Located in the choir loft, at the rear of the church, is the twelve-member Choir of St. John's in the Village. In the spirit of "Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord,"we are an integral part of the Sunday liturgy, as well as feast days during the Church year, in a season ranging from September to the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring.

The Choir is composed of twelve men and women of various backgrounds -- both full time and semi-professional musicians. Leading the choir is St. John's Organist and Choirmaster Gordon King.

The choir's repertoire ranges from ancient plainsong chants to music of modern day composers, with some pieces written specifically for St. John's. Our heritage is the Anglican tradition, and many works are drawn from the English cathedral music repertoire, as well as American literature. Music is chosen to integrate with other aesthetic aspects of the liturgy, to create an artistically and spiritually unified whole. We aspire to achieve a seamless integration of music with the liturgy as, just in silence, music has the ability to lift us to that place where we can feel Divine Presence.

Singing in the choir is an incredibly gratifying and pleasurable experience for the musically inclined. Choir membership is open to men and women who sing and read music reasonably well and are willing to commit to the choir's schedule.

The St. John's Choristers

The Choristers on Ascension Day 2003
[Jeanne Morrow Photo]

The Children's Choir provides free musical education for children on Monday afternoons and they, in turn, sing at the 11:00 a.m. Eucharist one Sunday each month. They learn about the traditions of music and liturgy and are trained according to the Royal School of Church Music, an English musical education program for children.

The program serves neighborhood children and can often use volunteers to supervise the children on Monday afternoons, as well as doing administrative and support work for the choirmaster.

Each Monday afternoon, the patter of sneakered feet is heard in the precincts of St. John's Parish Hall, as a group of young people gathers to learn new sacred repertoire, to grow as musicians, and to develop lasting friendships and fellowship with one another.

The Choristers come from a diverse background of ages, levels of experiences, and faiths but have learned to sing with one voice.

Our current year has already proven to be a growth-ful one. Good word of mouth and enthusiastic recruiting efforts by choral parents and the choirmaster have paid off, with three new choristers joining our ranks this fall. The new choristers are welcomed into the group as "Probationers," according to our ranking system from the Royal School of Church Music, and will have the opportunity to advance as they master more musical skills. When they have demonstrated the highest levels of musical proficiency, they are awarded a red ribbon and the title of "Senior Chorister. "

The choristers will be tackling new skills this year, including an introduction to solfege, the European system of assigning syllables to musical notes by their scale degree (e.g. do-re-mi-fa-sol.) The young singers will also continue their studies in vocal technique, music theory, and composition.

The singers are looking forward to some special events this season. For the first time in several years, the choir will participate in the choral festival at St. Bartholomew's Church. The festival participants never fail to create thrilling music, and trebles from St. John's have always found the festival inspiring.

Field trips are being planned to hear some of our city's best children's choirs, such as the St. Thomas Choir School and The Young People's Chorus of New York City. The Choristers have been invited to perform as part of the religious education program at the Fourth Unitarian Universalist Society. The children will also discuss the positive role young people can play in leading worship.

If you are interested in this music program or if you would like to introduce your child to the St. John's Choristers, please call the parish office at (212) 243-6192, and leave a message for choirmaster Gordon King.

Also see Choir Repertoire Listings in "Music Notes"