Music Notes

December is a month in which many warm feelings are exchanged. People give and receive gifts, gather together as a family, and spend time remembering the birth of Christ. It is a wonderful season for us to contemplate God’s gift to us in Jesus, and the breadth and lengths to which He was willing to go to redeem us and show us His love.
But even before Christmas comes, there is another season that can give us much hope – Advent. Often overlooked and rushed through to get to Christmas, it is a wonderful time to look back at God’s faithfulness to His promises. It has really come to be my favorite season of the year. We will hear in our scripture readings and in the music this season of how God foretold through prophets of long ago about the coming Messiah. He would be born to save His people and redeem them from their sins. Advent shows us that God is faithful – even though people waited for hundreds, and even thousands of years for Jesus to come, God sent him at just the right time.
But in addition to this, Advent points us to the future as well, as Jesus promised that He will one day return. We can rest in the knowledge that God was faithful in his first promise to send His Son as we await Jesus’ coming again. But at that time, Scripture tells us that old things will pass away, and a new Heaven and Earth will be established, where we will be with God, and He with us. What a wonderful hope. The choir will sing about this in December, with their anthem, “E’en So Lord Jesus, Quickly Come,” which speaks of a present darkness in the world that will end when we are with Jesus, and we will need no lamp or sun, for He will be our Light.
As we enter into this season of Advent and Christmas, remembering God’s fulfilled promise in sending the Messiah, may we not forget to have hope for the future. We can trust that He will one day come again, and all things will be restored.

October was a wonderful month for music at SUMC. The Children’s Choir sang wonderfully on the 7th, the bells and chimes did an excellent job on the 14th, and the Last Psalm is scheduled for the 28th. In addition to this, the Chancel Choir has sounded great! Many thanks go to Pam Mayo and Hurst Bartley for their creativity and initiative in setting up microphones for the Chancel Choir. It has truly enhanced the sound of the choir, and has made it much easier for them to be heard in the congregation.
As we enter into a season of giving thanks, I am reminded of the many things for which we can be thankful. Not only for provisions that meet our daily needs, but for the opportunity we have to be in relationship with God. The Lord has provided a way for us to come to Him, in spite of our errors and imperfections. It is because of this that we give thanks, and it is from this that worship flows. Worship is an active response. We love because He first loved us, and we worship God, because it was He who sought us out. We are able to respond by worshipping in song, in praise, and in prayers of thanksgiving because of what He has done for us – because He has taken our penalty. God is truly worthy of our thanks. May we be reminded of this during this season, and may our hearts and lives respond to Him in worship.

It has truly been a blessing to begin working with all of the music groups at Sewickley Unite Methodist Church. During October, you will have opportunity to hear all of them during Sunday morning worship services, with the Children’s Choir singing on the 7th, the Last Psalm leading worship on the 28th, and the Chancel Choir singing throughout the month.
It is wonderful to see the excitement and enthusiasm with which the children come to sing. Sandra Lane does a great job of focusing their high level of energy into what they are singing, as they begin to learn from a young age about what it means to worship God. The Last Psalm has been great to work with, and it is so exciting to see people willing to use the talents with which God has blessed them to benefit the larger congregation in worship. The Chancel Choir has continued to sound better every week, and I enjoy working with them greatly, as they have made me feel very welcome at SUMC.
Often, when I think of music and how it can lift the spirits and bring joy to our hearts, I am reminded of the picture of Heaven that is painted in Revelation. There, John reveals that people from every nation and language will be present, singing the praises of God together in a magnificent, loud voice. It is truly a wonderful, holy scene. What a privilege we have to begin that worship now, while we are here on earth! Our praises, though small in comparison to what we will experience in Heaven, bring joy to the ears of the Lord no matter where we are. May we continually worship Him with our lives, as we prepare to join that crowd and worship Him face to face one day.

