It’s hard to tell what brings 94-year-old Annette Pike more joy: memories of singing in the choir at Newport’s St. Mary Star of the Sea Church or memories of singing there under the direction of legendary choir director Sister Edmund of Jesus.

Pike, a native of Kingsbury, Quebec, moved to Newport with her family in 1939 but moved away after she was married to a Navy man. She returned 64 years ago and now lives at Michaud Memorial Manor in Derby Line where she recently reminisced about her time in the choir at St. Mary’s, now part of Mater Dei Parish.

A member of the Sacred Heart Elementary and High School Choirs during her childhood and teen years, Pike joined the parish choir when she returned to Newport; she resigned from the choir about four years ago because of mobility issues.

But while she was in a choir under the direction of the late Sister Edmund, a Daughter of the Charity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pike — an alto — learned how to read music, how to control her voice, how to harmonize, how to listen to other parts and how to put feeling into the music. “She was such a great, great teacher. She was wonderful,” she said with a smile.

Sister Edmund expected her choir members to be on time and always “made sure the music we were singing was right,” Pike recalled. “It was all for the glory of God.”

But Sister Edmund taught more than music: “She challenged us to pay attention and do our best. She taught a lot about respect, faith, and getting along with other people.”

St. Mary’s choir member Gail Lontine, an alto — Pike’s youngest sister — enjoyed singing with Pike in the choir for about a dozen years before Pike stepped down. “Annette knew all the older songs. We’d listen to her because she knew all the alto parts,” she said.

For Pike, who has a large extended family, music lifts spirits and is a form of prayer. She said her voice changed as she aged, but she still sings at Mass at Michaud Memorial Manor whenever there is music. She sometimes listens to CDs in her room and enjoys all kinds of music, especially spiritual, Big Band, Christmas and piano.

She used to play piano for her own enjoyment and credits her musical family with instilling in her a love of music. “A highlight of her life, though, was singing in the choir,” Lontine said. “It brought her great joy.”

—Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.