Kingdom Come

By NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer

From traditional Catholic hymns to reggae and latin beats, the award-winning eclectic sounds of this local music group will have you on your feet.
Kingdom Come, Philadelphia’s Catholic recording group, has caught the attention of several top recording companies in the Catholic Music industry — including Heartbeat Records — for the group’s debut album release, “Long Live the King.”
Made up of vocalist Catherine Ard, songwriter-composer Michael Bucella, and music arranger and engineer Joe Marchetti, the group received three 2004 Unity Awards in November from the United Catholic Music and Video Association — for best sacramental song of the year, best devotional song of the year and best album cover.
The group will be appearing on EWTN’s popular Backstage music show in the fall, and is being heavily promoted throughout the world by Heartbeat Records.
“I almost had a heart attack, because we really didn’t expect to win anything,” Bucella said of the three awards. His work with another vocalist was previously nominated for 11 Unity awards but didn’t win any.
“This time, we’ve made it more Catholic, using traditional hymns that everyone has been singing for years, but added some flavor to them,” Bucella said.
Ard was thrilled as well.
“We’re so excited to share our music with people, because we feel music is a powerful and profound way to bring people closer to Christ,” she said.
Ard and Bucella met years ago but fell out of touch for more than seven years. Then Bucella contacted Ard, asking his old friend to partner with him and his cousin, Marchetti, who has had years of music production experience.
The result was “Long Live the King,” which is being hailed as an exciting addition to the Christian music treasury.
But even though the group’s members have turned a new corner in their musical journey into the wider world, they do not forget their roots in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
Marchetti is a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Northampton.
Bucella, of St. Joseph Parish in Aspen, Pa., serves the Archdiocese as a cantor, and sings at about 140 funeral Masses a year.
He began as a cantor in 1987, and was soon asked to sing at his first funeral. Having a phobia of death and funerals, he declined, but after some convincing, agreed to sing.
“I had never attended a funeral …,” he said. “After the funeral, I got phone calls and letters thanking me for sharing my gift of music. I had never seen it as a gift before, because I was an entertainer in a rock band. I realized then that I could use my talents to serve God.
“I knew without a doubt that I’m meant to share, and bring people closer to God through music,” Bucella said. “I realized that my singing can uplift people and help them grieve.”
Bucella and Ard were asked to cantor for the liturgy before and after the 2004 Unity Awards — the highlight of the weekend according to Bucella.
“It was most thrilling to be asked by your peers to cantor at the Eucharist,” he said. “That’s my vocation.”
Ard, who has had more than 50 leading roles in local plays and musicals, also cantors throughout the Archdiocese, including at her own parish, SS. Simon and Jude in West Chester. She also sings at weddings.
But her greatest love is the Eucharist.
“I love the Church and have such a love for the Eucharist — for the Mass,” she said. “Just like the title of a Sue Brinkmann article I read in The CS&T — it’s the greatest miracle in our midst.”
Ard said she thanks her parents, and the religious sisters who taught her — from grade school through college — for her deepening faith.
“The Catholic Church is the beacon in a world that is very secular and amoral. We should be proud of our faith and do whatever we can to bring that light to others,” she said.
Bucella, for his part, writes songs that tell a story and show that Jesus is the answer to every real question.
“We give thanks to the master Musician,” he said. “And we hope to follow in His footsteps in both our lives and our music.”
To purchase “Long Live the King” call (610) 543-2555, to schedule Kingdom Come for a performance call (610) 558-9436 or visit them at www.hiskingdomcome.com

CS&T Staff Writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org or (215) 9654614.