above photo credit: David Higgs©2023

Andrew Johnson

VanDelinder award winner

Andrew is thrilled to be joining the music staff as Assistant Organist at Christ Church Rochester! Originally from Bloomington, IL. He is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where he will study with David Higgs and serve as Teaching Assistant in Aural Skills. His passion for sacred music extends to his roles as an organist, pianist, vocalist, composer, and conductor, and he looks forward to collaborating with other devoted musicians in the vibrant music ministry at Christ Church: Soli Deo Gloria!

Before coming to Eastman, Andrew earned a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma in Organ from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Illinois Wesleyan University. His recent church appointments include Organist/Choirmaster at Mount Calvary Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD and Organist/Choir Director at Wesley United Methodist Church in Bloomington, IL. When not playing or singing, Andrew enjoys reading, nature, and spending time with family and friends.

Andrew Johnson (he,him) Assistant Organist

James Jeffery

is a second-year undergraduate Organ Performance major in the studio of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music. He previously studied with Daniel Brownell at First UCC Milford, CT. He has held the position of Director of Music at Calvary St. George Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, CT. Most recently, he was a Choral Scholar in the Bass section here at Christ Church. He has expertise as a pianist, drummer, clarinetist and composer, writing primarily in the classical tradition in addition to hobby projects in musical theater and instrumental hip-hop. He is very excited to be returning to Christ Church this year in the capacity of VanDelinder Fellow and is looking forward to making music with Stephen and the rest of the top-notch team here! 

In addition to winning prizes in several piano competitions, Fiacco has also performed numerous times on the Society for New Music’s Rising Stars programs on both piano and organ. Fiacco intends to become a concert organist.
Fiacco has given many recitals, notably at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City and at the Cadet Chapel at West Point, home to the world’s third largest organ. He attended several summer intensives in Philadelphia, where he performed in Field Hall at the Curtis Institute of Music and on the Wanamaker Organ in Macy’s, the second largest organ in the world. In January 2023, he played the dedicatory recital on Hamilton College’s new organ and later appeared with the Hamilton College Orchestra as organ soloist. He was also named to the 20 under 30 Class of 2023 byThe Diapason, the oldest scholarly journal devoted to the organ in the United States. The highly respected list recognizes “young talents in the fields of organ and harpsichord performance [and building,] carillon, and church music.”

Why I Sing, or

Did You Hear the One about

the Baptist Minister

and the Episcopal Choir?

“The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end.” Thus begins one of the highlights of my week, the service of Compline on Sunday evenings. I would imagine that among you readers there are others who feel the same, as attendance at Compline continues to grow. But unlike most of you readers, I am not a member of Christ Church. I’m not even an Episcopalian.

Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Rev. Mark E. Ballard, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Chili, and I am in my fourth season as a member of the Schola Cantorum. Yes, those rumors you’ve heard are correct. There really is a Baptist minister singing chants and anthems most Sundays between October and April, and I’ve been asked to share a few words as to why I do so.

I became involved three years ago after hearing many good things from my dear friend, Christopher Huebner, the assistant director of the Schola. I have always loved the music of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. But most importantly, I felt a deep need for something spiritual that I was not in charge of. While leading worship in Chili, I often catch myself actually failing to worship. My mind keeps charging ahead to the next items in the bulletin. Far too often I’ve had the experience of reciting the Lord’s Prayer without actually praying the Lord’s Prayer.

I needed to have a regular opportunity to be encountered by God in worship unencumbered by the responsibility to make certain that everything fits together and works correctly. In this simple service of prayer, readings, and song, God has met my need. The Holy Spirit touches my spirit in a unique way at this time.

Compline has become so important to me that, despite the fact that I love both movies and sports, I have skipped watching the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and the seventh game of the World Series to sing of Good News and peace before the close of the day.

