Jillian Anderson finds her musical home
June 10, 2025 - 10:34am — Richard Schletty
The Catholic Spirit, June 3, 2025
By Christina Capecchi
Excerpts from full article:
Music and faith have always been linked for Jill Anderson, a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul who graduated from St. Agnes School and the University of St. Thomas, both in St. Paul. She has performed with touring choirs, big bands, jazz ensembles and even a country band over the years, but the constant has been singing in church. One of her greatest joys is making the kind of music that people can pray at Mass or in adoration of the Eucharist.
That music took on a deeper meaning when the singer married Steven C., an accomplished pianist and recording artist. While the two can be seen taking the stage together in concert, they also play at churches across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Now married one and a half years and living in Lake Elmo, life is busy for the musician who works in digital marketing by day and freelances in music on the side.
Jill and Steven will present a free concert of patriotic music, folk songs and hymns at 6:30 p.m. June 30, 2025, at St. Joseph Church in West St. Paul, Minnesota. Learn more about their upcoming performances at stevencmusic.com.
Q) What do you love about singing?
A) I feel like I can express more of myself through music than I ever could in words. Especially if I’m singing something that holds significant meaning for me. The meaning could come from a place of nostalgia, because it’s something my grandpa used to sing, or it could come from a place of conviction, maybe because a lyric just grabs you. Through song, I can communicate much more than the text: the melody itself communicates something, the harmonies communicate something, and the manner in which you deliver these things all together really communicates something. Is it a quiet and tender expression of some element of our faith that you hold close? Or is it a big bombastic “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah” that makes you want to shout from the rooftops?
Q) Do you think your music took on a new tone once your longtime collaboration developed into more?
A) It felt different on stage for sure. Lyrics hit my ear differently or I’d catch his eye at a certain line, and we’d both smile. It is kind of fun to be up there with your partner.
Q) Your partnership sounds so rich.
A) It’s practical. It’s creative. It’s all the things. I’ll hear him developing a new melodic idea at the piano, because it’s in the middle of the house, and I’ll call out from the kitchen: “That sounds like …” And I’ll throw out a title. We have a lot of fun when it comes to song titles and lyrics. We’ll hear something and say to each other at the same time: “That’s a song! We should write that!” I love that creative space, and it is such a nice complement to my data-oriented full-time work, which isn’t artistic at all, but I appreciate a good spreadsheet!
Q) What does self-care look like for you as a singer?
A) Other singers are probably more disciplined with proper warm-ups and herbal teas. The vocal hack I put to use most often is the travel steam inhaler. It looks strange when other drivers pass us on the road, but nothing calls for it like the Easter Triduum! It’s like giving your voice a steam bath.
From a prayer perspective, I guard the Mass because I don’t want it to get to a point where it feels like I’m going to work and not like I’m going to pray. That can be a risk with bigger liturgies, but that’s a small sacrifice I can make for the intentions I’m bringing with me. I often find myself relying on shorter bursts of prayer. In the sacristy of the Cathedral when we’d pray before Mass, Archbishop Flynn used to say: “Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit.” He’d say it five times. That’s all he would say. If you were ever at Mass with him, you probably heard it, too. All these years later, that has stayed with me — that idea of invoking the Holy Spirit to settle the heart and mind.
Q) As a cantor, you have a unique vantage point.
A) That front row in a funeral! Oh! If your eyes happen to land on that first row, you know you are witnessing a family having to say goodbye — talk about a moment of privilege, to be with them in that moment. It really puts in perspective the honor that I have, to serve that family right then. If I can somehow be an instrument that helps bring people to a place of prayer or closer to the God who can heal and comfort — good. That’s the goal. If something they hear from me helps them get there better, faster — great. My unofficial prayer before I cantor is always, “Lord, don’t let me get in your way.” I never want to detract or distract but to be a window to whatever God has in mind for his people.
