About Me

Photo courtesy of nighttimebird at deviantart.com

Emily Byrd Starr: 
My name is adopted from the heroine of L.M. Montgomery (famous author of the Anne of Green Gables)'s trilogy, Emily of New Moon. I was far more inclined towards the adventures of this young, dark heroine as a teenager than I was towards Miss Shirley, although she, too, shares a special place in my heart. I fell in love with Emily from Chapter 1 of the first book, as Montgomery describes a girl who seems to seek the heavenly within the creatures of earth. This is a key part of the responsibility of the artist - to see the heavenly, the extraordinary, the beauty of God in the ordinary and to convey it to the world around him.


Although Emily of New Moon has and is one of my favorite books, I have characterized this blog via the title and background with the distinct feeling of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. This has and continues to be one of my favorite film trilogies as well as one of my favorite pieces of literature. Tolkien had a deep understanding of humanity and their secret love for simplicity, sometimes so secret they themselves don't even realize. Tolkien reflected this simplicity particularly in his creatures he called hobbits. I think deep down there is a hobbit spirit  in each of us. I especially claim this name to myself, as there is nothing I like better than friendship coinciding with good food, good drink, good music, and all of the comforts of a rural country home. I was born and raised with a love for good, tilled earth, things that grow, food, family, and good company.

But I am first and foremost a Catholic, heart, mind, body and soul, a defender of Catholicism and a pursuer of all that is true, good, and beautiful. St. Catherine of Siena said, "If you are who you should be, you will set the world on fire." God has called me to serve Him through music - particularly in the divine liturgy - to help heal the souls  just as a physician heals the body. As a wise man once told me, music isn't just "pretty stuff, but a matter of life and death." A bit much, you might say? I disagree. True beauty has the ability to sooth and heal the soul. Just as a doctor is charged with healing the body, the artist is charged with healing the soul through the creation of beauty. Beauty also helps awaken the heart to the truth. Truth speaks to the mind, but beauty speaks to the heart, thus they must be presented together, especially in the liturgy. As the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI once said, "I think that the great music born within the Church is an audible and perceptible rendering of the truth of our faith. In listening to sacred music -suddenly we feel: it is true!" For this reason, it is my responsibility to perfect my talents as a musician, not for myself, but for what I can give to others through my music. Thus do I hope to bring about the salvation of souls for His honor and glory.