When he created the school’s first virtual choral video, Camden Catholic High School music director Greg Gardner had no idea how far it would travel. The goal was to record and post a video of students singing the Cherry Hill school’s 2019-20 theme song as an opening prayer for week two of remote learning. As a class assignment, students recorded and submitted individual files during the first week, in mid-March.
What looked like an easy task from afar turned into an all-nighter as Gardner mixed 32 audio tracks into one finished piece with blended voices, multi-part harmony, piano and percussion. The music then had to be synced with 32 video segments. But it was worth the effort. The upbeat recording went viral and was picked up by local TV stations, ultimately finding its way to a national feature on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
What many people don’t know is that Gardner composed the song as well. He said that before the start of the school year, music for a refrain kept repeating in his head – and with it, the promise “I am with you always” from Matthew 28, which became the song’s title.
“I wanted to pair the refrain with [other] Scripture for the verses,” said Gardner. And he described the perfect match he found in psalm 25, “a prayer for guidance and deliverance.” He introduced the song at summer music camp but didn’t disclose its origin. “I didn’t want [the students] to know. I wanted them to think it was a real song,” he said. Gardner worked on the piece with his brother Patrick, who is the assistant music director at Camden Catholic. Students have dubbed the young duo as “G major and G minor.”
The Camden Catholic community embraced “I Am with You Always” from its debut. It is the closing song for school Masses and could not serve as a more appropriate prayer, or promise, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school choir recently released a new recording, “Until We Sing Again” by Joseph Martin, a song they didn’t know until Gardner sent them the music.
“I listened to it and almost started crying because it was so relevant. We don’t know when we we’re going to be able to sing together in the same room,” said senior Claire Marino.
For Claire and fellow choir members, music has provided a lifeline to friends and a form of expression during a time of isolation and, especially for seniors, loss.
“The school is really trying, the teachers too, to keep us all connected,” said Marchello Barile, also a senior and choir member. He and Claire both performed in the school’s online Cabaret night, a favorite event that had been scheduled to take place at school. The canceled band recital became an online event as well, enabling musicians like Marchello, who plays the trumpet, to deliver a final performance.
Like seniors in any “normal” year, Claire and Marchello said they are feeling the wind-down, reserving most of their remaining focus for AP exam preparation and, of course, music with G major and G minor. Each is wistful about the time apart from friends, a canceled senior trip and uncertainty about future events like prom and graduation. But they countered admissions of loss with expressions of gratitude and hope.
“People are taking this opportunity to work on themselves and really reflect on what’s important to them,” said Claire. And when they sing again in person? “Everybody’s going to be appreciating every little thing, giving each other hugs. Just to be closer than six feet. That’s really what we all need right now, human connection.”