ST. JOHN S EPISCOPAL CHURCH TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA CHOIR HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 ST. JOHN S EPISCOPAL CHURCH TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA CHOIR HANDBOOK

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome 1 Music Staff and Volunteers 1 Choirs 2 Weekly Choir Schedule 2 Calendar of Extra Services/Concerts 2 What Every Choir Member Needs to Know 3-5 Rehearsals 3 Services 3 Music Cubby 3 Vestment 4 Shoes 4 Music 4 Procession 4-5 Absences 5 Miscellaneous 5 Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) 6 RSCM VOICE FOR LIFE 7 RSCM Ribbons and Awards 7 A Chorister s Prayer 8 WELCOME TO ST. JOHN S CHOIR St. John's Church has a long history of fine choral singing of music in the Anglican tradition. For decades the choirs have sung music of great composers such as Byrd, Tallis, Howells, Poulenc, and broadened their experience with the best church music of the 20 th - century. The importance of children as singers in that tradition has been equally stressed and with the RSCM model as a guide, the children choristers are an integral part of the choir family. This handbook is designed for the use of the choirs to facilitate ease communication, state guidelines and expectations for choral singers, and to enable all of the choral singers to know each other better. Please feel free to ask Betsy Calhoun or another choir member if you have any questions. MUSIC STAFF & VOLUNTEERS Betsy Calhoun, Director of Music Elizabeth LaJeunesse, Organist and Music Assistant Michael Norris, Music Assistant Susan Cross, Hilda Frazier & Kathleen Woods, Vestments Ginny Smoller, Choral Librarian Kathleen Woods, Card Ministry St. John s Episcopal Church 211 N. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL betsy@saint-john.org , x. 20 Find us on Facebook: Music at St. John s 1

3 CHOIRS Beginning Choristers K 2 nd grade Junior Choristers 3 rd 5th grade Senior Choristers 6 th 12th grade Adult Choir Teen Boys (changed voices) & men and women of all ages WEEKLY CHOIR SCHEDULE Rehearsals Tuesday 3:30 4:30 pm RSCM Class/Chorister Rehearsal Wednesday 3:15 4:00 pm RSCM Class 4:00 5:00 pm Beginning Choristers 4:00 5:15 pm Junior Choristers 4:30 6:00 pm Senior Choristers 7:00 8:30 pm Adult Choir Sunday Services 8:15 am Chorister rehearsal 8:30 am Adult rehearsal 9:00 am Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10:45 am Adult rehearsal 11:15 am Holy Eucharist, Rite II CALENDAR OF EXTRA SERVICES/CONCERTS 10/23 3:30 pm Choral Evensong 11/22 5:30 pm Thanksgiving 12/11 7:00 pm Advent Lessons & Carols 12/13 5:30 pm Grace Mission Christmas 12/17 8:00 pm Concert with TSO 12/24 4, 8, & 11 pm Christmas Eve 2/19 7:00 pm Choral Evensong 3/1 7:00 pm Ash Wednesday 4/13 7:00 pm Maundy Thursday 4/14 7:00 pm Good Friday 4/15 7:00 pm Easter Vigil 5/14 3:30 pm Choral Evensong WHAT EVERY CHOIR MEMBER NEEDS TO KNOW Rehearsals v Being on time is essential for a well-prepared choir! v Descants, psalms, flyers, etc. are placed on the music stand outside the choir room before each rehearsal. v On the white board is a list of music (hymns, psalms, and anthems) to be sung the following Sunday. You are encouraged to come early and mark your hymnal. Services v From September through May, the choir sings the 9:00 & 11:15 am Sunday services. v The 9:00 am service is led by St. John's Choristers and Adult Choir v The Beginning Choir joins the Choristers at the 9:00 am service approximately four times per academic year. v Adult choir members may choose to sing either service or both. The music is the same for both services. v Singers should be vested and prepared for the warm-up rehearsal. v During the summer the choir sings one service at 10:00 am with a 9:00 am rehearsal. v There are no mid-week rehearsals in the summer. v A schedule of extra rehearsals and services is sent out in the fall and winter. v The choir occasionally sings for weddings and funerals. Music v New music is placed in your cubby before rehearsal. v Return music (anthems, descants, and handouts) which have been sung to the table in the choral library unless it will be sung again. v Recycle the Sunday bulletin in the white recycling boxes. v The absentee book located in the choir room lobby has a section for assistance with folders (missing number, need a new folder, etc.). 2 3

