---

Music Updates, Fall 2024

Choir and Handbells Resume!

This is a perfect time to jump into a classic, vibrant, and fun music ministry in Orange County.  

Choir meets on Thursdays at 7:30.  Come to the Parlor–enter through the door by the Memorial Garden, across from the historic racetrack, with the OFFICE sign.  The Parlor is down the hall to the left–you can’t miss it–look for all the fun and happy people!

The Emmaus Ringers are about to resume for the holiday season.  We don’t meet every single week, as the choir does.  We meet at 6:30, in the Sanctuary.  Enter the same way, and at the Parlor door turn right through the big old-fashioned doors–have faith, you’re on the right track.  The Sanctuary is the big room and historic worship space…you can’t miss it.

Instrumentalists!

If you play a musical instrument, and would like to play as part of a Christian worship service in a historic church with a reputation for sacred music, let Jonathan know!  We welcome enthusiastic volunteers who wish to share their gifts.

 

SIMPLE GIFTS Recital a Big Success!
More guest artists are in the works!

 

Organ Recitals

First Presbyterian Church in Goshen is continuing its successful ongoing organ recital series.  

Please come on Tuesdays at 12:15 for half an hour of delightful and varied music.

NOTE:  NO ORGAN RECITAL ON CHRISTMAS EVE, DEC. 24.
ALSO:  NO ORGAN RECITAL ON NEW YEAR’S EVE, DEC. 31.  

Programs are intended for every Tuesday.  Exceptions would only involve major holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day, weather, or illness!  The programs are FREE, there is ample parking, and the Sanctuary is accessible if you enter at the side “Office” entrance, or call ahead for assistance.

The principal artist for the series is Jonathan B. Hall, who oversees the music ministries of the congregation.  An experienced recitalist, he has performed throughout the United States and abroad, and loves sharing his comprehensive knowledge of, and appreciation for, organ and keyboard literature.

Come and enjoy!

Ordinary Time, Advent and Christmas 2024

Ordinary Time (as if any time were ordinary!) continues up to the celebration of Christ the King on Sunday, November 23, and the end of the liturgical cycle.  The new cycle begins with the First Sunday of Advent, December 1.  As you celebrate Thanksgiving on November 28, remember the start of Advent and the preparation for Christmas, and think of the needy.

Meanwhile, the Christian roots of Halloween and All Saints are uppermost.  If you enjoy the “spookiness,” remember that these days are mostly a time to celebrate the longed-for unity of all humanity in God’s kingdom.

Children’s Music

Children’s music, a component of Sunday school, is also under Jonathan’s direction.  In the past year, we sang special tributes for Mother’s Day, a fun Palm Sunday anthem, and learned the spiritual “Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow” for Christmas!  It’s hoped that a sacred music component will be a feature of upcoming Confirmation classes as well…stay tuned!

Music at First Presbyterian

The First Presbyterian Church in Goshen, New York has a long tradition of musical excellence.  The roots of this ministry go to the church’s founding in 1720.  From its severe Calvinist origins, with the practice of unaccompanied psalm singing, the church has developed into a home for the arts and sacred music.

Since 2016, this ministry has been led by Jonathan B. Hall, who came to live in Orange County that year. From March 2020 to November 2021 he also served as producer of the church’s online worship services.  His family history includes a long line of Presbyterians, lay and clergy.

*

Dr. Hall is a native of New York City, and studied organ and sacred music in Chicago and at Indiana University.  He is also a seminary graduate with a strong foundation in theology and liturgy. His teachers have included some of the best sacred musicians in America.  He brings an unusual breadth of education and experience to the job, not only with his religious training but also with advanced degrees in literature and music.  He is experienced with the music, and the worship ethos, of several Protestant denominations as well as Catholic and Reform Jewish traditions.

A keyboardist (organ, harpsichord, and piano), choral conductor, theory teacher, lyric baritone, recorder player, and occasional composer, Hall is both a Fellow and a Choir Master of the American Guild of Organists; he is a member of the Central Hudson Valley Chapter and has previously chaired the national Committee on Professional Certification. He is a Fellow of Trinity College London and a member of ASCAP and of Pi Kappa Lambda.