So, is Compline at Christ Church worship or a concert? As a Baptist, that’s an easy question to answer. Of course it is! It is both worship and concert. Baptist theology does not require the presence of priest or pastor to validate or consecrate worship, but “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Christ is present among us, and it is Jesus who consecrates our efforts to reach out to him as a community of faith – at least that’s what I believe and what I experience.

At the same time, we strive to do our best. I believe that, in worship, God does not demand perfection from us, but God does demand excellence. The same is true if I am performing in a concert. Perfection is an unreasonable goal. But excellence – the doing of one’s best in both preparation and performance – is the only goal worth striving for.

Finally, it is community which is at the heart of what we singers are doing and being in that circle of candlelight. We work hard up there. But we work hard at more than learning notes and words. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we blend our many voices into one voice; we offer our diverse gifts to the building up of the community; we submit our egos to become the Body of Christ and to proclaim the glory of God.

So thank you, Christ Church, for opening your doors to this American Baptist. No, I’m not about to change denominations; I deeply cherish that which makes me a Baptist. But more importantly, I cherish and affirm that which makes us Christians, and sisters and brothers in God’s family.

With all that in mind, I will conclude with the closing words of Compline, Deo Gratias – Thanks be to God!

The Rev’d Mark E. Ballard

Singing and transforming: Compline with Schola Cantorum

A longtime Eastman School of Music tradition returns this weekend: Compline, preceded by the first Candlelight Concert. The Candlelight Concert, an organ recital by Malcolm Matthews, begins at 8:30 p.m.; Compline begins at 9 p.m. Both events take place at Christ Church, 141 East Avenue.

Compline is performed by Schola Cantorum and directed by Stephen Kennedy, Director of Music and Organist of Christ Church Rochester, Instructor of Sacred Music at the Eastman School of Music, and Instructor of Organ for Eastman’s Community Music School. In 1997, he founded the Christ Church Schola Cantorum to perform the Office of Compline each Sunday at Christ Church.

This acclaimed ensemble of voices and Renaissance instruments specializes in the performance of Plainsong, motets of the Renaissance and Romantic eras, as well as contemporary music and improvisation. The group has been featured in various national radio broadcasts, appeared in international festivals and concerts, and collaborated with ensembles such as the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble, and Ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen. The Schola has recorded for the Arsis and Loft labels.

We asked Stephen for his thoughts as this tradition enters a 25th year:

When I founded the Schola Cantorum in 1997, I never imagined that it would have developed into an ensemble with such transformative impact through high-level music making. What grew out of a desire to teach others to perform Gregorian chant from medieval notation is now a performance laboratory where we experiment and grapple with performance practices of many styles of music. These processes afford us choices that expand the expressive possibilities of our performance.

Making Schola Cantorum sing: Stephen Kennedy

The Schola is presently comprised of singers, Renaissance sackbut players, an organist, and cornettist — all of whom get to perform to hundreds of people each week. We perform sacred chant, renaissance polyphony, romantic and contemporary works, choral improvisation within the ancient monastic office of Compline at Christ Church on Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. (October-April).  Compline is performed entirely of music by candlelight. Members include Eastman and U of R faculty and students, RIT faculty, and Rochester-area musicians. Participation in the Schola is also offered for course credit at Eastman. 

Members who have graduated from Eastman regularly let me know that Schola was one of the most important and fulfilling opportunities they encountered while in Rochester. Former members are now freelance performers, composers, notable church musicians, and those who hold important teaching positions around the country. We all look forward to Sunday nights when together we discover deeper hidden powers in music performance that transform us and those who experience our music making.

Every Sunday from October through April at 9:00 p.m. – Compline by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy, director

Candlelight Concerts precede Compline on first Sundays at 8:30 p.m.