It has been a pleasure to worship with you over the past few weeks. I have certainly received a warm welcome, and I have been encouraged by your kind words and support. With Fall upon us, I am excited to begin working with the choirs and the Last Psalm. God has given us a gift in music, and it is good to see that there are so many who are using it for His glory at SUMC. As we enter into this new season, though, let us remember that singing and music is only one aspect of worship. Romans 12:1 tells us, “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” So we are called not only to worship together in singing and rejoicing, but in every aspect of our lives, as we offer ourselves for the Lord’s service. May we sing and make music in our hearts to the Lord as we share His light with the world.

It seems that 21 years have virtually flown by. They have been very good years in every way. What started as a job with two choirs (Chancel and Youth) became, as my organist colleagues like to put it, that “little church with the big music program.” And why shouldn’t this church have had every opportunity available to make music for God? I consider a church Director of Music position as a vocation—we are a special breed of musicians, I think. We do not necessarily do our “job” for the salary. We do it to bring a congregation closer to God through our music. We do it for the love of worship in a liturgical space.

If I saw a need in the music programs, or an opening to begin something fresh, I considered it a sign that more could be done! Over the years, besides Chancel Choir and Youth Choir, we have had a Teen Ensemble, Wesley Chorale, Young Adults Choir, Handchime Choir, Handbell Choir, FAYM, and the praise choir which started as The Fifth Sunday, and is now called The Last Psalm.

We began a tradition of the 3rd Sunday of Advent Children’s Christmas Musical. The Teen Ensemble or Wesley Chorale always did a Spring musical. Music Among Friends was begun and ran for three years. Youth Choir sang “Jesus Loves Me” in a different language every year! Chancel Choir has sung wonderful Lenten cantatas over the years, and we began the tradition of the 30-minute concert of Christmas music on Christmas Eve…..some years even combining three choirs for some of those memorable anthems!

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the River City Brass have performed here. Chatham Baroque began using our space for their Friday night concerts, which has been a generous outreach and great publicity for the church. FAYM has performed all over the place from Coraopolis to the Carnegie Science Center. What a great advertisement for this church’s vision. And I cannot even begin to guess how many kids (and adults) have learned to play the piano in that choir room!!!

We have heard many soloists and instrumentalists here in my tenure, and since accompanying is the most important thing that a church musician does, and there is so much talent that can be used to the glory of God’s name, I have enjoyed that aspect of my job here so much, and have worked with remarkable people. I hope that this particular type of “special music” will continue with my replacement.

I have had incredible support and help from many talented and dedicated volunteers and members, specifically Judy Stein (Youth Choir), Judy Hetzell (Chancel Choir & organ help), Sandra Lane (Youth Choir, Handbells fundraising), Linda Flaherty (Handchimes, FAYM), Gary Grubb (FAYM), Jack Moffett (Handbells & The Last Psalm), and Pamela Mayo (Wesley Chorale, Handchimes, Handbells, Young Adult Choir, The Last Psalm), without whose help many of the programs we now have would never have gotten off the ground. (I know I probably have forgotten to thank some others, but I hope you know that my thanks are with you all.) When the praise choir came into existence, I relied on Alisa Lenhardt and Hurst Bartley to get the sound system possibilities looked into, since that was on my “list” about 6 years ago. Now we have wondrous contraptions all over the place to even hear our singers breathing!!

The faithful members of our choirs have been the mainstay of our music ministry, and a joy to know and work with. I hope to continue the loving friendships that we have forged through these many years. I have played many funerals and weddings in this church which will be memorable to me for the love I’ve had for those people. I even know where some skeletons are buried here, and no, I will not tell.

I have worked with wonderfully prayerful ministers who relied on my knowledge to enhance what they said at worship with song and music. Their encouragement of my creativity in this job was one of the reasons our music ministry kept getting bigger and bigger.

Now is the time for me to move to the comfort of my own faith community, and to relax into a position that will offer new challenges but somewhat less responsibility. My job at St. James will begin in July as Associate Director of Music Ministries. I am looking forward to it with great enthusiasm. I have promised myself that I will try to NOT make it a bigger job than it is. I am aiming at simplifying my life a bit, after all.

