Diocese of Superior singer Aly Aleigha performs at St. Peter Catholic Church in Cameron, the first stop on her December “Waiting Well” tour inspired by the song she wrote for Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Advent Reflection series with Ascension Press. She is accompanied by Sari Althoff on keyboard and her husband, Peter Aerts, on drums. (Photo Credit: Meredith Gruenes, Crosslake Media)
Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald staff
If, on Christmas morning, there was no snow, no lights, decorations, songs or anything to mark the occasion, “If all we had left was Jesus, would that be enough for us” to celebrate?
This was the question Catholic indie-folk musician Aly Aleigha was tasked with answering when Fr. Mike Schmitz and Ascension Press commissioned her to write a theme song for his “Waiting Well: Advent with Fr. Mike Schmitz” series.
“Waiting Well” took some time, she said, whereas last year’s “Face to Face,” her first commission from her former college chaplain, flowed quickly.
“Every song comes to me differently, but this one made me work for it a bit,” the singer admitted. Fr. Mike shared the recorded reflections so she could allude to his themes in the songs, and she added her own ideas as well.
Leaning into “the jazzy Christmas feel … the song in its final form flowed out,” she said. “Waiting Well” also has the feel of a love story, which is intentional and connected to Aly’s personal life. Her husband proposed to her at Christmastime, and her youngest sister is getting married right after Christmas this year.
“With these events in mind,” she shared, “I crafted this song to apply to Jesus’ birth as well as human relationships.” To her, the line “You’re worth the wait” applies to both a person’s relationship with God and a loved one.
She said the song has become her favorite, “in large part because of all the amazing people who helped me bring it to life,” especially Fr. Mike and Ascension, and all those involved in the recording process.
Given a short timeline, Aly and producer Brett Winters went above and beyond to produce the full song in just one week. She connected with a cellist who had messaged her through Instagram a while back, offering her gifts if strings were ever needed for a project. Julia Jurkiewicz and her triplet sister Alicia Mentzer, a violinist, collaborated with the project long distance.
This prompted the need for choral backup to complete the song. Thanks to Aly’s mom and manager Laura Schissel, calls were made among the parish community at St. Joseph’s in Rice Lake.
Within three days, voices were gathered to record at St. Joseph’s from among family, friends and even Aly’s high school choir teacher, Susan Franco. Other collaborating singers were: Emily Hagen, Genevieve Montgomery, Chantelle Morillo, Bailee Morillo, Jessica Romportl (Aly’s sister, who sang with baby Peter in her arms), Andre Audette, Dennis Flood, Chris Janssen, Mark Nauertz, Marc Rademaker and Patrick Papiernik.
During the concert tour, “Waiting Well” is performed with recorded vocals and strings, live keyboard, drums and Aly on vocals and guitar. A video plays on a screen with lyrics, winter images and spoken vocals from Fr. Mike’s reflection series that complement the musical arrangement.
With ambient low lights, the Cameron concert included remixed versions of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and others.
Also included was an original song of Aly’s, “Solstice,” which she introduced, explaining the pagan history of the solstice celebrations and rituals hoping “to bring back the sun god.” Paralleling Genesis and the first chapter of John’s Gospel, the song recognizes that we wait for Jesus’ light.
The concert ended with optional Eucharistic adoration, something the singer and guitarist often leads with worship music at regional diocesan and parish events.
The platform for Aly’s music has grown in recent years. She has played for a regional Steubenville event, music festivals, Eucharistic conferences as well as exclusive recordings for the Hallow App.
While Aly admits those are “exciting and fun opportunities,” she aims “to be intentional that the Lord has provided platforms like these to share his heart,” not for her own fame and fortune.
“I am blessed that so many of these opportunities include singing for Eucharistic adoration,” the singer said. “Those moments before the Blessed Sacrament are always grounding for me, beautiful reminders that this is all for him and his beloved children.”
She added that, as a worship song leader, “My job is not to showcase my own talents, but rather to guide people along a well-worn path to the Lord’s heart, and then I step out of the way so they can encounter his magnificence.”
Many of her events feature a concert followed by adoration, at which point she literally steps out of the way, maintaining the sanctuary space for the Lord and people “to fix their gaze on Jesus.”
“When people come up to me after an event excited to talk to me, I always try to reveal God’s heart and love for them, because that is really who they are excited to encounter, not me,” she concluded. “He is the vista point they seek.”