Third Sunday Lectures precede Compline at 8:00-8:45

Compline and Candlelight Concerts are supported by Christ Church “Friends of Music”

Candlelight Concerts

https://www.christchurchrochester.org/candlelight-concerts-new

Congratulations to Ryan Chan (former VanDelinder Fellow) and James Kealey (Christ Church Schola Cantorum organist) 

Ryan was a finalist and James won First Prize and Audience Prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance.  This is probably the most important competition in the US for launching an organist's career.  It is thrilling to have this connection between these young musicians and the Christ Church parish. Congratulations also to their teacher David Higgs whose students were awarded first, second, and third prizes (as well as audience prize) in this year's competition.  Six of the nine semifinalists were from David’s studio. Congratulations to Ryan Chan (VanDelinder Fellow) and James Kealey (Christ Church Schola Cantorum organist) 

Ryan was a finalist and James won First Prize and Audience Prize in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance.  This is probably the most important competition in the US for launching an organist's career.  It is thrilling to have this connection between these young musicians and the Christ Church parish. Congratulations also to their teacher David Higgs whose students were awarded first, second, and third prizes (as well as audience prize) in this year's competition.  Six of the nine semifinalists were from David’s studio. 

Dear Christ Church,
We wanted you all to know about this latest wonderful news about Gwen Paker who is one of our Christ Church Choral Scholars:

Congratulations to our very own Gwen Paker for winning first prize at the Friends of Eastman Opera Voice Competition last Friday, February 18th. Gwen joined the Christ Church choir way back in 2018 and is now getting her Master’s degree from Eastman. Congrats to Gwen, we’re so proud of you!
If you’d like to hear Gwen sing outside of the Christ Church Choir, you can check out her website: www.gwenpaker.com for videos, photos, and more.

Compline is an in person event at 9:00 pm from October - May, with Candlelight Concerts preceding on First Sundays at 8:30 pm

https://www.christchurchrochester.org/candlelight-concerts-new

Compline is performed by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum on Sunday nights at 9:00pm, every Sunday from October-May. Candlelight Concerts are on the First Sunday of the month and precede Compline at 8:30pm.

The CD collections are available for purchase. Please contact here. thesong@christchurchrochester.org put “CD” in the subject line and you will contacted to make arrangements. The price for each CD is $10.00 US except for the “Sunday in Paris” which is a 2 CD set and is $20.00 US

Tuesday Pipes

This series is back in full swing, every Tuesday at 12:10 pm

Stephen Kennedy
Music Director, Christ Church Rochester
Director of the ESM/Christ Church Schola Cantorum
Instructor of Sacred Music, Eastman School of Music

Is BACK! Beginning August 10th! Tuesday Pipes is live and in person every week! This is a world class organ concert, freely offered, in the beautiful sacred space of historic Christ Church. Outstanding!

Stephen Kennedy
Music Director, Christ Church Rochester
Director of the ESM/Christ Church Schola Cantorum
Instructor of Sacred Music, Eastman School of Music

Eastman Organists’ Tuesday Pipes return 

for the 2021-22 season

 ROCHESTER, NY (July 22, 2021)— The Eastman School of Music Organ Department kicks off a new season of Tuesday Pipes — 25-30 minute organ recitals by Eastman students, faculty, and guests as part of the department’s ongoing initiative to bring outstanding organ music to the Rochester community. These weekly lunchtime concerts will begin, after a long hiatus, on August 10th at 12:10 pm at Christ Church, 141 East Ave. Events are free and open to the public.Parking is available on the street and in the East End Garage across the street from the church.

 Christ Church is home to two of Rochester’s most prized instruments: the Craighead-Saunders Organ in the rear gallery is a scientific process-reconstruction of an 18th-century instrument that still exists today in Vilnius, Lithuania, created by the central German organ builder Adam Gottlob Casparini in 1776. Completed after six years of research on the original instrument in Vilnius, it is perhaps the only instrument in the United States where one can hear the music of Bach just as he might have heard it. At the opposite end of the church, the Hook & Hastings Organ in the chancel represents the 19th-century American Romantic tradition, featuring original pipes from 1861 and 1893. 