Thank you for many wonderful years, and for the opportunity to have worked here. My time spent with you has been a blessing. I trust that my replacement will be equally up to the task, and hopefully even more so….the programs should keep growing!!! Keep up the great singing out there!

Yours in Christ,

Sharron

As the choir year draws to an end, we have heard the last singing Sunday of our Youth Choir, whose French rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” was tres magnifique! Thank you to our youth for being such a spirited and cooperative group of singers this year. What a delight to work with Sandra Lane, who manages and directs this choir with such talent and grace.

The Last Psalm will probably sing again in July if we can get a few rehearsals in when summer hits us. This new choir has drawn quite a “following” here, and the members are full of energy, ideas, and wonderful voice. Hurst and Connor on guitars and Jack Moffett on percussion make the perfect accompaniment with the keyboard, and their creative arranging of the music we sing is most appreciated. Pam Mayo’s help in planning has been a valuable part of my getting a grip on the contemporary Christian music of “today”! Hurst Bartley and his crew of sound people are making this church absolutely “wired” for sound! How wonderful to have such talented members!

Handbell Choir plays its last Sunday of the season on May 6th, and has grown musically by leaps and bounds this year under Pam Mayo’s direction. The directing skills of Jack Moffett, Joe Bollman, and Barry Lewis have also added to regularity of rehearsals and the wonderful sound the bells bring to worship. Thank you to all for this ministry in bringing a special sound to us.

Handchime Choir is off and running!!! They will play one more time—on Mother’s Day, May 13th, and I am so pleased that the older Youth of this church have claimed ownership of this newest music ministry, and hope that their experience this year will draw more members next year. Congratulations on a great start with director Pam Mayo and sub-director Barry Lewis.

Chancel Choir will sing out the year with their last Sunday being June 3rd, even though that is also Church Picnic Sunday and the first Sunday of the summer hours for worship. I have traditionally ended the choir season every year on Trinity Sunday, and that is June 3rd this year. That afternoon, my piano students will perform their Spring Recital in the sanctuary at 4:30pm—-you are all invited, as many of the students are from this church and would enjoy seeing familiar faces.

On a bittersweet note, as some of you may already be aware, I have presented my letter of resignation to the church, and will retire from this position mid-July. Having been here from 1986 has made me part of the fabric of this church, and these years have been a time of incredible creative growth musically for me. To have been an part of your lives by providing music for some of your most important life events has given me memories that I will own forever. To have had the opportunities to freely try all styles of music has been a valuable part of my growth, and yours, and I applaud and thank those who have encouraged me here to stretch my wings as far as I could. The wonderful people who help me with all of our ministries have given you an “ownership” of your music programs, and I have made sure that this program has grown as the need arises within the age groups available for various music ministries.

More than all of the above, it has been my privilege and pleasure to have worshipped and prayed with you for 21 years. I have come to love many of you as personal friends, and those friendships will, of course, continue. I have always been grateful that I always have had choirs that all get along with each other, where honesty and compassion are the norm rather than the exception. My choirs have a special place in my heart, and their faithful commitment to the church, to singing or playing an instument or bell, is a blessing to this church. The faithful singers of the congregation—in the pews—have kept up the great singing!

The Music Ministry here only has the capacity to grow, and with open minds and new leadership, it will. I have made sure that this church has gotten a fine reputation within the community and in the American Guild of Organists—-as a church where good music of all types is sung, that has a tremendous organ, and has an active and talented group of volunteers to man the ministries. For a church this size to have such a large music ministry is a rarity, and I am so pleased to have led you to this point. I have been an active ambassador for this church on many levels for these 21 years.

As you will become aware in the coming months, I will continue music ministry as Associate Director of Music Ministries at my own church, St. James Catholic Church, beginning in July. My new position will lighten my load quite a bit for more family time. I feel a need to be closer to my own faith community at this time of my life, and just as God opened the door for me to come to SUMC those many years ago, so He opened a door for me to move home.

Don’t think that I will be a stranger! I will still come to events, intend to be invited to parties, to EAT, etc., and will still be involved in many community musical events……and don’t hesitate to call me with news of your families, as you are all a part of MY extended family.

