By Robert R. Schwarz He makes his living conducting traditional Catholic choral hymns , and he also loves the blues of Ella Fitzgerald; he plays the piano at Masses yet fondly recalls tickling the ivories with "Fly Me to the Moon" in the presence of Neil Armstrong. But few things stir the heart of this Doctor of Music more than listening to his young pupils sing about angels.
Once a 15-year-old prodigy who directed the music activities of a large Catholic parish in the Illinois suburb of Arlington Heights, Scott Arkenberg returned at age 55 to his religious alma mater of St. James after a long and distinguished career in music.
Today he is obviously delighted in his reprised role as St. James' music director. You see it in eyes that smile and hear it in his reassuring manner of speech to the shy and to the novice. His words engage and are free of artistic temperament, so noticed by this reporter and by Katie Blomquist, a St. James cantor who has worked with Scott for almost three years. "He has a good heart," she said, "and is very committed to making sure the congregation understands the message of the music."
And from another colleague, 50-year-old John Towner, whose guitar has enriched the St. James' Masses and other musical events for 25 years, you will hear about Scott's ability to stay positive amidst negative issues when directing the church's music ministry. He quoted Scott: "Let's not get mired down in things. " Comparing Scott to other music directors with whom Towner has worked professionally, Scott is "wonderful and personable, goes out of his way to meet people," he said.
Watching Scott—he'll likely be dressed in something black--maneuver singers and musicians at a Mass, you'll notice the zest which this music man with the full head of gray hair has for his work. Standing six-feet-two in front of a rehearsing choir, arms uplifted with high energy, you see also see a teacher who wants the bar set high for his people.
His passion for higher education was similar, and when ignited during a six-month stay at Cambridge University in England. There he studied Shakespeare and English literature. He was a high school senior at the time and had already directed the music for seven musicals at St. James in which his pastor had a role. His passion for music went dormant for the next two years while he was as pre-med student at the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana. This academic decision, he said, "came as a shock and chagrin to everyone at St. James." But St. James parishioner Terri Schott (she had started the bereavement program at the local Northwest Community hospital), with prayers and notes, kept coaxing Scott to follow his true love.
Scott listened to Terri, dropped out of pre-med school, and enrolled at De Paul University, where he got a B.A. in music in 1987. Now committed that vision which he considers a life milestone, he then began to work full time as music director at St. Clements church in Chicago. Going through undergraduate school had taken him ten years.
He was now off to the University of Southern California at Las Angeles, where he graduated with a M.A. in choral music and afterwards completed his doctoral course work in choral music.
How the Passion Was Born
Scott's heart for music, he relates, began with the standup piano his mother bought him when he was in the third grade. "She had to work hard to pay for that piano," he said. "My parents loved music. There always was some kind of music around the house." Scott's maternal grandmother played for silent movies in Chicago theaters, her favorite piece being the "Blackhawk Waltz." His grandmother and her husband were both Chicago furriers. According to Scott, they and Fr. Bill, then the current St. James pastor, impacted his life more than anyone else. His grandparents, gave him the "ability to talk with people." Fr. Zavaski, along with other parishioners, took Scott under their wings when he became music director at age 15. "Fr. Bill steered me in the right direction of what works and what doesn't work," Scott recalled. "His mentoring gave me an appreciation for the liturgy and for what was holy in music."
Scott graduated from St. James in 1968. "I never thought I would go into church music back then. "He credits the school sisters of St. Francis for influencing him to become serious about what could be holy about music.
Scott has a sister in Terra Haute, Indiana, Kim, 55, and a brother, Todd, a former vice president at United Airlines, who lives in Arlington Heights and who has written a second novel. There was a sister, Tamra, who died at age three days.
Nowadays, Scott's challenge is to find quality time for his work and to get the youth more involved in one of the church's more than two dozen ministries. "It's hard to get our young people committed, and that frustrates me. We have some, but we should have dozens more ! " He frowned when mentioning that music is one of the first things to be cut from a school budget. "Music is what touches the soul," he added.
When he does relax, it's often in his bachelor Chicago apartment in the two-flat he owns in the Avondale-Logan Square neighborhood. He likes to play jazz standards on that same piano his mother bought him decades ago , listen to CDs of Ella Fitzgerald, cook salmon the way his mother did, read a non-fiction book like Devil in the White City, and watch the History Channel on television. He also enjoys swimming at the University Club in the Loop and exchanging stories during visits with friends. Mean people make him sad, and beautiful days make him happy.
Scott recalled two particular sad days: One was soon after the 9-11 tragedy; his parents had died four weeks apart, his father from emphysema and cancer and his mother from a fungus she contacted on a cruise to Puerto Rico which Scott and his brother had encouraged her to take as a respite from caring for her husband. Other unforgettable sadness came after his parents' death. He had moved two articles from his childhood home into his apartment: the dinning room table around which the family had so often gathered and that piano which his mother had bought for him. Scott said that when this two pieces arrived he lay on the couch and sobbed.
When asked about his spirituality, words did not come easy for him. "Bob," he said, "you're pulling things out of me that I've really never spoken about." He paused for a long moment, then said, "It's through my music that I have my faith affirmed. Music envelopes my whole body, my whole senses—rather than if I just spoke it. I struggle to pray every day and yet at the same time I know that when I do pray every day, the world is just better."
He says he sees "the heart of Jesus " in the kindergarten and first and second grade children he teaches. "They love to sing about Jesus," he said with solemnity. "When they sing 'All Night, All Day', they just automatically sit taller, lift their eyes and head skyward, and fold their hands. It is the most beautiful thing to see. Their souls are in another place."
All night, all day
Angels watching over me, my Lord
All night, all day
Angels watching over me !
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© 2012, 2013, 2014 Robert R. Schwarz
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