The event is planned by Reverend Daniel Schlegel, a former Holy Angels pastor who now serves as vicar for clergy and religious in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
Father Dan served as a trustee of Holy Angels for eight years before becoming a pastor in 2010. Together he and Ms. Dilisio worked and sang together for 15 years.
“The event at the cathedral will be a special and fun way to come together,” he said.
Among her many talents, Father Dan said, was the way Ms Dilisio can change the key of a piece of music to make it easier for everyone to sing.
“She helps people with average voices become stellar,” he said. “She also wrote many easy-to-sing pieces for me. She has a unique gift.
Twice during her ministry career, Ms Dilisio wrote original songs to help Father Dan celebrate, including ‘God Bless Your Love’, which she wrote for her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. She also wrote the song “All That I Am”, based on a prayer by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in honor of her appointment as pastor.
During their years working together, Father Dan said he traveled with the Holy Angels Choir on their trips to sing abroad, including trips to Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland , Germany, Spain, Ireland and Prague. They sang once at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
After originally working part-time at the church, Ms. Dilisio became full-time music director when the church moved into its current building. She held this position for approximately 25 years.
Looking back on her career in music, Ms Dilisio said she has fond memories of her time as a music teacher at St. Rita’s School in Solon – a position she held for 10 years – teaching music to students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Some of these students now have children, and she said she couldn’t help but smile as she thought of the time they spent together.
“I also did a lot of their weddings,” she said. “It was really special.”
Prior to teaching at Solon, she attended Trinity High School in Garfield Heights for five years, serving as a choir director straight out of college.
“Music was what tied us all together,” she said, recalling a particular time when she had 250 St. Rita kids on stage at once.
“St. Rita only had a small gymnasium, so we were allowed by Solon High School to use the high school auditorium for dress rehearsals and performances,” she said. at school since Sainte Rita. We did two concerts a year at Christmas and in the spring.
Ms. Dilisio said the opportunity to teach these children from kindergarten through eighth grade was a special experience.
“The kids were so loving,” she said. “I was like a coach.”
At Holy Angels, Ms. Dilisio said she continued a tradition she started at St. Rita by writing stories for each of her concerts and having students narrate and dance as well as perform solos and sets.
“I love the community there. It always felt like home. I enjoyed everything.
The fact that so many people support his efforts in music ministry made his years at Holy Angels even more special.
“The music ministry was a community within a community,” she said.
During her time at the church, she released five albums, three of which featured many of the parish community’s favorite songs. Another album featured holiday songs from the Christmas season and her latest album titled “Heart Song”, which featured her original songs.
She has written about 50 songs, including “I Put My Life in Your Hands,” which she wrote for a parishioner, and “Angels Beside Me,” a song she wrote for her parents.
Ms. Dilisio recalled the many trips that the Holy Angels Choir has made to Europe.
She said she recently received a note from a former member of the choir stressing that there was so much to be grateful for during the years they sang together.
“We made eight trips with the choir as well as family members, friends and other parish members. My husband Terry was there too,” she said. “There were waiting lists for these trips.”
During its travels abroad, the choir has performed in a number of unique venues, including the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin and Salisbury Cathedral in London.
Father Dan accompanied the choir on all trips and celebrated masses in the church gardens.
Father G. Max Cole, now a Holy Angels trustee and who will become Holy Angels pastor on September 29, traveled to Greece with the choir in 2019.
Ms. Dilisio recalled how, as the choir performed in the various locations, they all felt like goodwill ambassadors of the United States.
“If anyone had presupposed feelings about the United States, we showed them how music connected us. The choir’s connection to people in Europe was special.
Some of her favorite memories include impromptu performances at various locations, even restaurants. Once she led an impromptu performance at the Colosseum in Rome.
“We even sang on a cruise ship that was going to the Greek islands,” she said.
Switzerland was the favorite trip for the members of the choir. They sang in a castle and it was breathtaking to be there in the mountains, she said. She also recalled that the choir participated in Irish dances and performed an impromptu concert at the Guinness brewery in Ireland.
“We also did a lot of outreach in Cleveland,” Ms. Dilisio said. “I’ve always believed in bringing our music to the community.”
In addition to singing at dozens of Cleveland Indians games, his choirs have also performed at other sporting venues – including annual appearances at Cleveland Cavaliers games and also at a Lake County Captains baseball game.
Other fond memories include singing at the Palace Theater in Cleveland, performing at the Kenston School to benefit the American Cancer Society, and singing Christmas carols in July at Santa’s Hide-A-Way Hollow, a nonprofit based in Geauga County that serves children. in need.
Ms Dilisio retired in 2021 when her husband also retired.
“It seemed like a logical moment,” she said.
These days, they spend their time traveling, playing golf, pickleball, kayaking and, of course, they love spending time with their grandkids.
“I’m grateful for all the relationships I’ve had with people. It’s priceless,” she said. “I’m filled with gratitude for all those people. It was a positive culture and I loved being a part of that culture. Those are all great memories.
“Music brings people together,” she said. It’s a lifelong passion.
The August 28 event at St. John’s Cathedral is an opportunity for her to thank everyone in person, Ms. Dilisio said, including choir members, bell choir members, members of the parish and others.
And since many haven’t sung together since COVID-19 hit, it will be a reunion too. All are welcome to the event.
Alvin M. Keeling
6 min read