4 Music Cubby v Each choir member is assigned a number. In your cubby you will find a black folder which contains music and a hymnal. v Your own prayer book/hymnal may be substituted for the hymnal. v Hymnal ribbon markers are available and correspond to the following: Red Processional hymn Purple Closing hymn White Sequence hymn Blue Communion hymn v When returning your music to your cubby, please put your folder on top of your hymnal. Vestment v Each choir member is issued a vestment: a cassock (black for adults and red for choristers) and a white cotta. Your vestment has same number as your cubby. v Choir members are responsible for laundering their own vestments. v The absentee book located in the choir room lobby has a section for assistance with vestments (missing button, needing a different size, need a new hanger, etc.) Shoes v Closed-toe, black shoes are preferred for services. A shoe cubby is available for storage of your black shoes. Procession v The choir lines up on the stairs outside the west doors before the service. When it rains, the choir lines up inside, on the stairs to the choir loft. v When processing, the open hymnal should be placed on top of the closed black folder, with the folder facing sideways. Stay with the person next to you and keep two pews between you and the person in front of you. When you reach the chancel steps, reverence (bow) the cross, process down the side aisles and to the balcony. v When going to communion, process to the altar as usual. When you reach the top of the chancel steps, reverence the cross and then go to the communion rail as directed by the Verger. After receiving communion, return to the loft via the side aisles. v The choir does not process out. 4 Absences v An absentee book is located on the table outside the vesting area. Please sign out if you will miss a rehearsal or service. v If you do not know in advance that you will be absent, please call x20 or betsy@saint-john.org as soon as possible. v The sign-out book also has an area for logging volunteer time and for requesting assistance (missing button on vestment, needing new folder, etc.). Miscellaneous v Please let Betsy know if you play a musical instrument; St. John's appreciates fine instrumental music! v The music program is always in need of volunteer assistance in such areas as choral library, administrative help, publicity, photography, parties, etc. Please let Betsy know if you are interested in helping. A PRAYER BEFORE SERVICE Help us, O God, to remember that we are in thy presence, and to lead thy praise with reverence and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. A PRAYER FOR CHURCH MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 819) 5

5 ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSIC St. John's is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), an organization founded in 1927 in England by Sir Sydney H. Nicholson, organist of Westminster Abbey and composer of the hymn tune for Lift high the cross. RSCM s founding purpose was to promote high standards of church music. While the cathedrals of England were known for their excellent choirs, RSCM was established to encourage the same standards for smaller parishes. Over the decades RSCM has grown to become an international and ecumenical organization, with more than 8,000 affiliates in the UK, North America, Australia, South Africa, and throughout Europe. In America, several training courses are held each summer throughout the country for those dedicated choristers who wish to enhance their education. Each course, led by an RSCM choirmaster from England or America, is offered to adults and children who rehearse, sing, worship, and play together for one intense week. At the end of the week concluding morning and evening services are sung by all choristers, young and old. St. John s provides limited scholarships to all who wish to attend a course. RSCM Motto Psallam spiritu et mente I will sing with the spirit and with the understanding also. For more information about RSCM visit 6 VOICE FOR LIFE VOICE FOR LIFE is the RSCM's guide to training choirs and singers of all ages. This guide provides a framework for choral singers to develop their vocal skills, their musical understanding, and their knowledge of the repertoire. There are five levels in the VOICE FOR LIFE scheme providing training from beginners to advanced singers: White, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Red, and Yellow. The levels are designed to be used by both children and adults and include: v Clear targets which state exactly what a singer should achieve and demonstrate in order to complete each level v Singer's workbooks containing questions, exercises, and puzzles v Ribbons and medals to award singers on completion of each level v Informal assessment of each level by the choir trainer v Awarding of the ribbon and medal once the singer has reached the targets and completed the workbook RSCM AWARDS To support and affirm the VOICE FOR LIFE levels achieved within the choir, RSCM provides a complementary system of awards designed to be assessed through formal examination: the Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards. White Ribbon Lauren Graves, Alexa Minton Light Blue Ribbon Lexie Blount, Emilia Hayslip, Suzanne Schodlbauer, Holly Sims, Melissa Sims, Eason Winton Dark Blue Ribbon Liz Blount, Erin DuMond, Karen Ponchak Red Ribbon Isabelle Hayslip 7

6 A CHORISTER S PRAYER Bless, O Lord, us thy servants who minister in thy temple: grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 8