Howard Hughes
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There is not a music director in the Church today who has not spent a few minutes in rehearsal explaining that the name Howard Hughes that appears in the composer's corner on a piece of music is not the Howard Hughes who cultivated so much notoriety in recent decades. The composer Howard Hughes is a brother in the Marianist order whose music has been published and known by many of us since 1964-that's over thirty years now, and there are no signs that his well of creativity is drying up.
Brother Howard is a most prolific writer. In addition to nearly 700 published works, he has written a great deal of unpublished music for use within his own community. First professed in 1948, he spent from 1950 through 1971 teaching in various Marianist schools with three years time out for study in Europe. He spent from 1971 through 1989 as musician at the order's provincial house in Baltimore, and since has assumed direction of the pastoral music program at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he also teaches in the fine arts department. He lists Robert Twynham among his organ teachers and has a graduate degree in French and a master of liturgical music degree from Catholic University of America.
At the beginning of the Hymnal for the Hours one finds all 71 of the invitatory antiphons from the office in settings by this composer. His aptitude for understanding the singing assembly is demonstrated in his Mass for the Divine Word, published separately and in Worship.
In this writer's opinion, one of his most successful works is the responsory for the final commendation at the Order of Christian Funerals, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives," published separately, in Worship, and in numerous other resources.
His commitment to a higher quality of church music is recognized by all. Wouldn't it be poetic justice that in the next generation when folks see old news program reruns and Howard Hughes appears in this plane, The Blue Spruce, someone will say, "Didn't we sing his psalm at Mass today?"