Music is important at Trinity Lime Rock

Trinity is proud to be the home of

MUSIC AT TRINITY LIME ROCK

At Trinity, music has always been important -- a pipe organ was the first major furnishing of the church when it was built. (The ladies of the church financed its purchase with a series of chicken dinners). A century ago, Trinity even had its own boychoir. Click the image to the right to see Trinity's choir of men and boys as it appeared circa 1906 (choristers are identified in the photo archives).

Memorial Donations to Trinity's Music Program

But what about music at Trinity today?

Trinity Lime Rock's Organist and Choir Director is Christine Gevert.

Christine was born in Germany and has lived and worked in Chile and Europe. She records for the Carpe Diem (Berlin) label, playing both organ and harpsichord. Her most recent recordings were made as a member of the Early Music duo, Les Inègales. Please access the Carpe Diem catalog (please be patient while the recordings download).

Christine has performed and directed church music on three continents for churches of three denominations (Anglican, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic). She has developed additional depth as a church musician in other denominations as well as through teaching early music and choral singing. To read more about her background, please Read more about Christine's background.

Christine really enjoys working with both our adults and our children here at Trinity -- and of course continuing to expand her own musical talents. She composes for our choir, and on most Sundays she improvises on the recessional hymn for a postlude -- Trinity is one of very few churches where most parishioners (and virtually the entire choir) routinely sit and listen to the postlude.

And, of course, Christine also founded and directs Crescendo!, the musical organization Trinity is proud to have nurtured, and the chorus of LOCOS (Light Opera Company of Salisbury), as well as the popular area barbershop chorus known as the HousaTonics.

Musical Visitors at Trinity:

We have frequent concerts and special musical events at Trinity Lime Rock. You'll see them announced on our calendar page, in our Parish Facebook Page, and on our weekly e-mail newsletter. Here are some of our recent visitors:

The Choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street

We count ourselves very fortunate that the superb professional choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street visits us each Autumn.

2009 marked the eighth consecutive year that "Big Trinity" has visited us, and we look forward to welcoming them again in 2010. We invite you to come hear this extraordinary ensemble!

See a page all about Trinity Wall Street's 2009 visit to us, or see a directory of pages of all of the Trinity Wall Street Choir's past visits with us.

We always make sure that we take an "official" picture of the Trinity Wall Street choir when they are here. CLICK HERE to open a page containing all of those pictures since their first visit to us. It also contains links to more pictures from each of those memorable visits.

Or, see photos contributed by the Trinity Wall Street Choir of their 2003 visit to us!

Here's a video of this wonderful choir, performing at their own House, Trinity Church, Wall Street:

The Berkshire Choral Festival

is a wonderful friend to have right here in our own area! On July 27, 2003, a contingent from the Choral Festival, under the direction of Fredericka Petit-Homme, first visited us at Trinity Lime Rock and honored us with a magnificent performance of our Offertory Anthem: "Lift up Thine Eyes", from Mendelssohn's Elijah.

Do you wonder why only a contingent of their chorus visited us? Well, the entire chorus at the Berkshire Choral Festival numbers more than 225 voices!! We're a small church!! They wouldn't all fit!!

Here are two photographs from their marvelous performance! Click on either one to see a larger view.

A Trinity chorister's view of some of the members of the visiting group in performance. (Trinity choristers are in the foreground)

Some of our visitors from the Berkshire Choral Festival with our own Christine Gevert, front row left, in Walker Hall, following the service. Miss Petit-Homme is front row right.

(You should know that the contingent from the Berkshire Choral Festival also enjoyed our hospitality sufficiently that they have returned to us every year since their initial visit to us. At Trinity, we love good music and we make sure that our visitors know how much they are appreciated!)

The American Boychoir and Chorus Angelicus

These two groups of fine youthful singers sang their first-ever joint concert two years ago at Trinity Lime Rock. We've got photos and videos of the American Boychoir/Chorus Angelicus concert. Take a look!

See photos and videos of the American Boychoir and Chorus Angelicus at Trinity

The choirs of neighboring churches of several denominations

These have included, in recent years, the Choir of the Congregational Church of Salisbury, the First Presbyterian Church of Millerton, and delegations from the Choir of St. John's Church in Salisbury. Click here to see photographs of the preparations for our ecumenical choral Evensong for Shrove Tuesday 2007.

Trinity Lime Rock choir outside

Here, our choir and acolytes walk outside

to the back of the church in preparation for

procession on a crisp Winter morning.

Crescendo! was founded at Trinity and is resident here

Trinity is proud to have been the incubator for -- and the ongoing host -- a noted musical organization with a reputation that extends far beyond our immediate area: Crescendo!

Directed by our own Christine Gevert, Crescendo! rehearses and performs to sellout audiences at Trinity and other venues in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut regularly. Many of our own choristers are also participants in Crescendo. More information about Crescendo is available at their website, www.crescendoberkshires.org.

Our Choir

Trinity's choir only occasionally number more than a dozen singers -- but we work diligently at making music, and we have never been known to decline a musical challenge! Take a peek at the music we performed during Holy Week 2008 for an example. The choir sings at the 10:30 Holy Eucharist on Sundays all year 'round, unlike many churches where the choir takes the summer off. We have many visitors in the summer, so feel that we ought to at least welcome them with a choir!

The choir particularly shines at special services throughout the year. Both Christmas and Easter seasons usually include special performances of our choir, and for these the choir's size swells to include those who cannot make a commitment to sing all year long. In these seasons, singers from other denominations often come to us for the experience of singing with us.

