Music

  Music List: Easter - September 2012

  Music List: January - Easter 2012

Overview of Music at Saint Thomas

Music is at the heart of our mission, one of the primary ways in which we worship, love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.

Each year, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, under the direction of John Scott, sing at nearly 200 choral worship services, including Choral Liturgies on Sunday mornings, Choral Evensong on Sunday evenings and on many Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings (September through May). The choir also sings at special liturgies throughout the year, including the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday (pictured above).

We are delighted to welcome visitors from all over the world to these worship services. We hope you will join us during your next visit to New York City. If you are unable to worship with us in person, you may do so via the webcasts from your home.

In addition to playing at all choral worship services, our fine organists give recitals throughout the year, and we welcome dozens of visiting organists to participate in our Sunday Organ Recital Series, which occurs most Sundays (September through May) at 5:15pm, following Choral Evensong.

Our Choir of Men and Boys, often accompanied by instrumentalists and the organists, sings an outstanding series of concerts each year, including annual performances of Handel's Messiah. You may buy tickets, or even better, you can ensure the maintanence and growth of the concert series by first joining Friends of Music and then receiving complimentary concert tickets according to your level of membership.

All of our music offerings are dependent on our organs. Our Great Organ is currently in a perilous state and we must soon replace it. Please read more and then consider a gift to the capital campaign.

Support our Unique Choral Tradition

If you worship with us in person or via the webcasts, please help us continue to carry out our mission through the Anglican tradition and our unique choral heritage. We cannot continue to do so for the long term without the annual support of everyone who worships with us.

Read about the 2012 Every Member Canvass
Pledge Online

Choristers Sing in Dresden...

Earlier in February, the Senior Boys of the Choir sang in Dresden, Germany, in collaboration with Saint Paul’s Cathedral Choir, London and the Dresden Staatskapelle in the first performances of Dresden Requiem by Lera Auerbach. The first performance was on Saturday, February 10 at the Frauenkirche. There was a second performance on Monday, February 12 at the Semper Opera, and a third and final performance on Tuesday, February 13, which was webcast live. An on-demand file of this webcast is now available.

To access the webcast, go to the ParaClassics website here. You will need to create a username and password for the ParaClassics site, but it is entirely free. The sound was recorded by MDR on 5.1 surround so it should be very good - consider using quality headphones rather than using computer speakers.

►Webcast
►Program of the premiere performance

...and Return to Germany in June

Last call to hear the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, under the direction of John Scott, sing in Leipzig, Germany at Bachfest 2012 celebrating the 800th anniversary of Thomana. The triad of Saint Thomas Church, Saint Thomas Boys Choir and St. Thomas School Leipzig is the oldest cultural and educational institution in the city of Leipzig. Our choir has been invited to give a concert as part of this celebration. A fully escorted tour “St. Thomas visits St. Thomas” includes this concert as well as the choir's concerts in Magdeburg, Dresden, Berlin and Copenhagen. For details please contact Amanda Slattery at Travel Emporium, 914.245.8825 or email her asap. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys will be touring Germany and Denmark June 11-21, 2012.

At left: Thomaskirche in Leipzig

Scott Plays Bach on June 2

On Saturday June 2 at 4pm, John Scott will play Bach’s Clavier-Übung, Part III on the Loening-Hancock Organ. The Clavier-Übung, Part III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–6 and published in 1739. It is considered to be Bach’s most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his musically most complex and most demanding compositions for that instrument.  The event is free, and will last about an hour and a half.

Rodolfus Choir and TENET Visited on Low Sunday

On the Second Sunday of Easter (April 15) our choir was on their much-deserved Easter break. In their place, we were delighted to welcome the Rodolfus Choir, under the direction of Mr. Ralph Allwood, from the United Kingdom at the 11am Festal Eucharist, and TENET, led by Ms. Jolle Greenleaf, Artistic Director, at 4pm Festal Evensong. If you missed either of these services, consider listening to the webcasts.

Gerre Hancock 1934 - 2012

	Get complete Solemn Requiem details, including access to the webcast, the leaflet and the "sermon in two parts." Read more about the immense contributions of Gerre Hancock to Saint Thomas Church and Choir School.
	Gerre's remains were interred beneath the floor of the chancel at a private service on Friday, February 3. Near the empty conductor's stand, his remains are marked by the inscription: Gerre Hancock, Organist and Master of Choristers, 1971-2004
Above: The portrait of Dr  Hancock was painted in 2003 by Paul Newton and hangs at Saint Thomas Choir School.	Saturday, January 21, 2012 Dearly Beloved in Christ, Dr. Gerre Edward Hancock, our distinguished and beloved Organist and Master of Choristers from 1971 to 2004, died peacefully this afternoon of cardiac arrest in the hospital in Austin, Texas. His wife Judith was with him; in fact Gerre died in her arms. Both their daughters, Deborah and Lisa, are with Judith in Austin. Gerre’s body will be cremated, and a memorial Solemn Requiem for him will be celebrated at Saint Thomas [on February 4 at 11am].  Dr. Hancock’s ashes will be interred beneath the floor of the chancel where our Choir Directors stand to lead the choir. Gerre and Judith had visited Saint Thomas this past Christmas at the Midnight Mass. The last time I saw him was as he was singing, his eyes closed and looking up, “O come all ye faithful.” John Scott and I each received beautiful messages from Gerre shortly thereafter. May the soul of God’s devoted servant Gerre rest in peace, may light perpetual shine upon him, and may he rise with Christ in glory. We all hold Judith, Deborah and Lisa in our prayers at this time of their great loss. Faithfully yours, Andrew C. Mead, Rector

Organ Blower Refurbished and Installed

During the summer of 2011, the Spencer blower for the chancel organ was rebuilt by Foley Baker and reinstalled in a newly renovated blower room. The blower housing has been repaired and powder coated, the internal baffles cleaned and painted and new fans installed. The old DC motor has been replaced with a new AC motor with a state-of-the art motor control and the blower room windlines have been updated.

Read more here. Donate here.

Recent Reviews

• The New York Times reviews our Passiontide concert for 2012 here.

• See five recent reviews of our CD O Sing unto Lord here.

• The New York Times reviews the 2011 Messiah Concert, here.

• The Dallas Morning News reviews our choir's latest tour, here.

Music Office Staff

John Scott, Organist and Director of Music
Frederick Teardo, Associate Organist
Kevin Kwan, Assistant Organist

Laurel Unwin, Music Office Coordinator
Judith Moore, Music Librarian
Jacki Slater, Concert Series Manager
Claudette Mayer, Concert Series Coordinator

We welcome your music inquires by email to music@SaintThomasChurch.org
For concert inquiries, please email concerts@SaintThomasChurch.org

See also:
Organist Bios
Who's Who
Contact Us