Come Sing In One of Our Choirs!

In his book “Let the People Sing,” David Cherwien describes the climate we should strive to create for congregational singing as “true hospitality in which there is absence of fear of judgment; true, simple and natural communal expression in song.”

One of the ways the church helps create this is environment is by having a group of individuals dedicated to learning, rehearsing, and leading the song – the choir! The primary mission of this trained group of singers is to nurture our most important choir – the assembly!

If you have been considering a role in musical leadership, there are two ways to participate.

A small ensemble leads the singing at our 8:30 service. They meet at 8:00 on Sunday morning in the music suite to rehearse the hymns, service music, and to learn a short piece for the musical offering. We need more voices in this group! If you can read music, that will be a big help, but it isn’t required. See Tony Cruz for more information, or simply show up on Sunday morning, ready to sing!

The Festival Choir sings at the 11:00 service. They rehearse hymns and service music, but also spend time on music that is designed to be sung by a trained choir. In the words of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians Worship Statement: Simple congregational song and music of the highest artistic achievement join together in praise of God and in the proclamation of the Word. This dialogue has long been an important aspect of worship at St. Mark’s. The Festival Choir rehearses in the music suite on Wednesday evening at 7:40, and again on Sunday morning at 10:30. The ability to read music is helpful, but not required. See Tony Cruz or any choir member for more information.

Please join us in one of our choirs!

Photo credit: Bill Daugherty

When Bad Things Happen to Good Organs

It's the call no organist wants to receive in the middle of the night - or in the middle of the day as I did!

"Tony, they've dropped something on the organ and one of the keys broke off."

Naturally, I couldn't stay away. I was at church within a couple of hours where I found a key glued back in place, and not too badly I might add. BUT, two of the WHITE keys in the MIDDLE of the keyboard REFUSED TO SING!

The first person I called was our organ technician, Dave Klug. Dave promised to come on Monday to see what needed to be done. It wasn't that big an issue, really. The weight of the object that fell had cause the contact points beneath the two keys to move so that when a key was played, there was no signal to open the pipe. Easily fixed.

So we had one service played completely on the piano. No big deal and lots of people enjoyed hearing more piano. I could have used another week on that Rheinberger prelude anyway.

Maybe this isn't such a great story, but I really wanted an excuse to post this really picture. The manuals (keyboards) are folded up and back so that the technician has access to what he needs. It's a neat photo - but let's hope we don't have to see it again!

Oh, the answers to your questions. 1. No, the organ does not have a roll-top cover. 2. No, I don't know why.

River City Men's Chorus Encore Performance! August 27th at 8 PM

My name is Tony and I’m a Facebook addict. (Hi Tony!) Well, maybe not an addict, but I do spend a lot of time there and I’ve seen some really interesting things – not the least of which was an invitation to join a men’s choir. I wouldn’t have thought to start a choir on Facebook, but R. Wayne Bailey, Choral Director and Professor at Florida State College Jacksonville, did - and with some pretty stunning results.

The River City Men’s Chorus started as a 6-8 week commitment of rehearsals followed by a single concert. I sang in the Duval County All-City Chorus under Mr. Bailey a very long time ago (1980!) and had always hoped there would be another opportunity, so I said “yes.”

To make it even better, the concert would be a benefit for In The Pink, a non-profit salon/boutique that caters to women living with cancer. You can read more about their work at www.jaxinthepink.com.

The concert featured a choir of about 30 men singing a wide range of musical styles including classical, spiritual and gospel – something for everyone to enjoy. The concert also included performances by other Jacksonville area musicians.

This successful benefit raised over $1,700.00. It was so successful (and so much fun!) that we’re doing it again! See a repeat performance on Friday, August 27th at St. Paul’s by the Sea Episcopal Church (465 11th Ave N in Jacksonville Beach). The concert starts at 8:00 PM and I hope to see you there!