Dr. Stephen Schnurr got his first church job when he was still a student in high school in Louisville, Kentucky. Then he went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Duke University in North Carolina. His graduate work was done at Yale University in Connecticut. In 1990, he interviewed for the role of music director at St. Paul Catholic Church in Valparaiso. September of this year will officially make it 34 years since he started his latest church job.
Music has never been foreign to Schnurr. He first started music when he began taking piano lessons in the first grade, and organ lessons started for him once he made it to the sixth grade. By the time he was in high school, he received several calls from local churches and schools, each place inquiring about whether he could play for them. Practically from the get-go, music—particularly church music—was something he knew would be a part of his life long-term.
“My opportunity to have started on this path before I even got my driver’s license and to work within various communities opened the door right away to the realization that I could provide an opportunity for people to enrich their lives. The hands-on experience drives my desire to continue to expand on that,” he said.
Though no longer a stranger to the Region, Schnurr does not hail from the area. He moved here from Connecticut at the beginning of the ’90s. He now resides in the Miller Beach neighborhood of Gary. While he lives and works in separate places, he considers himself a member of the Northwest Indiana community as a whole, noticing throughout the years how it stands apart when compared to the regions in which he previously lived.
“Northwest Indiana’s been a place where I’ve invested my time, and I’ve enjoyed watching all the aspects of this community interact and benefit everybody. I feel that this has been a place that I’ve always been proud to be associated with and want to continue to be involved with,” he said.
The church community of St. Paul is one of the main things that keeps Schnurr attached to Northwest Indiana. To him, its uniqueness doesn’t merely lie in the music programs offered to parishioners every Sunday; it’s also apparent in things such as the St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center, a place founded by the parish in 1997. Schnurr, then, has been in an open-minded environment since his arrival in this part of Indiana. His journey through this environment has helped him to recognize the thoughtfulness abundant so nearby.
At work, Schnurr leads four of the six masses held at the church each weekend, so he’s constantly kept occupied. From September through early June, his weekends are packed with performances prepared for during the week. Those hours spent rehearsing Monday through Friday aren’t with one group. Instead, he directs multiple choirs, the music coming from the vocals of folks old and young, as he conducts an adult choir and two young people’s choirs.
Schnurr has been serving for just over three decades at this point, so he’s gotten to know many people throughout his time directing. Most of the traditions he established way back when he began still remain to this day, like the annual trip to a destination in the Midwest he takes with his younger group. Some former members of his children’s choirs from the ’90s have even invited him to play for their weddings, which has allowed him to actually form bonds with people who were once there only to learn under his tutelage.
“As it turns out, you get to know families within the congregation because you’re there for quite a bit of their lives. I’ve played for their first communions and funerals, providing a service to the families, and I’ve been very lucky to do that,” he said. “I’ve also traveled with numerous groups of students, and I think that’s helped to give them an opportunity to develop close friendships, to have quality time together, and to represent the community as they sing elsewhere.”
During the summers, Schnurr regularly passes the time planning for what he calls the choir year. He’ll read books as well, and he enjoys getting exercise by walking outside. He routinely attends external concerts and recitals, learning more for himself by listening to others. When he travels, he enjoys going between Indiana and Kentucky, visiting family members who are still present in his home state. Besides all that, two Yorkshire Terriers belonging to one of his good friends take up much of his time, acting to them as a grandfather of sorts.
For Schnurr, life has always been about those he serves, whether inside or outside of the church. His purpose is dictated by this urge to positively touch the lives of regular churchgoers and occasional attendees alike.
“Helping the people who attend here is very important to me, no matter if they’re members or visitors. My work helps them to center their life around prayer, and it helps to take their worship on the weekend to a higher level. That’s the goal,” he said.