Judging the 2021 Catholic Song Contest was not easy. There were a lot of good songs in many different styles, and even though all of the entries had merit, there were a few that rose to the top. There were three Grand Prize winners and 12 genre categories. Since one of the categories (Chant/Meditative) had zero entires, we decided to use that 12th award for a category named “An Excellent Song We Want Everyone to Know About” to award a fantastic song some thought was entered into a miscategorized genre. So here are the winners:
Grand Prizes
These songwriters won a one-year subscription to PreSonus®Sphere and a six-month subscription to MasterWriter for Songwriters.
Liturgical/Hymn
Thomas DiFeo, Perkasie, PA (music and lyrics) ; Kelarys (vocals)
“Come to Us Father”
Christian Popular Song
Victoria Costa, Dartmouth, MA
“(Testify) To the Light”
Secular Popular Song
Scarlet Biberstein, Downey, CA
One Day”
Genre Awards
These songwriters won a three-month subscription to MasterWriter for Songwriters.
Adult Contemporary
Jonathan Salmonowicz, Zanesfield, OH
“Weary Soul”
Children’s Songs
Ben Creitz, Rockville, MD
“Bubby”
Classical / Opera
Stephanie Hellmers, Metairie, LA
“Anima Christi”
Country / Bluegrass
Bill Kassel, Hillsdale, MI – “On My Way Back Home”
Electronic / EDM
Amelia Henderson & Paul Stark, New Orleans, LA
“Outbound (Remix)”
Folk / Americana
Fr. James Waalkes, Falls Church, VA
“Mother”
Gospel / R&B / Soul
Randy Hyden, Omaha, NE
“Rescue Me”
Pop / Rock
Fr. James Waalkes, Falls Church, VA
“Shout”
Rap / Hip Hop
Mandala, Lockport, IL
“Modern Struggle”
Vocal Jazz / Blues
Tom Sperrazzo, Charlotte, NC
“Roses of Tepeyac”
An Excellent Song We Want Everyone to Know About
Matt Soileau (lyrics), Brandon Chase (vocals and melody), Spring, TX – “One Light”
Lyrics Only
Linda L. Forrester Pitocco, Conroe, TX – “Come Into My Heart Lord”
V1 Come into my heart Lord, come into my life
Come into my heart Lord, and end all my strife
Let me come to your table, let me fall at your feet
It is there at your table, it is there we will meet.
Refrain: Let me taste of the body, the body of Christ
Let me drink of the cup of blood, the cup of life
Let me come to your table, let me fall at your feet
It is there at your table, it is there we will meet
Vs. II Come Jesus my Savior, my Lord and my God
I come now before you, with the greatest of love
and Mary your mother, bows low at your feet
It is there at your table, it is there we will meet.
Refrain: Let me taste of the body, the body of Christ
Let me drink of the cup of blood, the cup of life
Let me come to your table, let me fall at your feet
It is there at your table, it is there we will meet
Many thanks to the contestants who put their creativity into these beautiful works and to the judges who spent many hours listening. We look forward to building the community of Catholic songwriters around the world who want to give glory to God and carve out a niche for Catholic audiences.
I hope you won’t nix the Chant/Meditative section; I would really like to enter under that category in the future.
The 2022 contest might eliminate the genre categories altogether, but we haven’t decided yet. So much music these days blends different genres, and we want people to not feel confined to a single genre. But, if not, there will be other categories. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get updated information.
Greetings in the Lord!
I am Fr Bart, a priest and music composer from AWKA, West Africa.
I am very impressed to come across this contest. I wish to enquire if it will hold this year. If so, I would love to participate in future. Much thanks to the organizers! God bless you all
Fr. Bart, the 2022 contest will begin on August 1, 2022. In the meantime, please subscribe to the podcast and the newsletter.