Music Ministry 2007-08
ALL
CHOIRS of
St. Margaret's Church welcome new singers at any time.
Call John Wright at 346-2697 ext 109 for full information and interview.
2007 - 2008 Concert and Special
Services
Schedule
The 2007-2008 concert season has now concluded.
About the Quimby Organ at St. Margaret's.
FREDERICK SWANN
Organ Artist-in-Residence
"Splendid, probing, brilliant and entertaining . . . As always, Swann is an inspiration."
-Los Angeles Times
"ORGANIST EXCEEDS HIS PRESS NOTICES"
-Star Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Frederick Swann will play the organ at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church services at the listed dates below.
All services are Sunday 10:30 am unless otherwise noted.
May 11, 18
THE CHAMBER SINGERS
THE CHAMBER SINGERS An auditioned group of eighteen to twenty-four adult singers who rehearse separately from the Adult Choir and sing for church once a month and for a variety of events at the church and around the Valley. Their music ranges from Renaissance to Cabaret style show music. The Chamber Singers are available for special events.
A service of CHORAL EVENSONG was sung by the Chamber Singers on Sunday, November 11, at 4:00 p.m. and featured the beautiful "Evening Hymn" by Gardiner, the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in A by Sumsion, the Preces and Responses by Craig Phillips, and concluded with a performance of the Magnificat by Pergolesi, accompanied by chamber orchestra and organ.
(The Chamber Singers are pictured below following a service of Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego on October 10, 2004)
ST. MARGARET'S ADULT CHOIR
ST. MARGARET'S ADULT CHOIR sings for the 10:30 am service most Sundays September through June and for special services during the year. Rehearsals are on Thursdays with occasional special rehearsals scheduled throughout the year. New members are always welcome. If you are interested in singing with the Adult Choir or auditioning to sing with the Chamber Singers, please contact John Wright, Choirmaster, at 760-346-2697 Ext 109.
St. Margaret's Contemporary Choir offers a new opportunity to sing and serve
Any adults and high school students who are interested in singing and assisting with the music for the 9:00 am contemporary Service of Holy Communion are invited to come to the Choir Room on Sunday mornings at 8:15 am for a short rehearsal of the music for the Sunday service. The 9:00 a.m. Contemporary worship will end on Sunday, May 18, for this season. This service will be the final Sunday for Youth Choirs this season also.
The music is light, easy, and fun. All voices welcome. Come, make a joyful noise to the Lord!
If you are interested in this opportunity to minister, please email or call John Wright at 760-346-2697 Ext 109 so we can prepare music for you. Mrs. Julie Holmes is the Choir Director for our Contemporary Service Choir and Mr. Tom Barker is the pianist.
CHOIRS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AT ST. MARGARET 'S CHURCH
YOUTH CHOIR SCHEDULES FOR 2007-2008
"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the whole earth."
The St. Margaret's Youth Choir for kids in grades 3-8 (and above) is the main musical worship choir at the 9:00 service of Holy Communion with a contemporary flair. They sing three or four times each month through May. The Youth Choir season will end with the Sunday service on May 18. Awards will presented at that service.
Rehearsal is on Tuesday from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in the church choir room.
Adults are encouraged to assist with the music as singers in the 9:00 am Service and are welcome to attend a short rehearsal at 8:15 am on Sunday morning as the Youth Choir warms up.
Mrs. Julie Holmes, Music Teacher at St. Margaret's School, directs all Youth Choirs this year and Mr. Tom Barker is the pianist/accompanist for the Youth Choir.
MINISINGERS CHOIR - for girls and boys in grades 1-2 rehearses on Thursdays from 3:00 - 3:45 pm in the church choir room. They sing in church services once a month. Mrs. Julie Holmes directs this choir.
Call John Wright at 346-2697 x 109 to register your student for choir. You may also email John at: Choirmaster/Organist E-Mail
JOIN ONE OF OUR CHOIRS!
Please call John Wright at 346-2697 ext. 109 for full details on all of our choirs for youth and adults. Please help us spread the word into the community about our choir program and invite someone to join us.
THE DESERT FRIENDS OF MUSIC... The 2007-2008 Concert season has now concluded. Information about the new season for 2008-2009 will be posted in early summer.
THE DESERT FRIENDS OF MUSIC NEWS . . .
