Despite International Win, St. Matthew’s Music Minister Retains Focus on Sacred Calling

When the Rev. Dr. Rob Strenth, rector at St. Matthew’s, Orlando, and his senior warden were interviewing candidates earlier this year for a music minister position, they didn’t have “internationally acclaimed” on their list of desired qualifications. But that descriptor perfectly fits Mr. Raphael Fernandez, who began his ministry at the church on March 2. Fernandez was notified this summer of his first-prize finish for vocal performance in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition. He traveled to Salzburg, Austria, to receive his award – which included a certificate and sculpted medal – and sing in a July 17 concert at the Mozarteum University’s Solitär concert hall.

But the award, significant as it is, is not what impresses Strenth most about his minister of music. The selection process that resulted in Fernandez’s hiring revealed that “Raphael just really had everything we were looking for,” the rector said. “He plays piano, organ and cello, but what was really important to me was that he can play sacred music as well as Mozart and Bach. There is a passion and other-worldliness that comes through with his playing that really elevates our worship, which is really what I was looking for.”

“St. Matthew’s is a smaller church,” he added. “We’re growing, but we’re not a cathedral. … I was looking for someone who could work within the confines of a small church and a very small choir to elevate them and elevate the worship experience. And that’s what he has been able to do.”

Fernandez, who has a bachelor’s in music from Rollins College and a master’s in sacred music from Notre Dame University, sees his faith as a vital component of his music. “I first heard the call to music ministry as a child,” he said. “I began playing and singing as a little boy, at first as a sort of neurodivergence therapy – then my love for it actually developed over time.”

He decided to enter the Grand Prize Virtuoso competition, which seeks to encourage young artists, after learning about it on social media. He gives the Holy Spirit credit for showing him which video to submit for the judges’ review. It came from his days at Notre Dame, when he was cast in the role of Masetto in a production of Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.”

Still, he had no expectations of receiving any accolades. “I just thought I would put my name out there,” he said. “What could go wrong? What harm could it do? – just go for it! Then I woke up one morning, and all of a sudden, lo and behold, I received an email saying I was selected as first prize winner and selected to perform in Salzburg. I couldn’t believe it.”

The win holds particular significance for him because of the judges’ varied background and credentials. “They come from different countries,” he explained. “Some are faculty from academia; others are successful concert artists.”

He saw the winners’ concert as yet another opportunity to “impress and praise God,” he said. He performed Brahm’s “Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs),” which features biblical texts, and described the entire experience as “amazing.”

Despite his pride and delight in Fernandez’s win, Strenth remains most grateful for the spiritual element the music minister brings to his role. “In my interaction with him since hiring him, I’ve seen that there is a really deep spiritual component to him. … He’s writing a piece for ‘The Magnificat,’ because that’s part of the new stewardship campaign for this year, and he volunteered to write the music to go with the text we have.

“I’m doing the sacraments; I’m going to do the sermon, but the music elevates all this, and it takes people to a different place than what I’m necessarily going to give them through the sermon,” Strenth said. “It’s a great way to get them into worship and to get them prepared to come to the [Eucharist] table. And so that’s really important.

“Raphael is playing things that I have not heard in years – in some cases, that I’ve never heard,” he continued. “And so there’s a good variety of hymns and such, but there’s more than that too. … He works well with the kids. He’s starting up a youth choir, and he works well with our adults who are in choir. When we pass the peace, he gets up and walks through the congregation, sharing the peace, talking to people and eliciting their feedback. He really gets involved with the people.”

Fernandez is equally delighted with the privilege of serving at the church. “What I truly love about Saint Matthew’s is the collaborative culture, the authentic leadership,” he said. “My goal is to convey a spirit of gratitude whenever we sing or play an instrument, also to facilitate the spiritual growth of those who participate in worship, along with people and their individual talents.”

And his vision extends beyond the church itself. “I had an epiphany on what I would like, and I envisioned pioneering a diocesan-wide children’s or adult choir,” he said.

After Fernandez won the Grand Prize Virtuoso award, there was some concern among parishioners that he might leave for a larger church, Strenth said. As a result, he encouraged the music minister to reassure their congregation of his desire to stay in the parish. “He worked at a really large church prior to coming to ours,” the rector said. “So he has already had that big-church experience and was looking for something more intimate, to work with people and to minister to them, versus something really large.”

Although he is active in the Central Florida music community and has many opportunities to perform, “God has placed me at St. Matthew’s,” Fernandez said. “I answered his call, and it’s definitely my call – essentially a duty – to bring others closer to him through music.”