“Take Five” and Meet … Well-Known Stranger
by Carol Deering
Their eyes sparkle with excitement on the Tuesday evening I stopped in to interview Well-Known Stranger during their weekly rehearsal. They’re warm and friendly and outgoing. They’re poised and confident. They eagerly answer all my questions, and even a few I don’t ask! I listen intently and write furiously. Then, as the interview winds down, Eric Wuebben looks at me with eyes that are searching for just the right words to communicate something very important: “Sometimes people ask me why I’m in this band. I tell them because in singing, I found my way to praise God.” The other band members look at Eric, and at each other, and smile and nod in quiet agreement. We all sit silently. “Wow,” I say to myself, “what a sensational group of young people!” Meet Well-Known Stranger, St. Katharine Drexel Parish very own youth band.
The members are: (Back Row) Stephany Anderson, Eric Haiar, Carolyn Miller, Erika Gerads, Beth Koletzky, Rachael Andersen; (Middle Row) Zach Krueger, Kelsey Sammons, Jeremy Dougherty; (Front Row) Eric Wuebben.
Well-Known Stranger comprises seven young women and four young men ranging in age from high school to college. The band began in the summer of 2004, shortly after the founding of St. Katharine Drexel Parish. These ten talented young people are led by St. Katharine Drexel Director of Liturgy and Music, Jennifer Hartmann. All band members have experience in other musical groups: school, community, and church choirs and bands, singing and/or playing the piano, guitar, bass, drums, trumpet – and probably a few other instruments I missed! “We’re all “very dynamic,” Kelsey tells me. I’ll say!! They’re also great friends. When they’re not singing at Mass or rehearsing, you might find this lively and fun group hanging together at the bowling alley or sharing a couple of pizzas.
It takes a special person to harness all this exuberance. Jennifer Hartmann is that special person. “We’d be lost without her,” one band member proclaims. “Yeah!” and “We love her!” bounce through the air. Jennifer has the education and experience needed to tackle this youthful energy: a Bachelor of Music Education from SDSU, four years teaching experience in Brookings at the middle school, a Master of Arts in Liturgical Music from St. John’s, two years as a Director of Liturgy and Music in Rochester, and music experience at St. Michael Parish. As I watch Jennifer work, I admire her calm authority that focuses the band’s energy and brings them together as one. The members themselves recognize how much they have developed under Jennifer’s guidance. “I wish we had a video from our first Mass,” someone laughs. “Yeah,” finishes another band member, “we’re so much better now!” These young musicians have grown as individuals as well. “Zach -- he went from being shy to singing solo!” announces one band member, with a teasing smile.
And how did the band come up with its intriguing name? Not surprisingly, it was the brainchild of one of the members, Carolyn Miller. Carolyn and her friends in junior high loved putting “opposite” words together – they loved playing with oxymorons. “Well-Known Stranger” is one of her creations. “It helps to describe God,” she explains to me. “He is well-known all over the world, but yet he’s a mystery. Only when we’re in heaven will we finally grasp Him.”
The beautiful praise and worship music Well-Known Stranger provides at Mass is the result of a lot of hard work. Band members give generously of their time and talent. They rehearse two hours each week and provide music at one Mass per month, either on Saturday evening at 5:00 at Good News Reformed, or at 10:30 Sunday morning at the O’Gorman Junior High gym. And who amongst all this musical talent decides what to sing at Mass? “It’s a group decision, we all do!” they happily tell me. The band looks for themes in the weekly readings and chooses music to reflect those themes. Or maybe a phrase or word in a reading will remind someone of a song.
I walked into Well-Known Stranger’s rehearsal a few weeks ago a bit harried from the work day, with many things on my mind and many things still to do at home. I was armed with pen and paper and questions, eager to cross off another task from the busy day. I left the interview that night with far more than I expected. Well-Known Stranger had given me something even better than answers to my questions. I left feeling relaxed and renewed, happy and peaceful. I was smiling. I felt blessed. As I opened my car door I could still hear the band singing. I said a prayer of thanks for this giving and loving group of young people, and for the opportunity I’d been given to get to know them.
