Music

Summer Family Choir begins Sunday, June 19.
Rehearsal at 9:00, Holy Eucharist with sermon at 10:00.

Family Choir includes all Choristers, all Adult Choir singers, and all who do not normally sing in one of the choirs. Come and experience this aspect of liturgical leadership.
Come think, listen, pray and sing with your St. Dunstan’s family.

This information page about music at St. Dunstan's
was last updated on 25 May 2011.

Fall 2011 Schedule for Choirs

Wednesdays beginning September 7
Junior Choristers – 4:15-4:45pm
Senior Choristers - 5:00-6:00pm

Wednesday beginning August 24
Adult Choir - 7:00-9:00pm

Sundays beginning September 11
8:45-9:30 Choir warm-up
10:45 Holy Eucharist with Choir
12:00-12:30 Senior Choristers rehearsal

St. Dunstan's Senior Choristers, in second grade or higher, vest and sing in church about one Sunday morning a month. In rehearsals, we learn some of the language and grammar of music; we gain familiarity with the Hymnal 1982; we learn other music as well, pieces chosen for their musical interest and the quality of their words; we add to our knowledge of the worship traditions and practices of Episcopalians; and we adapt some of the best features of the Royal School of Church Music curriculum to our needs.

St. Dunstan's Junior Choristers begin at age four. Junior Choristers sing in church on occasion, and in rehearsals we enjoy musical games, movement, and rhythm instruments to begin our exploration of music fundamentals. And, of course, we will begin to learn about using the voice for singing. Our songs are chosen with particular attention to the Christian education curriculum, and we sing these songs during Sunday School as well.

St. Dunstan's has several members who are talented instrumentalists, and when they are called upon to play, these musicians offer both talent and enthusiasm in making our worship particularly special. The St. Dunstan's Flute Ensemble made its debut on Easter morning 2009.

The principal focus for all of St. Dunstan's musicians is to provide musical and liturgical leadership for Sunday morning worship. In addition, however, we offer special events that enrich the musical and liturgical life of the parish. Here are some of the events from the past twelve months:

a Nashville-style Eucharist on Easter 2, and a Jazz Eucharistic celebration on the Eve of All Saints’, both led by James Milliken and friends (J. R. & Co.).
a celebration of Black History Month, featuring The Senior Choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and their Director, Trey Clegg. They made the rafters ring as they brought special gifts of the Holy Spirit to St. Dunstan’s!
a “Pipe and Pipes” performance by Winter Taylor, piper, and friends, with Steven Schneider at St. Dunstan’s pipe organ.
two Evensong presentations, A Service of Lessons and Carols for Advent, a special salute to J. S. Bach, and a Sunday of Choir Recognition and Chorister Awards.
assistance by guest instrumentalists and singers on several Sunday mornings, including the Atlanta premiere of John Morgan’s setting of Psalm 121 by mezzo-soprano Kelly Shaw and violist Cindy Beard.

Music and Worship at St. Dunstan’s

Every Sunday morning at 10:45 (10:00 summer schedule), music is an integral and important part of worship at St. Dunstan's. Music supports every aspect of the liturgy; music can expand, emphasize, and illuminate the various liturgical themes and actions. For example, the first hymn that we sing at Holy Eucharist is almost always a hymn that praises God and establishes God as the ONE before whom we stand and on whom we depend. Other hymns and anthems provide opportunities for other kinds of prayer. With the aid of hymn and anthem texts, music helps us pray for others and for ourselves. Hymns and anthems also help to tell the Gospel story; our hymnal is arranged to make it clear how that story unfolds--Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, etc. Sometimes it is important to think of music in worship as a useful evangelistic tool. St. Ambrose was an early church father who popularized hymn singing. He wrote, “Some claim that I have ensnared the people by the melodies of my hymns. I do not deny it.” And then there is purely instrumental music--organ, piano, flutes, and other instruments--music that has no words. We typically begin and end each service with organ music: it helps to set apart--to frame--the time designated for worship. Instrumental music also helps to focus our attention and to assist us in finding that mental, physical, and spiritual place where we can be still and allow the presence of God to become a reality for us. (There is plenty of evidence from psychological research to support this idea.) Please come and see--and hear--for yourself. And better yet, consider joining the wonderful individuals who give their time and talents to make music at St. Dunstan's a reality.

St. Dunstan’s Instruments

The organ at St. Dunstan’s was originally created by the Delaware Organ Company of Tonawonga, New York, in 1964. It was rebuilt and relocated to St. Dunstan’s in 1997, with tonal revisions, new case, and new console, by Phil Parkey and Associates of Atlanta, Georgia. The present instrument consists of two manual divisions and pedal, controlling 19 stops, 6 ranks, and a Zymbelstern of 8 bells. See http://www.parkeyorgans.com/instruments_stdunstan.html for complete specifications.

St. Dunstan’s now has a harpsichord! James Millikan has given us a beautiful “spinetta” harpsichord made by Neupert, a well-known German harpsichord builder. The instrument was build sometime before 1950 and has been fully rebuilt and restored by Adam Decker, a prominent Atlanta harpsichord dealer.

Please feel free to contact us at any time!
Thomas Gibbs, Parish Musician
office: 404-266-1018, ext. 18 cell: 205-305-8208
email: tom@stdunstan.net

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St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia

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