My name is Nicholas Renkosik. I am 16 yrs. old and live in Wonder Lake. I am a sophomore in high school. I have played the piano for 11 yrs. and the organ for 3 yrs.
I am thoroughly delighted to start accompanying Masses here at St. John’s twice a month: one 4:00 Mass on Saturday and one Friday morning Mass. I currently play piano and organ for two other parishes on Sundays; St. Mary’s in Woodstock (my parish) and St. Patrick’s in Hartland.
My inspiration for serving the Lord goes back about ten years. My family and I were part of St. Thomas the Apostle in Crystal Lake and we would routinely attend the 10:30 morning Mass on Sunday. We always chose a pew near the piano and organ console. I remember admiring the pianists and organists who would play hymns beautifully weekend after weekend.
Later in time, after we moved to Wonder Lake and music lessons, I finally decided to sign up to become an accompanist at my parish. I have been serving my parish for about a year now.
Other genres of music I enjoy playing, aside from sacred and liturgical, include classical, early jazz, ragtime, and silent film scores and selections.
Among my hobbies are collecting antiques, specifically clocks, antique sheet music, early phonograph records, typewriters and so on.
I am most pleased to become a part of the Music Ministry at St. John’s and I look forward to meeting many of you in the next weeks.