PAST MUSIC EVENTS- From Stephen Kennedy

The Rochester Celebrity Organ Recital was on 4/30/21 at 7:30, but you can still see it!

Both are members of the organ faculty at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Professor Higgs and Visiting Professor Laver will present a colorful program designed to highlight two organs housed at Christ Church: a historical reconstruction of a Lithuanian organ built in 1776, and an American organ from 1893. The program will include music by composers both old and recent, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Jeanne Demessieux, and Florence Price.

Suggested donations of $12 are welcome and made possible through our website which is also linked on the page to the left.

On Tuesday afternoon, June 29th 2021, Balint Karosi played an all-Bach recital at Christ Church.Below is the program:

Ballint is making a recording on the Casparini at CC and he wants a live audience so that he is not just playing to mics. You may read more about him here: https://karosi.org

Präludium und Fuge A-dur BWV536

“Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten” BWV691 “Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten” BWV690
“In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr” BWV712 

“Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf” BWV1092

“Ach Gott, tu dich erbarmen” BWV1109  Konzert C-dur BWV594 

Fantasie C-dur BWV570 
“Jesus, meine Zuversicht” BWV728
“Wie nach einer Wasserquelle” BWV1119 
“Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein” BWV741 “Ehre sei dir, Christe, der du liedest Not” BWV1097 “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” BWV738Magnificat” Meine Seele erhebetden Herren BWV733 《Orgelbüchlein》 Canticum Simeonis 

“Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin” BWV616 

“Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf” BWV617

Präludium und Fuge a-moll BWV543 

Music Notes from Stephen Kennedy for the annual meeting 2021

Christ Church Music Program Report for Annual Meeting

Report by Stephen Kennedy January 31, 2021 Music Director

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.” -- Malcom X.

When I reflect on our music program and the community of people who make it happen, the immensity of our loss of Christopher Huebner and Carlos Mercado are felt each week. All who are no longer with us will always be a part of what we do together.

It is no surprise to report that our music program goals had to “turn on a dime” to serve our parish. We have tried to keep our music program relevant, nurturing, and supportive. The worst thing for me has been the physical separation from our community. In March, due to restrictions on group singing, I developed a plan for the Christ Church Choir to temporarily become an instrumental ensemble whose primary function would be not to sing, but to create soundscape accompaniments to our liturgical plainsong. We had one extremely promising rehearsal, but these plans were thwarted by further diocesan pandemic restrictions before we could put our practice into action. Our Schola Cantorum operated under University guidelines and we were able to hold rehearsals, but with great restrictions on number, time, space, and wardrobe. Therefore, while we did not hold Compline, we engaged in active music making and learning.

Goals and objectives:
1. Enrich and transform community. Technological Wizard Kyle Liddell has brought Sunday morning liturgies into our homes and to him we are eternally grateful. The creative work he did in bringing Christmas and the Carol Sing to each of us was immeasurable (and hurrah for the cookies)!
While our full Sunday morning choir has been on forced hiatus, we have relied on the following small group of parish volunteers to inspire and uplift us: Benjamin Doane, Jonathan Falk, David Higgs, John Kirkpatrick, Kristy Liddell, William Porter, Sonja Shelton, Hannah Sommers, Owen Vanderbilt, and Lydia Worboys. We appreciate them for their generosity, leadership, and skill.

2. Raise the level of musicianship in CC ensembles. In both the Schola and the CC Choir, being forced to perform with one musician on a part has been a great skill-building process and one that we will retain at various points in the future.

3. Foster the education and training of parish musicians in liturgical music skills. Our VanDelinder Fellows, Alex Little from the UK and Ryan Chan from Hong Kong, have been extraordinary, and the only thing missing for them has been a full church and a large choir. Choral Scholars Gwen Paker and Allie McNeely have been able to explore historic solo and small ensemble repertoire that has been a long tradition in the canon of church music, but rarely heard at Christ Church in the past. Music Scholar Thatcher Lyman has not been able to participate in person but will begin compiling Compline videos for online viewing this Spring.

