The adult choir of First Reformed Church has had a very contemplative and peaceful beginning to Lent, as we continue to explore other genres of repertory, namely, the Italian Renaissance. With Vittoria’s Missa O Quam Gloriosum est Regnum, we filled the halls of the church with the weaving polyphony of a Latin chant, namely, Agnus Dei.
On Mar 14th, the adult choir is going on ‘retreat’ to the Van Wickle House to continue to grow as a ministry. Our special guest is soon-to-be Dr. Mark A. Boyle, the Choir Director at Emanuel Lutheran Church in New Brunswick. He will lead us in a three-hour rehearsal to help us prepare for Holy Week, Easter, and beyond.
As we continue to grow in Love, we are learning that the harmony of music is as mysteriously beautiful and difficult to execute as any of the challenges of all of the ministries of our church.
Tagged as:
choir,
music ministry
During the worship of February 7th, the bell choir played a beautiful piece. It was a bit more challenging than the pieces we have played before. For March 14th, we are working on a new piece with some other new techniques for most players. As a choir we are growing nicely towards more intricate pieces. We also have started to work on a song that we will play during the Easter worship service.
With the short rehearsal time we have, the whole choir is very grateful that every week Norma comes a little bit early so the bells are all out and ready for us to play when we come to the music room. Thank you, Norma, for doing this every week for us!
Tagged as:
bell choir
Thanks to a grant awarded by Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and to a sponsor of the recital series, this spring will be enlivened by four free recitals. We hope you’ll join us at 12:15 on the dates shown below. Think about who to bring with you or who to tell. The music will be a great treat, as will the conversation over lunch following each program. Here’s what is coming:
March 24 Chris Brown Trio, a saxophone, bass, and piano trio performing jazz pieces that Brown and pianist Alex Collins have composed or arranged. Alex Rodriguez is the bassist.
April 14 Cellist Elizabeth Thompson and pianist Phyllis Alpert Lehrer will perform works by Lucas Foss and Samuel Barber in this Barber centenary year.
April 28 Returning performers Li-Chan Chen Maxham and pianist David Iskowitz will be joined by baritone John Maxham in a program of songs by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Quilter, and Romberg.
May 12 Trio21 will perform a varied program of 21st century works ranging from children’s pieces to impressionist musical poems. The group includes flutist Kevin Willois, clarinetist Kenneth Ellison, and pianist Lynda Saponara.
December and January were both very exciting months for music at First Reformed Church . The Advent season was filled with a beautiful variety of music ranging from a rendition of a Bach chorale setting played by John Coakley and the choir, to a romantic illustration of the meaning of Christ’s coming by Gabriel Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine. The adult choir and the bell choir also joined forces for the first time.
Christmas Eve was a magical worship service with a mighty choral presence and the delicate soloing of Lillian Kramer-Mills. The Beemsterboer family played beautifully their violins during Silent Night, and Hartmut Kramer-Mills accompanied us expertly during our Hiram Square Christmas Caroling event before the service.
On Jan 3rd, the Adult Choir led the worship service at the Reformed Church Home. Pastor Samir welcomed us into his house of worship and many, many people were touched by our music, our preaching, and especially Pastor Hartmut’s leadership of the hymns on his horn.
We are glad to welcome two recent new members to the Adult Choir: Allison Weaver and Heather Epstein. May the whole world sing in exultation, always glorifying God’s name.
Ever heard of the saying, “Many hands make light work?” On Saturday, Jan 9th, we proved that it is true. With eleven people around one table, we cleaned three octaves of bells in 30 minutes! Thank you Allison, Susan, Liz, Norma, Ellen, Margaret, Ben, Irina, Sarah and Nicole.
Now that the bells are shiny again, we have started to work on two new music pieces. In addition, we are looking towards Easter for some more music.
Tagged as:
handbells
Because of the anticipated snow storm and accumulation, we feel that it is better to cancel the Chili Cook Off. Especially because many of you live farther away from New Brunswick. We are postponing until Feb. 13 at 6 pm. We are not sure if Dan Epstein’s Jazz Band is able to play, however, that date seems to be the best solution. Hopefully, you all will be able to make that date. By the way we did have 9 or 10 contestants, which is a super number of pots to try. Thanks for your support. And let me just say that there will be Worship and Church School on Sunday morning. Hope to see you!! ~ Pastor Susan
When: February 6th, 2010
At 6:00 PM
Cost: $8.00 Per Person $20.00 Family
-proceeds to go toward the women’s bathroom renovation -
There will be prizes for the 1st, 2nd and, 3rd place
Contestants should bring at least a gallon pot of his or her chili to be judged and eat for free!
Cornbread, Rice, cheese, sour cream, Salad, dessert and water and Lemonade will be provided.
Hot dogs for kids, who don’t like chili
Dan Epstein’s Jazz Band will provide entertainment afterwards (A free will offering can be made in order to defer costs for this)
Tagged as:
chili cook-off,
jazz
So many of you came to me after the service on Dec 13th to tell how much you liked the combined performance of the choir and bell choir. It was a challenge for us, as some of the ringers are not used to have someone starting to sing behind them “all of a sudden”, while others had to work on getting the swing technique right. Some singers had never sung to bell music. Overall, it came together really nice.
Thank you Ben, for finding “Joy in the morning” for all of us!
The next time the bells were used was at Christmas Eve. I hope those of you who got to ring a bell enjoyed doing so.
Now it is time to get all the bells shining again. They are really in need of a good cleaning. So on Jan 9th at 9.30 a.m., we will gather in the Fellowship Hall for this job. It is important that we do this, as it is a major part of the upkeep of our bells. I will make sure that all the supplies are there, so just let me know that you will be helping me with this task.
Tagged as:
handbells
