Munificent is a lay apostolate devoted to publishing works of contemporary Catholic Artists. The label is centered in a spirit of generosity, doing something great for God. "Man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself." Gaudiem et Spes 22

Original contemporary music with aesthetics based on purity and simplicity.

For Mary Queen of Heaven

"And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God: Psalm 40

ASCAP Munificent Expressions

The Founding of Munificent

Since the age of 15 music has been a part of my life. In my younger years I played in bars and clubs and for teen dances and enjoyed the band scene. As my interest in music deepened I explored the serious side of music and was able to perform symphonic music, chamber music and in jazz bands and trios. My performing led naturally to teaching music and I developed a teaching practice that eventually led to helping found McNally Smith College of Music.

The professional side of life is a vibrant part of us, but the core is our vocation to our family. As our sons grew up and to our surprise were called to religious life, our faith in God's plan for each person deepened in ways in which my wife and I had not expected. Now as parents of religious we drew even closer to the mission of the Catholic Church and our role as laity. After personal spiritual direction with priests from the Legion of Christ, I felt called to begin a personal apostolate. This over time led to the founding of Munificent.

I have always enjoyed building things with others and I invited my talented cousin Dan to join me in this new venture. We both have had a passion for music from our early years and we desire to work with Catholic Artists who are interested in giving witness to the faith that nurtures them in their art. This does not mean that we are interested in religious music per se, but rather in the artists themselves and helping them bring out their best in their art. Sometimes this means bringing their art to market and other times just through encouragement and coaching.

I prayed about the right name for this apostolate and tried out several. Then at a Regnum Christi retreat I heard a talk about the generosity of God and how we as people need to grow in appreciation for God's goodness, which we often take for granted. Instead we can focus on growing in the virtue of generosity. A generous heart is the foundational response of answering the Lord's vocational call. I contemplated how much generosity is involved in the arts. "Man can truly discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself" (Gaudiem et Spes 22) As artists discover their true self they learn to give generously from deep within their souls. This mirroring of God's generosity by the artist led me to choose the name Munificent for this apostolate. We are all striving as artists to do something great for God.

As a record label we are searching for the new sounds of Catholic art coming from each artist. We look for music that has the qualities of innocence, purity, simplicity and beauty that radiate some new expressions of love of life and family. We are not interested in major productions, earthiness or the constant mix of tensions that is so much a part of the cultural ferment of today. We hope to seek out the artist and see what gems we can come up with to share with the culture. In this little way we hope to participate in the building of the City of God among us.

Musical tastes vary greatly and we appreciate variety. As a small independent label we choose those things that interest us and hope they will interest others as well. Good art takes time to develop. We hope to start as a small seed and as we mature contribute something of lasting value.

In Christ,

Doug Smith

Munificent Studios

Overlooking Big Marine Lake in Marine on the St. Croix, MN we have a small cottage that serves as the center of our operations. Here music is composed with one of many acoustic guitars and arranged on a keyboard. We can look out at the beauty of nature and watch the squirrels play. There are four kinds, black, grey, red, and a white albino. The loons sing outside, and we have had visits by coyotes and other beasts of the wild.

On a nice day we can take out my canoe or go fishing in a fishing boat. We also have biking and walking paths that are close by. We can get in the rhythm of things that are outside of the hubbub of the daily commercial world and begin with contemplating the Word of God and God's creation. When inspiration strikes we begin by wood shedding the melodies until we arrive at just the right tune. Then we write the melody out on manuscript the old fashioned way with pen and pencil.

The hard wood floors of the studio are great for acoustics. The instruments sound live and deep. One brick wall helps as well. The windows allow us to see the woods and the lake as we play. There is one unique feature in the cottage. We have a real musical stairs. The stairs go up into the ceiling when not in use and come down when we need it. This helps keep the lake view clear and provide extra rehearsal space. On the side of the stairs is the music notation for the Christmas Gloria. Upstairs are all of the CD's we stock, and a nice over hang deck with another great view of the lakeshore and countryside.

The studios are used for rehearsals, composing, teaching, arranging and the creative side of music. For this it takes a contemplative atmosphere where silence reigns supreme except when music is made. When it is time to record we make the proper arrangements for the type of recording needed. There are many recording studios available and great engineers to work with in the Minneapolis St. Paul metro area.