Church Choirs

Church musicians singing, February 5, 2012

The Choral Arts Foundation brought together choir directors and organists from 11 Upper Valley churches on February 5 to discuss ways in which CAFUV and the church musicians could work together to address the needs of the individual church communities. Musicians from two churches announced events of interest to all church musicians.

Gerald Weale, Music Director of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover, is presenting a workshop, “Choral Conducting from the Console” on March 11 at 4 p.m. at St. Thomas Church. The workshop is sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and is free to all who wish to attend. For information, contact Dr. Weale <gweale@aol.com>.
Jennifer Yocom and Abbe Murphy, of the Lyme Congregational Church, are coordinating a Choir Festival to be held at the Lyme Church on April 29 from 3 to 8:30 p.m. All churches in the Upper Valley are invited to participate. Choir directors who would like to bring their choirs should contact Abbe Murphy <Abigail.Murphy@valley.net>. Details about the festival are on the Lyme Church web page.

Other ideas that the group would like to pursue in the future include offering basic skills workshops for choir members who want to learn (or brush up on) sight reading skills; scheduling regular meetings to give church musicians the opportunity to share and read through new anthems; creating opportunities for younger singers; working with the New Hampshire and Vermont chapters of the American Guild of Organists to develop workshop possibilities; and sponsoring a representative to attend a national conference. CAFUV is planning to extend the current web site to create space for church musicians to ask questions, make comments, and to point to resources.

Church of Christ at Dartmouth College Choir

First Congregational Church of Thetford, Vermont

Lyme Congregational Church Adult Choir

Our Savior Lutheran Church Choir

St. James Evensong Choir