4. Strengthen existing community collaborations and partnerships in music. This ongoing goal has been difficult to nurture during this time. With the temporary suspension of Tuesday Pipes, we are considering safe ways for the public to see the church and hear the organs played. Our 3rd Sunday lecture series has had to be postponed but we hope to resume it when Compline returns. Our VanDelinder Program, funded through the Rochester Area Community Foundation, continues to be a thriving international model for preparing future leaders of church music.

Christ Church Schola Cantorum can also be found and enjoyed at the web address below. Please remember to subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsT7gV0nDi0&list=RDFsT7gV0nDi0&start_radio=1&t=16

This is a setting of the "Our Father" by Scott Perkins our former Assistant Director. Thatcher Lyman is heard here as the solo voice. Thatcher is our present Assistant Director. Scott's work may be purchased via this link: http://www.scott-perkins.com/Audio/Video by Mobile Audio Productions by Michael Sherman “The Christ Church Schola Cantorum… sings beautifully.” Fanfare, Jan/Feb 2010.

Founded in 1997 by Stephen Kennedy, the Schola performs the Office of Compline at Christ Church Rochester NY, Sunday evenings, October through April. First-Sunday Candlelight Concerts and Compline was named “The coolest, most unusual music experience in the city…” in Rochester Magazine’s “Our Top Picks of 2014.” This acclaimed ensemble is also an early music laboratory through engagement of historic rehearsal and performance practices. The Schola specializes in Gregorian chant, Renaissance and Baroque choral music, and choral improvisation. It has collaborated with Manfred Cordes and Weser-Renaissance Bremen, Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Players, and organists Edoardo Bellotti, Hans Davidsson, David Higgs, Olivier Latry, William Porter, Joris Verdin, and Harald Vogel. The Schola has been a favorite of festivals and concert series, notably at the annual international Eastman-Rochester Organ Initiative. APM's Pipe Dreams, Minnesota Public Radio, and WXXI’s With Heart and Voice regularly broadcast tracks, via NPR, from the Schola's CDs. With organists Edoardo Bellotti and Stephen Kennedy, the Schola and dual organs performed a “guided improvisation” accompaniment to Carl Dryer’s 1928 silent classic La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc for Eastman's 2014 EROI Festival and the University of Rochester's interdisciplinary UCIS Cluster on Music and Film. The Schola’s latest CD is of 19th century French choral music with Belgian keyboardist Joris Verdin on Eastman's vintage Mustel harmonium. The Schola is comprised of Rochester-area musicians, Eastman School of Music faculty and students, and RIT faculty. Participation in the Schola is offered for course credit at the Eastman School of Music.

Here are just a few ways in which Christ Church members and friends may participate in our program:

• Make contributions to our Friends of Music Fund. This fund supports music at Christ Church.  It also enables us to provide musical outreach to the Rochester community through music-training programs, concerts, and enables us to enhance our liturgies with music.  

• Purchase our various CD recordings for friends and family members as gifts.

https://christchurchrochester.org/index.php/coming-events/ For info on purchasing CD recordings

• Assist in publicizing music at Christ Church by helping sending emails to the local media

Please contact me if you are interested in participating in any aspect of our music program at Christ Church. Stephen Kennedy, Music Director stephenk@rochester.rr.com You may also support our music education and enrichment opportunities for young musicians who are dedicating their lives to the field of sacred music by contributing to Christ Church’s "Friends of Music" fund. Please use the donate button above.

Other links of interest are:

https://www.facebook.com/ccscholacantorum/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/ChristChurchRochester/?fref=ts

https://christchurchrochester.org/index.php/candlelight-concert/

Please click on the word "TOP" just below. It will take you back to the top of the opening page. From there please click on the words in the upper right side of the page to explore additional articles, news and events. There are many other wonderful things to see.

The "CONTACT" page is also a place to leave comments or requests.