The Board of the Desert Friends of Music of St. Margaret’s has recently
elected Hal Laster as the new General Manager of the organization. Hal
has previously served as Assistant Dean of the University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, the Dean of the Aspen Music Festival and
School for eight years, and as Vice President and Dean of the Music
Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. He was also selected in 2006 to
serve on the Miss America panel of judges. With the Desert Friends of
Music he is in charge of the ultimate “running” of the organization
as well as overseeing the management of the concert season. John Wright continues as Artistic Director. Board members for 2007-2008 include
Rachel Druten, Carol Hall, Sheila Hoover, Jim Kelley, Eva Myers, Wayne
Myers, Christie Palmer, Randy Rieck, Leni Roberts, Rita Saari, Ellie
Tennison, Linda Thibault, Carl Ellenberger, Emi Snavely
and Glenn Webb.
The 2007-2008 concert season
opened on Friday, November 23, with the fourth St. Margaret’s appearance
by CHANTICLEER, again the first stop on Chanticleer’s 2007
Christmas concert tour. The season ended with a beautiful reception for
current patrons at the Rancho Mirage home of Jim Kelley and Joseph Lund
where New York organist John Scott was the featured guest. The
following night, John Scott brought the season to a glorious end with a
brilliantly played organ recital.
In past seasons, the DFOM has also featured such outstanding choral performers as The
American Boychoir, The Nordic Choir, The Vienna Choir Boys, The Grace
Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys from San Francisco, The Texas Boys
Choir, The Westminster Choir, and Ensemble Amarcord, organists Frederick
Swann, John Obetz, Todd Wilson, Robert MacDonald, Richard Elliott, James
O’Donnell, and John Wright with brass, Canadian Brass, The West Coast
Opera Theatre, The Idyllwild Arts Academy Orchestra, a combined
performance of the Fauré Requiem, the ever popular “Broadway”
performances, The Side Street Strutters Jazz Band, silent movies with
organ, and more.
If you would like to become a donor to the 2008-2009 season, please call 346-2697 x 109.
THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
OF OUR QUIMBY PIPE ORGAN
Dedicated in 1998, the St. Margaret's organ is a 4 manual, 58 stop, 71 rank instrument designed especially for St. Margaret's Episcopal Church by the Quimby Pipe Organ Company from Warrensburg, Missouri. It contains 4,274 pipes and is one of the most unique, dynamic and versatile of the Quimby instruments. If you would like to know more about our organ please click on the Pictures & Specifications link below.
Quimby Organ
Pictures & Specifications
2006-2007
Concert Season
Performances & Artists
2005-2006 CONCERT SEASON
PERFORMANCES & ARTISTS
2004-2005 CONCERT SEASON
PERFORMANCES & ARTISTS
SABBATICAL NOTES FROM THE ORGANIST-CHOIRMASTER 2005
FREDERICK SWANN IN CONCERT
SUNDAY, February 24, 2008, AT 4:00 P.M. with
The Redlands Symphony Orchestra (string section)
Co Nguyen, Conductor
"Splendid, probing, brilliant and entertaining . . . As always, Swann is an inspiration." -Los Angeles Times
"ORGANIST EXCEEDS HIS PRESS NOTICES"
-Star Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
FREDERICK SWANN, Organist - Now in his seventh season as Organ Artist-in-Residence at St. Margaret's Church, this internationally acclaimed organist will thrill you with dazzling technique and artistry. Always a hit with the audiences, Frederick Swann plays music you want to hear!
He is currently serving a third term as the national president
of the 20,000-member American Guild of Organists organization
and was the program chair for the 2004 AGO convention in Los
Angeles. He has arguably presided over more ranks of pipes and stopknobs than any other organist in history. This is
probably true, given the size and prominence of the
instruments with which his career has been most notably
associated: the Riverside Church in New York City, the Crystal
Cathedral in Garden Grove, and First Congregational Church of
Los Angeles. He was also the chairman of the organ
department at the Manhattan School of Music
Although he retired from active church work in 2001 after 60 years on the bench, he continues to be a sought after concert performer throughout the United States and abroad. Mr. Swann's long career has included engagements in all 50 of the United States, in major churches, concert halls, and cathedrals throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has performed with prestigious orchestras and collaborated with renowned choral organizations. He was selected to play the inaugural recital on the spectacular new organ in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He has since been heard in the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Westminster Abbey in London, in Russia at Shostakovitch Symphony Hall in St. Petersburg, and Tchaikovsky Symphony Hall in Moscow, and in Australia at the Sydney Opera House.
To obtain more information about St. Margaret's Music Ministry, please contact Mr. John Wright, Organist-Choirmaster at (760) 346-2697 ext. 109 or Email John Wright.
08 March 2006
Page last updated: 14 April 2008