Thank you for these many wonderful years. Keep up the great singing out there.

In Christ’s love,
Sharron

Our Lenten journey has brought us to Holy Week, with the promise of eternal life which will be celebrated on Easter Sunday. The Lenten music this year has suited the season well. Chris Nickell, soloist, and Christine Jehle, flute, brought a beauty to the season that was like a breath of fresh air. Chancel Choir’s anthems were well-sung and appropriate, and thank you to Maggie Wilkinson for her first solo part in an anthem. It was lovely.

The Lenten dinners & programs which followed them were enriching for the soul and well-attended. “The Tale of the Three Trees” was the most heavily attended, and Pam Mayo & I heartily thank all who participated in this little musical play. My idea of it being “intergenerational” was rewarded—there were 3 generations of Kurigers in it!! The soloists were great—what a blessing the entire choral ensemble was—it was staged perfectly—all of this was done in ONLY 4 REHEARSALS!! Thank you everyone and especially Pam Mayo for the great planning and direction!!!

Our April music follows:

APRIL 1ST, PALM SUNDAY:
Handbells, Handchimes, Youth Choir, and Chancel Choir ring and sing Jesus into Jerusalem, and then the Passion begins with a more somber tone of music. This will be the debut of our youthful Handchime Choir, and they have done a great job at rehearsals.
Youth Choir and Chancel Choir will sing Preparing Our Hearts from the back of the church. The Palms procession follows. Handchimes will embellish Preparing Our Hearts and the Opening Hymn. Handbells will play “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” as Prelude. They will also ring “Let Happy Hosannas Ring”. Later in the service, they will play “When Jesus Wept”, accompanied by organ ostinato.
Chancel Choir will sing “Draw Nigh to Jerusalem” and “Lamb of God, What Wondrous Love”, based on the ‘Pavane’, written in 1887 by Gabriel Faure. We are hoping for a soloist this Sunday as well, as part of the Stations of the Cross portion of the morning.

APRIL 5TH,HOLY THURSDAY
Low key music, led by Chancel Choir, will enhance the service of Holy Eucharist in the sanctuary. All music will be led from the piano.

APRIL 8TH, EASTER SUNDAY
Trumpet and trombone, played by Barry Lewis & Phil Thompson, will add just the right amount of joy to the music sung by Chancel Choir…..a fanfare for brass, composed by Phil just for this occasion, will put us in the Easter spirit. The ‘alleluia’ will be sung again…..many times. The “Halleluia” chorus from The Messiah will end the service as a sing-along—-if you’ve ever sung it, you are invited to come up and sing with us.
APRIL 15TH, 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER
Our continued joy of the Risen Lord will continue this Sunday. Chancel Choir will lead the singing, and a Holocaust remembrance will be observed with candles and a special anthem by the Chancel Choir ladies.

APRIL 22ND, 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER
The Last Psalm will lead worship with instruments and keyboard accompaniment. We will have baptisms that day, and reception of new members. The children of The Last Psalm will sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”. The Last Psalm will reprise the anthem “We Can Make a Difference” with a power point presentation of events over the past year of our church life. All hymns sung that day will be from The Faith We Sing.

APRIL 29TH, 4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Chancel Choir will lead worship, but Youth Choir will also sing as their last contribution to this choir season. You WILL be here to hear them sing “Jesus Loves Me” in another foreign language, oui? Thank you Maggie Wilkinson for translating the hymn for us. Parlez-vous Francais?

Wishing you the joy that Easter and spring bring to the soul, and keep up the great singing out there!

Yours in Christ,
Sharron

The word “lent” actually comes from Old English, which means to lengthen. The lengthening of our days means more light, less dark. The annual observance of the Lenten season gives us 40 days for a “quest”….to remember our baptism and to prepare for the ascent to Easter. We began with ashes, reminding us that this is a death-defying quest. The journey takes us to the cross, and then to new life in the Resurrection—the life-giving waters of Easter. …..from the dark into the light….

