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Marcy Weckler Barr is a Chicagoland native, raised in Morton Grove.  She began her liturgical music ministry in the early days of Vatican II, at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette.  She received degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and later studied as a post graduate at Northwestern University, also in voice performance.  She began to compose for liturgy in 1975, but did not "hit her stride" until the early 90's.

In addition to being a musician for liturgy and a full-time music director for 35 years, she has been a free lance solo and choral musician, singing for Chicago Opera Works, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Music of the Baroque, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, and Light Opera Works, Evanston.  She has sung in other churches and synagogues as a professional chorister and soloist.

Mother of Dan and Emma, grandmother of Daniel, she is currently he music director at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Palatine, IL.  She is  frequent substitute musician for other area parishes when available.

She is a member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the North American Composers Forum (St. Louis), and the Vicariate I Music Liturgy network (Archdiocese of Chicago).  She has also worked with the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House (Archdiocese of Chicago) , and the Lay Ministry Formation Program: Called and Gifted (Archdiocese of Chicago).  She has taught in the Cantor Schools offered by the Office for Divine Worship (Archdiocese of Chicago)and given a workshop on use of MIDI instruments in liturgy (Archdiocese of Milwaukee).

She has produced a number of CD's: on her own (Road to Emmaus), for her parish (Christmas at St. Thomas, Gentle Woman: Songs of Mary, On that Blessed Night) and with her husband Tony Barr (You Are for Me, Light Eternal, Where Might We Find You?).

With World Library Publications, she has published Yours Are the Words, a collection of psalms for advanced cantor and assembly, and octavos Quodlibet: Were You There/Amazing Grace, I Lift My Soul (Psalm 25), God Mounts His Throne (Psalm 47), Our Blessing Cup (Psalm 116), In the Arms of the Shepherd (Psalm 23) , and Song of Farewell (for Holy Thursday and Easter season).