Meet WA-based Musician Andrew Goldstein
Andrew Goldstein is a Catholic musician and father. He serves as a parish music director at a mid-size church in Olympia WA, in addition to being a songwriter and nonprofit director.
Visit his websites for songwriting and his non-profit/music directing.
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION: Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Olympia?
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN: I'm originally from Connecticut, but after getting married, we moved to the Pacific Northwest to be near to family and new work. I started a nonprofit at that point in Seattle, aimed at making classical music more bespoke to millennials like myself. This prompted a move from Seattle to Olympia, since we couldn't afford to stay and raise a family in Seattle while living the startup nonprofit life.
God is good, and ended up landing us in Olympia (the state capitol) in 2016 where we've been able to raise our family, find Catholic community, grow the nonprofit, and create space for songwriting and serving the church!
How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist?
As a parish musician, I see my role as a stewarding a conversation between God and his people. It's such an honor, week after week, to prepare music that helps the faithful enter into robust prayer and deep personal relationship with Christ. I sincerely dislike being in the spotlight, so I'm so grateful to use my career to draw together the gifts and talents of the people around me, all focused into this experience of the liturgy (i.e. Christ's prayer to the Father).
In songwriting, I work in much the same mind; my creative process is to draw out the profound and beautiful texts of Catholic saints, poets, writers, popes, and more... to give their words new life and dimension through song. I find this to be a very peaceful and quite Catholic way of working as an artist: that in my work-vocation, others may increase and I may decrease, for the sake of a personal encounter with Christ.
Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
We are a universal Catholic Church, but often the conversation around music an be incredibly divisive. Even within the context of parish life, a single hymn can so profoundly open someone's heart to the speaking of the Holy Spirit, and yet inversely be a barrier to someone else's prayer. Yet, I've found deep inspiration and support through people who work tirelessly to address this divisiveness through their own creative work, seeking to bring deeper unity to the Church. Groups like The Vigil Project, for me, are paving this path forward. They don't see themselves as experts, but rather facilitators of a healing conversation to move the church beyond the conversation of genre, and into the recognition of the gift of music. I think this is valuable, worth supporting, and uplifts my day-to-day work as a parish music director, as a nonprofit classical music organizer, and as a songwriter. I find great joy as I see people recognize music as a God-given and unifying gift.
How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
There have been many modern efforts for a "top-down" approach to opening pathways for artists to collaborate with the Church. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI wrote extensively about the need for artists to rise to the most worthy challenge of their creative vocation: mirroring He who is Beauty. There have been equally numerous grass-roots attempts for the laity to organize and influence Catholic art from the ground up.
Yet, there's a great beauty that comes from a mutual dialog: the body of clergy and laity together seeking to mirror God's infinite beauty. Like all good dialog, it begins with listening both to each other and the Holy Spirit. Some of the most free moments I've had as a songwriter, event organizer, or parish musician have come from a mutual listening; recognizing my desire to mirror beauty, and uniting that with the present needs of the Church. During COVID-times, especially, I felt an increased awareness and attentiveness to how musical prayer could sustain a parish community, and also challenge our faith. This dialog is where true artistic and faithful innovation will come from!
How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
This is a fascinating question to ponder, and it begs the further question: "SHOULD the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?" Of course, there is great art that can and should speak to both people of faith and those without; art is deeply human and conveys truths we all seek. But when the art mirrors the Creator, the Divine Artist, I would venture that it makes some very uncomfortable. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we often jest that we live in "post-Christian-USA"; a society that feels it has out-questioned the need for religion, and therefore has made an intentional decision to venture away from it. It's not that they don't know the truths of the Church; it's that they know these truths and hold them to be in violation of their personal beliefs. So, if artists of faith are living out the fullest extent of their creative vocation, their art can and should stir the artistic world, because it speaks to the depth of the biggest question we all eventually ask: "Do I believe I am loved to the point of death on a Cross? Does such a love exist?"
Where in Olympia do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?
At my local parish, we are blessed with a plethora of spiritual activity, from perpetual adoration to weekly Vespers and more. For me, a big shift came in my life by participating in (and later facilitating) Exodus 90. If you are unfamiliar, it is a men's 90-day journey through the book of Exodus, while practicing intense daily prayer, asceticism (cold showers, fasting, etc.) and fraternity. Having completed four of these experiences to-date, I can safely say that it brought some healing to broken areas of my heart, creating habits around frequent confession and adoration, and built a sense of male-fraternity in my parish that I desparately needed.
For artists, this kind of intense experience gives us the space to truly listen... to be an open vessel to be filled with God's love and mercy, from which flows beauty inconceivable. Had it not been for a few of those Exodus 90 experiences, I would have never had the space to venture into songwriting, taking on new initiatives for my parish, or disconnecting from the stress of running a nonprofit for long enough to have perspective on how to run it even better.
What is your daily artistic practice?
I used to panic about a daily artistic practice, thinking I was not disciplined enough to write music. I had a weekly 5am-7am timeslot in the church each Sunday to pray and write music. I'll be honest: that this was a lot of pressure, and I often found myself depleted and exhausted of creativity.
Now, I take time to make sure I've prayed each week, am present in my vocation as a father, and feel that things are spiritually properly ordered before I ever pick up a pen to write something. Throughout the day, I try to be attentive to whatever the Lord is speaking to me, and occasionally – especially when I'm most attentive and feel that things are in order – that comes in the form of song. I'll often dash into a room to record an idea on my iPhone "Voice Memo App," say a prayer of thanksgiving, and carry on with my day. Every few weeks I'll carve out a few hours to work on those ideas and bring them to fruition.
In years past, I'd write a few dozen songs and find only a few of them worthy to share with anyone. Now, things flow much more freely, have more musical and lyrical depth, and is just a pure gift... no stress about making something at all. I find I'm much more willing to share these ideas and find people to collaborate on them. So, my encouragement to anyone struggling with output; order everything else properly in your life, and trust that God will provide in the everyday little moments. Creativity doesn't have to be epic to be fruitful.
What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?
As a culture, we have a false perception of self-promotion; we think that if we get our name out far enough, success will find us. I'll freely share that the most fruitful interactions I've had in my career have come from interest in the OTHER; not myself.
When I first graduated, I made a point of shadowing people I found really interesting. They were super gracious and took me under their wing to show me their jobs. Eventually that led to joining their teams, growing in my own skills, and doing the same mentoring for other people.
I hate to admit that I file away or delete emails or connection request from people who are self-promotional, but I often bring on interns or meet with younger people who are super-driven and want to learn from my experience.