Welcome to NPM!   The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) is an organization for anyone who recognizes and supports the value of musical liturgy. We are choir directors, organists, guitarists, pianists, instrumentalists of all kinds, priests, cantors, and pastoral liturgists. We are members of contemporary ensembles, handbell choirs, and choral groups. Some of our members are young people in high school and college, while some are veteran directors of music ministries. We represent parishes large and small as well as seminaries, schools, religious communities, cathedral churches and diocesan offices. Many of our members belong to interest sections for various musical ministries, for clergy, for chant or pastoral liturgy, and for musicians serving African American, Hispanic and Asian communities. Some of our members are not actively involved in a particular musical or liturgical ministry, but want to support the important work of pastoral musicians. Since Father Virgil Funk established the Association in 1976, NPM has sponsored 88 national and regional conventions. Please make plans to join us for the 2010 NPM National Convention to be held in Detroit, Michigan from July 12 to 16, 2010. If you have never attended an NPM convention before, you will be amazed by the workshops, the new music, the liturgies, the musical events, the people - and most of all by the robust singing!

J. Michael McMahon President, National Association of Pastoral Musicians

In the last thirty-three years NPM has sponsored 322 educational institutes. The Association offers programs all over the United States for cantors, organists, guitarists, music educators and pastoral liturgists as well as directors of vocal choirs, handbell choirs, liturgical music ensembles and children's choirs. The Association also sponsors webinars on timely topics that affect the work of musicians, clergy, liturgists, and other leaders of prayer.  Local chapters in more than 65 dioceses conduct workshops and other educational programs to support the ministry of members at the local level.

NPM members receive five issues each year of the respected journal Pastoral Music, a twice-monthly e-mail newsletter, Pastoral Music Notebook, and Sunday Word for Pastoral Musicians, a weekly reflection on the Sunday readings written especially for pastoral musicians. NPM also publishes four issues a year of a practical and popular newsletter for cantors, psalmists, choir singers, and directors entitled The Liturgical Singer. 

If you are already a member of NPM, you know the importance of the Association for advancing the musical and liturgical life of the Church in the United States. If you are not currently a member or have never participated in an NPM event, we extend to you a warm invitation to join us in "fostering the art of musical liturgy."

J. Michael McMahon, D.Min.
President
mcmahon@npm.org

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