The Lenten mission of our Music Ministry is to present music for our worship that will reflect our quest, our journey, toward Easter. Following are the musical plans for the month of March:

March 4—Guest soloist Chris Nickell will sing two lovely works from the collection Five Mystical Songs by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Both have lovely words written by George Herbert, and both have a direct bearing on our Lenten journey toward the Last Supper. Both of the songs Christ will sing represent Jesus Christ as “love” in a mystical way. I will include some program notes in the bulletin on this date so that you can read the words to the songs as well as understand the mystical meaning behind them. Chancel Choir will sing the Introit.

March 11—Handbell Choir will present two lovely works: “Lenten Meditation” and “Near the Cross”, as well as accompany one of our hymns. Chancel Choir will also sing “For Those Tears I Died”, which invites us to remember that Christ understands our sorrows, our thirst, our prayer.

March 18—Our service will be led by Chancel Choir with a Lenten anthem, as well as the Introit “We Adore Thee”

March 25—Christine Jehle, flautist, has agreed to play some Lenten-themed music with piano accompaniment. Russel and I have agreed to do this service’s music using only the piano or keyboard, incorporating a medley of hymn-singing.

We welcome new members Kristy Foster and Sharon Foster to our Chancel Choir!!

We also give a warm welcome to the founding members of our newly-formed Handchime Choir for grades 5 and up: Troy Gleason, Laura Hess, Sydney Lane, Rebecca Lewis, and Salonge & Richard Matos. We could really use up to 5 more ringers, but for now, TWO MORE would greatly relieve the number of chimes the current ringers are responsible for! JOIN US!! Rehearsals are from 6:15-7:15pm on second and fourth Thursdays. Remaining rehearsals are on March 8 & 22, April 12 & 26, and on May 10, with playing done on Sundays, April 1st and May 13th.

Also we are grateful to Joe Bollman, whose background in music is extensive, who will aid in directing Handbell Choir so that Pam Mayo will be free to direct the chimes every other week. We are so blessed to have such talent within our Music Ministry!

Youth Choir will be getting ready to sing after Easter, and they will be preparing their annual “Jesus Loves Me” in yet a different foreign language as part of their rehearsals. What language do you think that will be?

The Last Psalm, our praise choir and band, will continue rehearsals throughout Lent, but will not perform until after Easter, as their musical sound is too upbeat for the season on Lent. Come and join our growing ministry—and welcome to our newest members Ciara and Savannah Resler!

During the Wednesdays of Lent, the Coraopolis UMC has a Lenten Recital Series which includes a light lunch afterward. Posters are at the back of the church as to the programs each week. Please consider this as a time of meditation and attend a few of them. They are always well worth the trip across the bridge.

Keep up the great singing out there!

Keeping all in prayer and wishing you peace,

Sharron

I learned long ago that a director of music lives in the fast lane……as one church season is ending, you have to be well-planned into the next one already! We are barely through the Christmas season, and already I have a rough idea of what we will sing through Lent and Easter! The church year progresses smoothly at SUMC, and our wonderful choirs and members of our Music Ministry embellish that church year with their faith and grace, and with reliable skill.

I send a special thank you to my secret angel (or angels?), who from time to time has (have?) left gifts on the choir room piano. This past week I found a bag with six new cassette tapes in it—for making practice tapes for our choirs. Thank you so much for your generosities. I love surprises.

Our Music Ministry is entertaining the thought of rehearsing and performing “The Tale of the Three Trees” as an intergenerational musical, with rehearsals on Sundays at 3:45pm for an hour before the 5:00pm Lenten dinners, and with the hope that whole families will come to participate as performers/singers, and then stay for the dinner. All children 4th grade and older, and all adults (any age) will be most welcome to take part in this touching story with very “catchy” music. The performance date would be toward the end of Lent. Rev. Shuluga has agreed to be our narrator already. WE NEED YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS WITH US! Please let myself or Pam Mayo know if you can join us at rehearsals. Rehearsals will begin on Sunday, Feb. 25th

Our music for February follows. Please note that as Lent begins, the closing hymn and the postlude will be eliminated, as will anything with the word “alleluia” in it, in keeping with a Lenten musical mood. It has been my practice to do this as an appropriate approach to our musical journey to Calvary together.

