Established July 4, 1926
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Andres Cardona
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Music MinistryI am so honored to be your new Music Director / Organist and so excited of being a part of your parish family,
I was born on December 23, 1970 to Diego and Alicia Cardona at Physicians Hospital in Jackson Heights, New York. Even though I was born in Jackson Heights, I was raised in the Murray Hill section of Flushing, Queens NY. From the very start, I grew up in the parish of Saint Andrew Avellino Church, in Flushing. It was here where I began to develop a passion for sacred organ music. From the time I was born to about the age of 22, the Music Director of Saint Andrew’s was the late, Charles R. Harmon. He served there for an amazing 54 years. Throughout those years, Charlie Harmon was my role model. I was not only inspired by how talented he was but also by how he was able to touch so many thousands of lives throughout his years of service. I always wanted to be like him. He was an amazingly talented organist but most of all, he was as dedicated as they came. He would rarely ever miss a mass and yet he was exceptionally humble. I dreamed of being an organist like him one day.
As a child I attended Edward Hart Primary School in Flushing, Daniel Carter Beard Middle School and culminating with Bayside High School in Bayside, NY. For college, I attended Baruch College for my undergrad years and Saint John’s University in Queens for Graduate School. My field of study was Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing.
My dream of playing the organ finally began to take shape shortly after I graduated High School. In 1991 I met a young lady which soon became my best friend. We were both only children and we saw in each other a sibling. Soon, Elizabeth asked me that whenever she would get engaged, that I should play the organ at her wedding. Sure enough, years later she would get engaged and I had to teach myself how to play. I had no choice. But little did I know this would open up the door to living out my dreams. It took me a year but I successfully taught myself how to play the organ at St. Mary’s Church in Greenwich CT., the church in which I was to play at her wedding mass.
During this time, I met my wife, Danielle. We married and I left New York and moved to New Jersey. As a married couple living in Nutley at the time, it was up to us to find a permanent parish. We decided on Holy Family Church in Nutley. It was there that I introduced myself to the Music Director, Susan Loricchio. Soon after that my wife and I joined the music ministry as choir members. In addition, I would become Susan’s main backup organist. During that time I expanded significantly in my knowledge of Music Ministry.
Finally, in 2012, I was laid off from my corporate job in Manhattan. I began distributing business cards to local churches in the hopes that they would pick me up to act as substitute organist for funerals and weddings here and there. But God had a slightly different plan. That year, I received a call from Fr. Dennis Reiff. I was hired as Music Director at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Nutley.
I began my journey there as Music Director on October 27, 2012 until I stepped down on October 1, 2023 in order to take the position of Music Director right here at Saint James. Prior to this, I was filling in frequently as substitute organist for funerals and weddings right here in the parish. I began to know the parish well and soon I was offered the opportunity of becoming Music Director. From that point I spent months trying to discern God’s will. I knew that if I accepted the position at St. James, as promising as it was, this would mean that I would need to leave Mount Carmel. Honestly, the thought of my leaving Mount Carmel would bring me to tears. After a couple of months of discernment, I was finally convinced the Lord was calling me to Saint James. And so my journey at Mount Carmel finally came to an emotional end. It was so sad for me to leave but I knew God wanted me here. The departure there was fitting and good. Now, I can’t tell you how excited I am to be officially part of the Saint James family. Looking forward to serving you faithfully for years to come. Let the journey begin….
