None of my current success would have been possible if not for my time at Saint Anselm, which set me on my path and gave me all the tools I would need for success.
William Endicott ’16 graduated from Saint Anselm with a BA in fine arts with an emphasis in music in 2016. He is currently the Director of Music and Organist at the Collaborative Parishes of St. John & St. Paul in Wellesley, Mass., as well as the Music Director for the Harvard Catholic Center in Cambridge, Mass.
What were you involved in at Saint Anselm College?
During my college experience, I spent a great deal of time in the Abbey Church. I was there for rehearsals, Masses, and concerts singing in the choir, but I took advantage of every opportunity to pray the liturgy of the hours with the monastic community. I would sit in the stall immediately to the left of the organ so I could watch Br. Andrew Thornton, O.S.B., play.
What did your post-graduate life look like?
I went on to earn a MM (Master of Music) in choral conducting from the University of Southern Mississippi, a MM in Sacred Music–Organ from East Carolina University.
How did your courses and professors at Saint Anselm College help your journey?
I loved my time in the choir with Fr. Bede (and later Professor Brandon Ring). When Professor Sean Parr told me about the possibility of expanding the Fine Arts Department’s majors to include Music, I told him I was ready to sign up that day. I would graduate with a BA in fine arts with an emphasis in music.
I was extremely lucky to be active in the earliest stages of the expanding music department. I benefited from small class sizes, lots of one-on-one time with my professors (especially the incredibly patient Professor Francis Kayali getting me back up to speed in music theory), and my lessons in voice with Professor Parr and piano with Professor Molly Lozeau.
What was your internship experience like?
In the fall of my junior year, Professor Parr helped me secure an internship as part of an independent study in sacred music. I cannot overstate my gratitude for this internship. Professor Parr worked tirelessly and went out of his way to create this course of study for me with an off-campus mentor (who would later serve many important roles in the department including as the choir director), Eric Bermani.
I worked as a music intern at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Manchester for my junior and senior years, learning first-hand what it took to be a director of music in a church setting, attending rehearsals, doing administrative and clerical work, and beginning organ lessons as a focus of my independent study.
Do you have anything to add about your experience at Saint Anselm?
I am grateful to so many people, many who are named in the above recollections. Each time I am back on campus I am so delighted to see the growth of the music department and its many offerings, as well as the excitement of the current students. I hope they are aware of just how special this place is. None of my current success would have been possible if not for my time at Saint Anselm, which set me on my path and gave me all the tools I would need for success.
See and hear William Endicott's Organ Playing