February 4 On this Communion Sunday, The Last Psalm, our Praise Choir and band members, will lead the singing of appropriate music, exclusively using The Faith We Sing as the source of our hymns.

February 11 On this Sunday, a Love Feast will be incorporated into the service. Music will be provided by Handbell Choir, Youth Choir, and Chancel Choir. Listen for the bells playing “Joy” by Douglas Wagner, for Youth Choir to sing “The Lion and the Lamb” and to dress as princes and princesses for their Introit, “I Am a Child of the King”, and for Chancel Choir to round out the mood of love with “Celebrate God’s Love” by Price & Besig.

February 18 This will be the Sunday for the yearly “switching of the choirs/organist” with Coraopolis United Methodist Church. Alastair Stout will bring a number of his choirs to SUMC to enhance your worship, as Chancel Choir and myself go to Coraopolis to worship with them. Enjoy the talents and artistry of my good friend Alastair.

February 21, Ash Wednesday The service will be combined with A.M.E. Zion’s congregation, as is our tradition, and will be held in SUMC’s sanctuary at 7:30. Chancel Choir will sing “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God”, a fitting beginning to our Lenten journey.

February 25 The first Sunday of Lent will be led by Chancel Choir, as they sing the lovely “We Adore Thee”, by Palestrina, as the Introit. They will begin each Sunday of Lent with this poignant motet.

There are many opportunities for ministry in our church. Our Music Ministry offers Chancel Choir, FAYM, Handbell Choir, Handchime Choir, The Last Psalm (Praise Choir & band), and Youth Choir. If you want to join our music-making, one (or more) of these six programs will be a good fit.

Keep up the great singing out there.
Yours in Christ,
Sharron

Many thanks to all who helped to make our December music so special this year!! Our Advent music was lovely, and the Youth Choir Musical was charming and joyful in its simplicity. Didn’t you hear every word to their songs and dialogue this year?? The new sound equipment is absolutely a huge difference! Having a soundman working the volumes of each microphone made everything so balanced and clear…..including “The Last Psalm” and the band members……….wow, what a difference!!! Thank you to those who gave the OK for the purchase, and to Hurst Bartley for doing so much research into our needs and then getting all the equipment for us. He and Carl have discussed the possibilities of how it might even be permanently installed, and even the possibility of a sound booth in the back of the sanctuary. It will make quite a difference in the presentation of much of our Music Ministry’s music, and will make it much more meaningful for those who listen to our music! Thank you to all who work for that result.

Christmas Eve morning was special with Lessons and Carols, and it was good to have Kimberly and her violin back in the church for a service with us. Christmas Eve at night was so multi-musical, with Christine Jehle on flute, our soloists Kelly Herman, Chris Nickell, Louise Swope, and Roger Wright, and with Phil Thompson on trombone. The Handbell Choir was magnificent, directed by Jack Moffett, and Chancel Choir was at its best as well. Thank you for all the hard work that it takes to make a service like that seem smooth and meaningful. You are all indeed my angels, as I have always known.

Larry & I and Russel caught the FAYM performance at Coraopolis UMC on December 17th, and they did us proud!! They played two selections to a packed church, and then led the accompaniment for one of the carols as we all sang. The group sounded wonderful and represented us well. They were well-appreciated by the listeners, who clapped for them three times! It was nice to see some familiar SUMC faces in the audience, too.

January’s services will be sung by Chancel Choir with the exception of the January 14 service. My friend and colleague James Falcioni, who will bring a soloist with him, will be my organ substitute as I take a Sunday off.

Lots of plans are in the works for February……and lots of ideas are floating around in my brain for combining some of our choirs for special music projects.

Thank you for all of your positive comments, and for your continued support of our Music Ministry.

And keep up the great singing out there,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Yours in Christ,
Sharron