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Adult Music Program
Chancel Choir The adult Chancel Choir is the musical backbone for leading sanctuary worship services. Composed of approximately thirty volunteers, the choir sings nearly every Sunday between Labor Day and mid-June with rehearsals held every Thursday from 7:30-9:00pm. The choir's repertoire has a broad range from Renaissance Latin motels and traditional anthems in English to spirituals, music of modern composers, and occasional pieces from non-Western cultures. Although its primary purpose is to lead the congregation musically in worship, the choir also sings from time to time outside of worship at special events such as concerts with orchestra. Madrigal dinners and even a Victorian Christmas "murder mystery" dinner have given choir members the chance to kick up their heels with secular music styles. No auditions are needed for membership in the choir. (Church membership is not a requirement either) Although some singers are excellent music readers, others are not. Consistent attendance at rehearsals and Sunday sanctuary worship is necessary, for the choir sings a large amount of music in one church year. During summer months when there are no Thursday rehearsals, a summer choir meets at 10:00 Sunday mornings to rehearse anthems which are normally easier than our regular fare. Summer choir tends to consist of a smaller number of Chancel Choir members and its membership changes weekly according to people's summer schedules. Chancel Choir members are among the church's most faithful individuals, and their contribution to weekly worship involves more lay members in an ongoing ministry than any other activity in the church. The choir is there for their church, and they are there for each other. The choir is always happy to welcome new people ( of any musical experience level) to its ranks. People interested in joining should see David Tovey after Sunday worship or contact him at Tovey.2@osu.edu.
(Click on picture to view full-sized image)
Wesley Ringers Adult Handbell Choir
The Wesley Ringers Handbell Choir consists of 12-14 ringers playing a variety of music with five octaves of bells and chimes. The Choir practices each Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30pm, from Labor Day through early June. In addition to monthly worship participation in the 10:45 sanctuary service, the choir has performed programs for numerous community functions. Anyone interested in joining the choir should contact Mary Kepple at 397-4420 or jkepple@ecr.net . No previous bell-ringing experience is required, although it is helpful to have some experience reading music.
History of Church Organ Our church’s first pipe organ appears to have been installed in 1886 --- predating this entire building. It was built by the Felgemaker Company of Erie, Pennsylvania. Felgemaker was a very successful firm in its time. My home church in Oswego, New York also had a Felgemaker instrument when I was a child. It was built in the same decade, I believe, and I grew up playing it, since my mother was our church organist for 30 years. In the 1920s, Gay Street Church erected the edifice in which we are now located, and in 1927, the Felgemaker organ was replaced by a much larger instrument installed by the Holtkamp Company of Cleveland. A few pipes from the 1886 organ were included in the new instrument, and for its time, the new console was especially celebrated. (Last year the Holtkamp firm included a small picture of it in an ad for The American Organist magazine. It was a retrospective look at some of the installations Holtkamp had made through the 20th century.) That console served the church for nearly 80 years. (The life span of a typical heavily-used console is usually closer to 50.) But during that time, tastes in organ music and pipe organ design changed drastically in America. By the 1970s, the Holtkamp instrument was seen as dated and outmoded. In 1978, the organ was given a major rebuild by the Bunn=Minnick Company of Columbus. Although the entire tonal design of the organ was drastically altered and the number of pipes greatly expanded, the CONSOLE, significantly, was retained. In 1993, a second project was undertaken by the same company. The 1927 console was AGAIN retained, although numerous repairs were made to it. By the time I arrived in 1998, the console was already proving itself to be unreliable. Its keybeds were warped from generations of use (and temperature changes). There were various dead notes and notes which sounded when they had not been played. We even had stop knobs which flew out of the console while I was playing. RELUCTANTLY, I told our board of trustees that despite our 1993 upgrading project, we had another major problem with the organ. They accepted my suggestion that we ask the Muller Organ Company of Croton to investigate. Now, several years later, we have a magnificent console. It is a beautiful piece of furniture --- matching the oak in the choir gallery perfectly. It is state of the art, well, following American Guild of Organists specifications, which have been standard for organs built in this country since the 1930s. This console should serve this congregation well for decades to come. David Tovey
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