Read full story here: https://www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/jillian-anderson-finds-her-musical-home/
The Catholic Spirit, June 3, 2025By Christina Capecchi
Excerpts from full article:
Music and faith have always been linked for Jill Anderson, a member of St. Joseph in West St. Paul who graduated from St. Agnes School and the University of St. Thomas, both in St. Paul. She has performed with touring choirs, big bands, jazz ensembles and even a country band over the years, but the constant has been singing in church. One of her greatest joys is making the kind of music that people can pray at Mass or in adoration of the Eucharist.
That music took on a deeper meaning when the singer married Steven C., an accomplished pianist and recording artist. While the two can be seen taking the stage together in concert, they also play at churches across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Now married one and a half years and living in Lake Elmo, life is busy for the musician who works in digital marketing by day and freelances in music on the side.
Jill and Steven will present a free concert of patriotic music, folk songs and hymns at 6:30 p.m. June 30, 2025, at St. Joseph Church in West St. Paul, Minnesota. Learn more about their upcoming performances at stevencmusic.com.
Q) What do you love about singing?
A) I feel like I can express more of myself through music than I ever could in words. Especially if I’m singing something that holds significant meaning for me. The meaning could come from a place of nostalgia, because it’s something my grandpa used to sing, or it could come from a place of conviction, maybe because a lyric just grabs you. Through song, I can communicate much more than the text: the melody itself communicates something, the harmonies communicate something, and the manner in which you deliver these things all together really communicates something. Is it a quiet and tender expression of some element of our faith that you hold close? Or is it a big bombastic “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah” that makes you want to shout from the rooftops?
Q) Do you think your music took on a new tone once your longtime collaboration developed into more?
A) It felt different on stage for sure. Lyrics hit my ear differently or I’d catch his eye at a certain line, and we’d both smile. It is kind of fun to be up there with your partner.
Q) Your partnership sounds so rich.
A) It’s practical. It’s creative. It’s all the things. I’ll hear him developing a new melodic idea at the piano, because it’s in the middle of the house, and I’ll call out from the kitchen: “That sounds like …” And I’ll throw out a title. We have a lot of fun when it comes to song titles and lyrics. We’ll hear something and say to each other at the same time: “That’s a song! We should write that!” I love that creative space, and it is such a nice complement to my data-oriented full-time work, which isn’t artistic at all, but I appreciate a good spreadsheet!
Q) What does self-care look like for you as a singer?
A) Other singers are probably more disciplined with proper warm-ups and herbal teas. The vocal hack I put to use most often is the travel steam inhaler. It looks strange when other drivers pass us on the road, but nothing calls for it like the Easter Triduum! It’s like giving your voice a steam bath.
From a prayer perspective, I guard the Mass because I don’t want it to get to a point where it feels like I’m going to work and not like I’m going to pray. That can be a risk with bigger liturgies, but that’s a small sacrifice I can make for the intentions I’m bringing with me. I often find myself relying on shorter bursts of prayer. In the sacristy of the Cathedral when we’d pray before Mass, Archbishop Flynn used to say: “Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit.” He’d say it five times. That’s all he would say. If you were ever at Mass with him, you probably heard it, too. All these years later, that has stayed with me — that idea of invoking the Holy Spirit to settle the heart and mind.
Q) As a cantor, you have a unique vantage point.
A) That front row in a funeral! Oh! If your eyes happen to land on that first row, you know you are witnessing a family having to say goodbye — talk about a moment of privilege, to be with them in that moment. It really puts in perspective the honor that I have, to serve that family right then. If I can somehow be an instrument that helps bring people to a place of prayer or closer to the God who can heal and comfort — good. That’s the goal. If something they hear from me helps them get there better, faster — great. My unofficial prayer before I cantor is always, “Lord, don’t let me get in your way.” I never want to detract or distract but to be a window to whatever God has in mind for his people.
Read full story here: https://www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/jillian-anderson-finds-her-musical-home/
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