From Juilliard to Des Moines: Talented Musicians Lead Parish Music

May 19, 2026

By Elizabeth Williams

The Diocese of Des Moines is blessed with talented, accomplished professional musicians, leading and accompanying parish choirs.  Combining their love for music and the sacred liturgy, they have felt a call from God to use their talents to bring others close to God.

But the path has not always been straight.

Dr. Marion Scott, Ph.D., grew up in northern Florida, received his undergraduate degree in piano performance at the famed Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, then went to graduate school at The Juilliard School in New York City. There, he met his wife, Rosa, also a professional pianist. Scott earned his Ph.D. in Miami where he and his wife performed concerts, formed music groups and led church choirs for 13 years.

However, “we got a strong feeling in our hearts that God was calling us to serve in a different place,” Scott said. “So, my wife looked online and saw that St. Augustin’s in Des Moines was looking for a pastoral music director.”

Neither of the two had never been to Iowa before.

“We took a leap of faith and almost four years ago, we moved to Des Moines,” he added. “We felt we could breathe for the first time when we moved here. The community is very strong and the cooperation is great.”

Another diocesan musician Nate Sparks, the music director at Sacred Heart parish in West Des Moines since 2023, also went to The Juilliard School to study music. The native of Runnells, Sparks played trumpet and became involved in the New York City jazz scene. But God used the Covid pandemic to call Sparks back to Des Moines.

“I came back here in 2020, returned to the faith, met my wife and we just had our first child [in May] when God pointed me in this direction,” Sparks said.

Janet Bradford, who is a piano accompanist at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines,  also took a circuitous route to her current vocation.

“I started at age five. My parents and Grandma recognized my musical talent so my dad, an engineer, installed a vacuum cleaner motor in an old pump organ my parents inherited so I could play it,” Bradford said.

Bradford played organ for Mass every Sunday in junior and senior high school in her rural Illinois hometown.

“But when I went off to college to pursue a music degree, I met my now husband, who was Protestant, and played piano and organ at Protestant services for 15 years,” Bradford said. Also during that time, Bradford pursued a double masters in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and was eventually landed at Drake University as a staff accompanist for vocalists and instrumentalists, which honed her collaborative skills.

When Bradford and her family moved to Iowa she longed to be back in the Church. She along with her husband and daughter, joined St. Francis of Assisi parish, where she has been playing ever since.

“I started to understand the Liturgy and music’s role in glorifying God,” Bradford said. “I don’t just play the piano during Mass. I lead from the keys uniting the music with the words praying for the Holy Spirit to transform the souls in the congregation so they worship God in song.”

With decades of experience playing for liturgies, Bradford mentors young musicians who want to get involved in liturgical music.

 “Here I am doing the most perfect job for me that I could ever have, worshipping at the highest level of praise that a human being could ever experience and playing my most favorite instrument and collaborating with others which I enjoy and love,” Bradford said.

All three musicians feel a deep sense of the sacred in their music.

“I always start with what is called for in the liturgy: to closely align the music with the liturgy,” Sparks said.

Scott also said that music and worship intertwine.

“I think it’s important for the director to pray with the choir,” he said. “I believe strongly to begin and end rehearsals in prayer. Our goal is to glorify God.”

Sparks emphasized that the Church gives the faithful clear instruction on music in the liturgy.

“Gregorian chant is called for with pride of place in the novus ordo, with sacred polyphony, hymns and modern sacred music also given mention, and all come under the umbrella of active participation,” he said. “As a music director, I try to revive and incorporate Gregorian Chant and polyphony (an early form of harmony) in proper balance with what our parish is used to, because those former styles belong to a huge treasure trove of music literature dating back to the first millennium which we’re still called to maintain to this day.”

To encourage a deepened appreciation for sacred music in the community, Scott organizes four orchestral choir concerts a year, highlighting great composers and sacred songs rarely heard.

The next concert is Wednesday, June 3, at 7 p.m. at St. Augustin Catholic Church, and will feature J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 78, William Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus (Hail, True Body), and Mendelssohn’s Lauda Sion. The concert is in honor of the feast of Corpus Christi.

Sparks promotes sacred music appreciation by encouraging new sacred music compositions. This past February was the second year for a Sing a New Song concert, which commissioned composers to write new sacred music for the Catholic Church.

“Both Psalms 96 and 98 exhort us to sing a ‘new’ song unto the Lord,” Sparks said. “The treasure trove of beautiful sacred music should continue to grow.”

Bradford said music is so important in developing a faith life.

“If done right, it can help you develop a relationship with Jesus,” Bradford said. “Music helps to animate our God-given gifts.”

Your parish music program

Scott, who directed church music programs for 15 years, encourages parishes to dedicate time, effort, and resources into their parish music program.

He offered this advice on how to improve a parish’s music ministry:

• Enthusiasm is very contagious.
• Lead by faith.
• Be sincere. Meet people where they are. Encourage them.
• Build community. Celebrate birthdays. Have an end-of-the-year party.
• Don’t be afraid to get people outside their comfort zone. Engage choir members in sight-singing. Try something different such as Gregorian chant or polyphony with organ.

There are also resources available for parishes in the Des Moines diocese through the Des Moines chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, which has a Facebook page (NPM Des Moines Chapter).

*Photos of Dr. Marion Scott provided by Dr. Marion Scott, taken by Victoria Bettis, communications director at St. Augustin Catholic Church. Photos of Janet Bradford provided by Phillip Grothus, communications coordinator at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.