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Music Update, March 6, 2025

As Lent begins, the Emmaus Ringers, our fine handbell choir, will resume rehearsals as of Thursday, March 6, 2025.  We meet in the Sanctuary at 6:30 PM every Thursday (barring weather, etc.).  New members are welcome.

Choir meets as usual in the Parlor at 7:30 for one hour.

To enter the building, come to the Office door, off the Memorial Garden, on the “right side” as you look at the front of the church.  That is, across the street from the historic race track. 

GIve it a try! No lifetime commitment required.

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.  

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.

Programs are intended for every Tuesday.  Exceptions 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 and gifted public speaker, 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!

Lent and Beyond

Lent began on Ash Wednesday, March 5.  The forty days of introspection and self-evaluation, and penance as necessary, culminate in the great events of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and above all Easter Sunday.  The music follows the contour of this great journey.

This is a great time to come back to church, or to discover church if you haven’t.  From the friendly welcome at the start to the great coffee hour afterwards–not to mention Christian worship with dynamic sermons and music!–it might be the spiritual outlet you are looking for.  There are social opportunities as well, including fellowship and projects that support the wider community.

Children’s Music

Children’s music, a component of Sunday school, is also under Jonathan’s direction. Starting March 9, there will be a monthly children’s music feature after the children’s sermon.  It’s hoped that more opportunities for children’s music will grow and develop.  The Sunday School program is vibrant and full of kids–and there’s room for more.

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.

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Dr. Hall is a native of New York City, and studied organ and sacred music in Chicago and at Indiana University’s renowned Jacobs School of Music, where he earned the Doctor of Music degree.  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.