Chicagoland

‘Te Deum’ and ‘Take me out to the ball game’

By Karen Mahoney | Contributor
Sunday, April 25, 2010

Now and then, if Dean Rosko can be swayed by Father John Jamnicky, parishioners at St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Antioch might hear a toned-down version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after Mass.

While members of the two-year- old parish — the newest in the Archdiocese of Chicago — near the Wisconsin border are amused, visitors are often surprised to learn that the parish organist is also the organist for the Milwaukee Brewers.

In 2002, when he was 18, Rosko, a Kenosha, Wis., resident, picked up a spot on the organ bench for the Brewers — a seat that had been vacant since 1986 when Frank Charles retired. It was a dream come true for Rosko, who grew up attending Brewers games.

“I used to go all the time. My aunt is a season ticket holder,” he said. “I remember going to the inaugural for the opening of Miller Park. And two years later, I was working there.”

Touted as the youngest organist in professional baseball, Rosko, 25, provides music during more than 70 home games each season.

Rosko had a talent for piano and transferred it to the organ at a roller-skating rink in Racine, Wis., where he also took skating lessons.

In 2002, the Brewers’ put out a call to organists interested in playing for the home games to replace Charles. Rosko, who was just out of high school, sent in a résumé and CD. After several interviews and auditions, officials chose Rosko over 30 other applicants.

“I was the first organist in 17 years,” he said. “I really enjoy what I do, but it is quite different than what I do at St. Raphael.”

Coming to St. Raphael’s

Rosko’s time at St. Raphael’s began shortly after Jamnicky took notice of Rosko tuning the organ at Mundelein Seminary.

“I made the mistake of giving him my card,” joked Rosko. The priest called him to evaluate a Baldwin organ donated to the parish, but he was looking for more out of Rosko.

“He called me several times about becoming the church organist. He is a little persuasive and strong-arming,” Rosko joked of Jamnicky.

That was back in November 2007 and since then Rosko has served as parish organist. He also helped to reconstruct a massive 1917 ninerank Kilgen Pipe organ donated to the parish at the request of Cardinal George after the chapel closed at Barat College in Lake Forest.

“It was a big project,” Rosko said of the reconstruction. “There are 700 pipes, and we had to put an addition on the parish, and re-open the original overhead garage door to move the organ inside the church.”

The parish resides in its temporary location in a remodeled machine tool shed on Highways 173 and 45. Because the organ will move to the new parish home in the next couple of years, Rosko helped to rewire and reassemble the instrument so the next move will be much easier.

While there is nothing like the sound of 40,000 baseball fans humming to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” his preference is playing hymns such as “How Great Thou Art” on the pipe organ at St. Raphael’s.

“I love this parish, and I love the music I get to play,” he said. “This is a traditional atmosphere with candles, bells and incense, and, for me, much more conducive to the whole spiritual experience.”

Rosko said he prefers traditional church organ music over more popular Christian music.

“In my view, and in Father [Jamnicky’s] view, rich, church music should be otherworldly, not like you can hear on the radio. It should take you to another place,” he said.

Confirmation 2008

A lifelong Catholic, Rosko put off confirmation as a teen because he wasn’t sure where God was leading him at the time. After becoming immersed with Catholicism at St. Raphael, he was confirmed in 2008.

“I just went through a stage of just wanting to know more before taking the plunge,” he said.

“Working here gave me the opportunity to do that. I was glad to do it here rather than anywhere else. This sort of atmosphere changed my whole life and my whole outlook.”

While he considers himself a novice in planning worship, Rosko is taking private lessons and learning about liturgical music at the same time. Throughout it all, he says that God is forming him and strengthening his faith through music ministry.

“I begin playing well before Mass as my form of prayer and this helps me get into the right frame of mind. I can’t just sit down and change gears from my regular life to playing liturgical music,” Rosko said. “This is how I transition and it really is very much a part of the Mass.”

Advertising