CARILLON SUNDAYS
Our wonderful carillonneur, Tanya Lukyanova, plays the carillon on the first Sunday morning of the month during the year and through the summer. She usually begins around 9:45 am and plays after worship, too. If you would like, you can come to the church and listen from your car or stay for worship.
MUSIC AT FIRST CHURCH
Music is a wonderful gift from God. Our earliest recorded Hebrew scriptures reveal that music has been central to worship from the beginning. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we are instructed to “sing a new song to the Lord,” and to “praise God with strings and pipe!” This rich tradition continues around the world and here at First Church.
Our largest choir is you, the congregation, as you sing the hymns each Sunday. The Adult Choir is open to anyone high school age and above, and welcomes all who love to sing. We are fortunate to be assisted by professional Section Leaders who provide musical leadership and support to the choir. This group rehearses each Sunday after worship and sings in worship each Sunday morning from September to June. We welcome new members at any time.
The Organ
The pipe organ has rightly been called “The King of Instruments.” Reigning over our sanctuary from the rear gallery is a glorious instrument built in 1962 by Austin Organs, Incorporated, of Hartford, Connecticut. The organ, consisting of 3,135 pipes in five divisions, is played from a console of three manuals (keyboards) and pedals. It is a versatile instrument, capable of accompanying choirs, leading the congregation in song, and displaying organ literature of all historical periods in concert. Capable of everything from a subtle murmur to thundering bombast, it is one of the largest pipe organs in the region, its value second only to the building and property.