(click on the photo to see a larger image)

We also do something at Trinity that no other church we know of does: usually we provide a choir for funerals in the church. Also, we occasionally visit elsewhere -- when an existing choir needs augmentation for a special occasion (as when a friend of the choir was installed as Pastor of a nearby Congregational Church); or when visiting a parish with no choir of their own (as in our visits when our sanctuary was being renovated), and we very much enjoy going caroling each Christmas.

Most Sundays we chant the Psalms and the Service Music during the Liturgy, and our Vicar frequently chants the Preface and Sursum Corda of the Eucharistic prayers at the 10:30 Holy Eucharist.

On Feast Days and on other special occasions -- for example, when the Bishop visits -- we tend to do more elaborate musical presentations. As an example, for the Bishop's 2009 visit, the program includes virtually all of J. S. Bach's Cantata 182 ("King of Heaven, Come in Triumph") with guest soloists, our Children's Choir, and baroque instrumentalists. Occasionally -- such as on Ascension Day, we sing a Choral Evensong. Want to see the kind of music we do? Take a look at our Christmas music for 2008.

We are energetic singers of our favorite hymns and frequently learn newer hymns as well. A typical 10:30 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday has the usual processional and recessional hymns, a gradual hymn, an offertory hymn (or choir anthem or soloist), and two or three Communion hymns -- as well as the Sanctus, the Fraction Anthem, the appointed Psalm, and (depending upon the season) a Gloria, a Kyrie Eleison, a Gospel Hallelujah and other Service Music.

Here are some of our current choristers:

The Choir of Trinity Lime Rock

We use the current Episcopal Hymnal, the supplemental Episcopal hymnal, Wonder, Love and Praise, anthems from the great composers of church music from medieval times to the present, music from other religious traditions, and music composed especially for us by our Organist and Choirmaster, Christine Gevert.

Visitors to our Parish sometimes ask "Do you always sing this much?" Our customary answer to that question is "No, sometimes we sing even more!"

Furthermore, our Organist, Christine Gevert often provides us with improvisations on the recessional hymn for a Postlude! (and yes, applause IS appropriate!)

About Participating--

If you like to sing -- or think you might, please speak with our Organist/Choirmaster, Christine Gevert. The easiest way to reach her is to call her at the church office, extension 405, or via e-mail at lesinegales@yahoo.com about becoming a member of the choir. At the present time, our regular choir membership is as follows:

Sopranos:	Ginny Dildine, Kathy Drake, Danielle Gaherty, Linda Lloyd, Martha Nesbitt
Altos:	Martha Baer, Patricia Barton, Judy Brown, Randy Orzano (counter-tenor)
Tenors:	Geoff Brown, Gordon Gustafson
Basses:	John Lloyd, Tom Schindler

Here are a few photos of us rehearsing before the 2009 visit of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street:

There is always room for one more! Professional vocal training or specialized musical education is not necessary (although a few of our choristers have both). What are required are an eagerness to learn, regular attendance at choir rehearsals, a willingness to work hard, and the courage to stretch your musical capabilities. We don't just practice, we LEARN -- and regularly we sing material that looks impossibly challenging when we first approach it. Singing for Christine is a memorable experience (and your webmaster can personally attest to it!).

If you cannot make the time commitment to rehearse each week and sing every Sunday, consider joining with our choir for a season -- perhaps during Lent, or during the Summer, or preparing the wonderful choral music for Easter or Christmas! Some people join us only for a particular occasion -- for a specific performance, or when we go caroling for shut-ins at Christmas, or for funerals.

Our kids sing too

See pictures of both adult and young people's choirs entertaining us on Epiphany 2002. This was the second year in a row we had a similar treat. On Twelfth Night 2001, Choral Evensong was led by our choir. After the dinner which followed, the choir, along with members of the Sunday School, entertained members of the congregation with carols and medieval pieces chosen for the Epiphany season. In 2009 we are in the process of re-integrating our young people's choir in our worship services -- they already sing as part of the Christmas Pageant -- and they will be participating when the Bishop visits and the Choir presents J. S. Bach's Cantata 182.

Yes, at Trinity our kids really DO sing!!

Trinity kids SING!!!!!

(Yes, Trinity Kids REALLY sing!! This picture was taken at dress rehearsal for a Sunday School Christmas Pageant.

Here's a short video excerpt from our 2007 Christmas Pageant:

You can see (and listen to) more of our talented kids performing at Christmas Pageant 2009 right here.

...and, here are some photos of Junior Choristers who sang a Bach Cantata with the Choir and baroque orchestra in honor of the Bishop's visit to Trinity (click to see larger images):

Our Organ

You may have heard that Trinity Lime Rock has a remarkable organ.

Well, it's not so new anymore -- we've now had it for nine years, but we're still very proud of it, and the story of how we came to have it is an interesting one.

Read the story of how we came to get our new organ, to see pictures of our new organ as it looks at Trinity Lime Rock and to peruse the the manufacturer's specifications.

Here are Judy Brown and some some of the members of her Organ Fact-Finding Committee discussing the committee's work......which led to a great new instrument in record time!!

No, we're certainly not limited to vocal music!

Here's one of our talented Confirmands, Caitlynn Watt, with her saxophone a few years ago. Saxophone? Yes! (Think Palm Sunday procession! A great solution for keeping Parishioners and Choir in procession into the Church on key!)

...and here, speaking of Palm Sunday processions, in a picture from the 1970s, is a quartet of Trinity trombones fulfilling the same function. (Click on any of these pictures to see them larger)

Nor are our instrumentalists limited to our young people!

Here is parishioner Ted Somerville at the organ.

Ted recently -- and very graciously -- called on his organ experience of "quite a few years ago" to help us out while Christine took a well-earned vacation.