TIMMERMAN, JO ANN (b. 1947)

 

Composer Jo Ann Timmerman, OP is a Sinsinawa Dominican Sister who prepared for her ministry of teaching and preaching with a B.A. in Music Education from Alverno College (Milwaukee) followed by an M.A. in Theology from Collegeville, Minnesota. She has ministered as liturgist, music director, pastoral minister, and RCIA director in a number of Catholic church communities. Jo Ann completed a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in Pastoral Counseling to enable her to minister more effectively and now works as a psychotherapist in the Denver Metro-area.

 

As a girl growing up in rural Wisconsin, Jo Ann loved music. She played by ear and loved the way it made her feel as she pounded out the notes, making parties happen and rooms spring to life. Admonished by a Sister to take her talents seriously, she began music lessons in earnest and discovered her extraordinary gifts, all the while listening for the whispered and often cryptic instructions from God.

 

Jo Ann entered the convent at age of 20 where the older sisters mentored her. With their encouragement, she plunged into college— music education and liturgical studies. For over 30 years of her vocation, she has brought her trademark of dynamism to parishes, large and small, where she has worked as teacher, youth minister, liturgist and choir director. Music became a vehicle of ritual expression fo her. She strives to write music which speaks to the Spirit that yearns for expression within all.

 

Taste the Fire is an original recording of spiritual songs and liturgical music, all composed by Jo Ann and per- formed by herself and members of a local choir in Denver, Colorado. The music is a lot like Jo Ann, at times powerfully quiet and soulful, at others, explosively vibrant. It is music for the contemporary Christian musician and believer who is at home with the forms and instruments used in the post Vatican II liturgy—the assembly in dialogue with the presider, cantor and choir supported by piano, keyboard, guitar, and optional percussion. (cf. Mass of Forgiveness) It is truly the fruit of contemporary spirituality at its best.