The Spirit of the Lord Is upon Me

Brian Luckner (b. 1959) was appointed director of music and organist at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, Wisconsin in July of 1988. In addition to his full-time position at the Cathedral, he is director of music and organist at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse and director of the La Crosse Diocesan Chorale.

He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and the Master of Music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and the Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He participated in the “Accelerated Bachelor of Music Program for High School Students” at the Cleveland Institute of Music.His organ teachers include Roberta Gary, Garth Peacock, Margaret Irwin-Brandon, and Philip Hodel. He studied harpsichord with William Porter and Lisa Crawford, and choral conducting with Daniel Moe.

His compositions are published by CanticaNova Publications, Mark Foster, GIA Publications, MorningStar, Paraclete Press, and Trinitas.

Prior to his appointment in La Crosse, he was the Assistant in Liturgical Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during the tenure of Leo Nestor. Previous church positions include serving as music director at the Church of the Guardian Angels in Cincinnati, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, and Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin, Ohio. In his youth he held assistant organist positions at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Canton, Ohio, and at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Massillon, Ohio.

Since early 2019, Dr. Luckner has served as Steering Committee Chair of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (United States and Canada), a position he also held from 1997 to 2002.