ROYALTON, Minn. — When we share God’s grace through music, we turn hearts and eyes toward him. That’s the vision behind “Grace Keys,” a new musical ministry founded by three young sisters, with the help of their mom.
Clarissa, 11, Crystal, 10 and Claire Fussy, 7, work with their mom, Edith, to prepare and present prayerful, piano-led programs centered on sacred themes.
“I always knew that music was going to be a part of their journey,” said Edith, who homeschools the girls. “The Lord has clearly gifted them with the ability to play piano, and we wanted to find a way to give it back to the community.”
To launch their ministry, the girls have developed “The Passion of Christ,” a Lenten meditation on the Stations of the Cross. The program combines Scripture, reflection and music to draw participants into Christ’s passion. They want to invite pastors and parish leaders to consider hosting it.
The Grace Keys website — www.grace-keys.com — describes the program as “a reflective complement to the traditional devotion, incorporating brief spoken reflection, moments of silence and reflection and selected piano masterworks to support prayer and contemplation.”
Edith and her husband, Michael, decided early on that their children would experience music as part of their homeschool program but didn’t know exactly what that would look like.
So, to start their musical education, they turned to the St. Francis Music Center in Little Falls and enrolled their two oldest daughters in piano lessons. The family already had a connection to the Franciscan sisters since Michael had two aunts who were Franciscan sisters.
The family attends Holy Trinity Parish in Royalton and also often attend Mass with the sisters in Little Falls.
“I am deeply grateful that the girls have holy women to look up to,” Edith told The Central Minnesota Catholic, the news outlet of the Diocese of St. Cloud. “An added blessing is knowing that the sisters pray for the children.”
She said she believes the sisters truly enjoy watching them grow, and with the birth of the couple’s son, Michael, a year ago, that shared affection has only deepened and has been “a quiet but meaningful gift to our family.”
After working with instructors online during and after the COVID pandemic, the family decided to take a break from lessons to determine whether the girls wanted to experience music as a hobby or pursue it more seriously. It was during that time that Clarissa, the oldest, said she would like to try to play an entire Mass.
The family was regularly attending Mass with the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, so Edith contacted the liturgist there, Lori Helland. She suggested starting with one sacred piece and working up from there.
“She’s really been essential in helping move (the girls) along,” Edith said.
Clarissa decided on the hymn “Ave Maria,” and with Lori’s coaching and help from some YouTube videos, she played the piece during a Mass at the convent.
“There were a lot of things that went right for her in the sense that it triggered something in her,” Edith said. “She said, ‘I really enjoy performing and I really like doing this for the Lord and I really want to do a Mass.’ So, at that point we thought, ‘OK, if you really want to do this and you want to do a Mass, let’s get you a really good teacher.'”
They started working online with Yuking Chou Brandenburgh from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
“Not everybody can teach online,” Edith said. “You really have to be a gifted teacher.”
Clarissa started working with her and completed six months of intense training. She started at an early intermediate level and progressed so much that by the end of the year, she participated in an international competition and placed second, Edith said. She has since competed in several international competitions, placing first or second.
Claire, the youngest sister, motivated by Clarissa’s success, started working with Brandenburgh, and Crystal recently earned a second place in her first international competition.
But the competitions are not the point, Edith said.
“We’ve always told the kids that this is a gift from God, and it’s got to be used for his glory,” she said. “So, how do we serve the Lord through this gift?”
Last October, the girls performed their first program for the Franciscan Sisters. After the performance, which was a lot of work to prepare for, Edith asked them if they would like to take it easy for a while to recover. The girls all said no — they didn’t want to slow down.
That’s when the idea for creating something around the 14 Stations of the Cross came up.
“We started finding music, classical music that matches each of the stations,” Edith said. “We tried to find pieces that would fit the station but also fit the skill of the child.”
Clarissa carries seven of the stations, including the 11th station, Crystal does five and Claire has three stations. Each one consists of a meditation, written by Edith, a moment of reflection and then the piano piece, “as an additional vehicle for further discussion with the Lord,” Edith added.
As of this semester, all three girls study with Brandenburgh twice a week, Edith said, and their training will remain rigorous and highly focused, as they have plans to prepare and present additional programs throughout the year.
“I have been truly amazed to see what God has been doing with Clarissa and now the other children,” Edith said. “Because grace is a gift from God our desire was to share his grace through music.”
