Ryan Everson, a fifth-year seminarian, will debut Receive Their Souls, a sacred music composition, on All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert, Ariz., at the 11 a.m. Mass and St. Bernadette in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the 10 a.m. Mass, which will be performed by the parishes’ vocal choirs. This will be the fifth piece Everson has composed through his non-profit, Angelico Sacred Music, alongside pieces like Our Father and The Act of Contrition.
A graduate from Arizona State University School of Music in 2019, Everson felt prompted to use his classical training to compose music for the Church. After noticing a gap in the sacred music landscape, Everson founded Angelico in October 2024, with the mission to create Neo-Renaissance-style compositions of popular Catholic prayers in the English language.
“I want to help people see classical sacred music not as an artifact in a museum, but as something that can be alive, fresh, innovative and new,” said Everson. “A central part of Angelico’s mission is to create sacred polyphony in the vernacular (English), which I believe is a beautiful but unfulfilled ideal of the Second Vatican Council.”
The ministry is named after Bl. Fra Angelico, a famous painter and Dominican friar.
“My first fidelity always belongs to seminary life,” continued Everson. “I placed the ministry under the patronage of Blessed Fra Angelico to remind myself of this very fact: creating musical art is a secondary vocation for me … But I’ve learned to identify the Lord’s movements and hear His voice … Jesus has made it abundantly clear that this ministry is His own.”
Since Angelico’s founding, Everson has traveled to premiere his pieces with the University of Notre Dame Liturgical Choir and the Catholic University of America Chamber Choir. He was also one of five composers accepted to attend the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music’s annual conference.
“[The Lord] has made this first year far more successful than I dared hope for, and that journey of faith has helped me grow in unique ways that will make me a holier priest as well,” he shared.
In tandem with celebrating Angelico’s first full year of ministry, Everson will host Angelicofest on Oct. 18, an inaugural gala to support the ministry. The evening will include a four-course dinner, featured speakers, raffle prizes and a sneak peek into the plans to expand Angelico in the following year.
“Our music has touched hearts and minds across the country this year as we launched our mission of creating a distinctly American patrimony of musical art,” continued Everson. “I dearly hope you can join us at Angelicofest to celebrate the beautiful music that we have created, together with each other, and together with the Lord.”
