CHOIR

Sacred music as part of church worship dates back to Old Testament times. The melodic idiom, of early sacred music was that of the Jewish Temple and the singing of the Psalms of David, which is still prominent in the Orthodox Church services.

The fundamentals of music were inherited from the Near East by the Byzantines and it was the Byzantines who developed the theories of scales, acoustics and esthetics in the forms that are still in use today. The greatest contribution to music from the Byzantines was choral singing. Chanting in alternate choruses was popular at this time.

Byzantine music is the ‘liturgical garment’ with which the poetic text of a hymn is vested. This liturgical aspect of music has a threefold purpose: first, to penetrate the soul of the faithful in a way that mere speech can’t and, by extension, to make the doctrines of the Church easier to instill in the hearts of the  people; second, to expand and transform the words from means of exchange of information between humans to vehicles of communication between God and man; and third, to facilitate the sanctification of the praying community.

The Parish Choir is the soul of our church. They sing at most liturgical services the traditional music of the Orthodox Church. The choir leads the congregation in prayer. The invitation to prayer is put out by the clergy. The clergy invites prayer, but the choir leads the congregation in the prayer itself. 

The choir director and members are most faithful in their love and devotion to the parish and its members, and they are an inspiration to all. The choir is open to all parishioners.

For information on joining the choir, please contact the Choir Director.