Music

  Music List: January - Easter 2012

  Music List: September - December 2011

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

The Senior Boys of the Choir have been invited to sing in Dresden, Germany on February 13 & 14, and are away February 8 through 15. They sing in collaboration with St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir, London and the Dresden Staatskapelle in the first performances of Dresden Requiem by Lera Auerbach. 

Tobias Niederschlag writes, "the concert in Dresden resembles Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem of 1962, where similar artists were chosen to underline the reconciliation of nations which were at enmity during the war. In contrast to Britten, the score of the Dresden Requiem only includes male singing voices. " Read more about the performances here.

Because of the Dresden trip, Choral Evensong on Thursday, February 9 and both choral services on Sunday, February 12 will be sung by the Junior Choristers alongside the Gentlemen of the Choir.

Choirmasters Conference Registration

The Registration form for the 2012 Choirmasters Conference has been posted to this page. The 39th Annual Conference for Choirmasters and Organists runs from April 30 - May 1 and features Dr David Hill (pictured at right) of the BBC Singers and The Bach Choir, and formerly of Westminster Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, and St John's College, Cambridge.

Fretwork at Sunday Evensong

At Choral Evensong on February 5, we were delighted to welcome back the distinguised British viol consort Fretwork to accompany the choir. They were with us previously for Choral Evensong in November 2010. If you missed this Evensong in person, we encourage you to listen to the audio webcast.

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
WQXR Website	The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys was featured exclusively on the February 5 edition of WQXR’s weekly radio show, The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle. Maestro Tritle dedicated this retrospective program to works conducted by the late Gerre Hancock. Listen to hour-long broadcasts of  The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle every Sunday at 7am and 11pm EST on WQXR 105.9 FM. The program also streams on the web at the these times each week -- and archived broadcasts can be accessed anytime online here.
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

New CD Recently Released

The mystery of Last Things has given rise to some of the most searching and personal music in the Western canon. On our new CD we bring together two remarkably intimate funeral works, the Requiems of Herbert Howells and Maurice Duruflé, both of which experienced a complex genesis. A bridge between them is provided by Ralph Vaughan Williams's Valiant-for-Truth; Vaughan Williams, though often seen as the quintessence of Englishness, studied in France and his musical language was deeply marked by the experience. Valiant-for-Truth lies halfway between the two Requiems in time, and like these two works it addresses eschatological issues. Read more and purchase your copy of the CD here.

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

• See five recent reviews of our latest CD 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