Music

Take the Plunge:

Rehearsals at St. John’s

Handbell Choir: Wednesdays, 6:45-8:15 PM in the balcony; enter through the main, red nave doors.

Children’s Choir: Thursdays, 4:30-5:30 PM

Youth Choir:  Thursdays, 5:30-6:30 PM

Adult Choir: Thursdays, 7:15-8:45 PM

**All choral rehearsals are in the choir room.

St. John’s has an active, vibrant music program, and we invite you to join us! We rehearse weekly during the church’s program year [September to June] and participate in worship regularly. We also provide concerts, productions, talent shows, and evensongs. We represent St. John’s within the community by giving programs in other venues, and our work brings new members into the church. We have given concerts to benefit the church music program and St. John’s at large, but we have also presented concerts to raise money for churches ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. We have presented joint programs with choirs from churches in Owego, Binghamton, and Ithaca, New York, and Enon, Ohio.  The children’s and youth choirs sing at churches without a children’s music program [most recently in Penn Yan and Owego] and go caroling in December. Our bell choir has presented holiday concerts for the senior citizens of the area. All of our musicians are volunteers and amateurs who worship God through music. If you enjoy making music in a positive, happy group, please come join us.

OUR GROUPS

Our handbell choir has been rehearsing weekly for over 12 years now. If you can count to 4, we can teach you to ring handbells. This group plays special music for church services and performs in local assisted living facilities as their schedules allow.  This is a dedicated, enthusiastic group that is always glad to add new members.

St. John’s has a long choral tradition – just check out the pictures in the choir room!

The youth choir is for middle- and high-schoolers. Most of them started in the children’s choir, but this is not a requirement.Our children’s choir is a bright group of elementary-school-aged children who learn part singing and proper vocal technique as they sing in English,Latin, Italian, and German. If your child is in the 5th grade or younger, this is the choir for him or her. This choir ‘feeds’ the youth choir, is often a child’s first opportunity to be a worship leader, and is arguably the most important choir we have.

Top Ten Reasons to join the choir:

10. We have the best seats in the house.

9. We  participate as worship leaders on a regular basis, remaining connected to the practice of our faith.

8. We are a multi-generational family,  We support and care for each other.

7. We learn Bible stories through song.

6. Each new piece or skill we master increases our self-confidence, which positively impacts the rest of our life.

5. We learn a lot of really great music, including pieces not usually possible for volunteer church choirs.

4. Working on music keeps us mentally sharp. And we all need to stay sharp!

3. Working on our music helps us to forget whatever problems or difficulties we’re facing. It’s nice to have a break.

2. Coming to rehearsal revives us and gives us new energy for our lives.

1. It’s fun!

So come on. Join us and celebrate, praising God through the talent He gave us.