Front Page
Front Page
Christ Church Rochester
141 East Avenue Rochester, NY 14604-Pentecost 2025
Our cover is World Tree © Tim Jutsum 2005
The Song -a news magazine -issue 53
Our website is www.christchurchrochester.org
Evening Prayer on Zoom will move to Wednesday at 7PM beginning July 2nd
Christian Worship in the Episcopal Tradition Sunday Morning: Holy Eucharist- 8:00 am & 11:00
For parking info: https://songforchristchurch.org/map-directions-parking
<—— Parish Announcements, Future Events, and Requests for Prayers in the QR code link.
New Schola video recordings have been and will be released and uploaded to YouTube from recording sessions in 2023 & 2024. Motets by Palestrina (1525-1594), William Byrd (1540-1623), Rudolph di Lasso (c. 1563-1626), Ignazio Donati (c. 1570-1638), Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), Alexander Gretchaninov (1864-1956), Stephen Kennedy (b. 1962), & Jon Madden (b.1998). Michael Sherman productions. Premieres Apr 2, 2025 and continues weekly - the photos below are your links
Premiered April 2, 2025- This setting of the Te Lucis ante terminum (Mode VIII) was composed by Stephen Kennedy in 2021 and was dedicated to James Weaver. Verse one and three bookend the 8-part polyphony of verse 2 which incorporates only the plainsong tone as composition material. This performance employs historic Colla parte practice with pipe organ, 5 sackbuts (Bass, Tenor & Alto), and 2 cornetti. Recorded in April of 2025 at Christ Church, Rochester, NY.
Premiered Apr 9, 2025- This motet of 8 voices is performed here by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Rochester NY. Stephen Kennedy director. Colla parte instruments include 5 sackbuts, 2 cornetti, 2 theorbo, and organ at A=465 Quarter-comma meantone. Recorded at Christ Church, Rochester NY May 2023. @techformusicians
Premiered Apr 16, 2025- This recording of Lotti's Crucifixus (from the Credo in F) was recorded in May of 2023 by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum. Instruments include 5 sackbuts, 2 cornetts, 2 theorbo, & organ in quarter-comma meantone (A=465). @techformusicians
Domine, ad adjuvandum by Ignazio Donatti (ca. 1575-1638) -premiered April 23, 2025
This 12-part motet with Basso continuo was first published in 1623 in Salmi boscarecci, Op. 9, no. 1. It is performed here with colla parte instruments: 5 sackbuts, 2 cornetti, and organ in quarter-comma meantone at A=465 by the Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy director. Recorded in May of 2024. @techformusicians Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Alleluia. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
World without end, Amen. Alleluia.
This 5-part Mode II setting of the Compline hymn was composed by Rudolph di Lasso (son of Orlando di Lasso). Colla parte of 4 sackbuts and organ at A=465 in quarter-comma meantone. Performance by the Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy director. Recorded in May 2023. @techformusicians
Te lucis ante terminum, Rerum Creator poscimus, Ut solita clementia Sis præsul ad custodiam. Procul recedant somnia, Et noctium phantasmata; Hostemque nostrum comprime, Ne polluantur corpora. Præsta, Pater omnipotens, Per Iesum Christum Dominum, Qui tecum in perpetuum Regnat cum Sancto Spiritu. Amen
Translation: Before the end of the day, Creator of the world, we pray That with Thy wonted favor Thou Wouldst be our Guard and Keeper now. From all ill dreams defend our eyes, From nightly fears and fantasies; Tread under foot our ghostly foe, That no pollution we may know. O Father, that we ask be done, Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son; Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee, Doth live and reign eternally.
Compline is over for this year. Compline will resume October 5, 2025. Until then, we hope the videos posted above will give you joy and peace.
Bishop Kara Wagner Sherer’s first visit to Christ Church Rochester Tap the image above to see that event ↑
Our website is www.christchurchrochester.org
The 8:00 am Sunday service of Holy Eucharist, is in the chapel, is spoken, leans in the direction of Rite I, and is without music. The 11 am Sunday service of Holy Eucharist is in the larger sanctuary, is Rite II, sung, is full of world-class music, and incense on occasion. The 11:00 am is live-streamed online, also. We encourage you to visit our YOUTUBE channel and explore. https://www.youtube.com/@christchurchrochester8549/streams
Remember to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE !!!
Other opportunities to join us
Weekly-
Compline happens Sunday nights at Christ Church October-April!
Compline is sung by the Christ Church Rochester Schola Cantorum on Sunday evenings at 9:00pm. You can visit the Schola YouTube page here: https://youtu.be/GnDsWPXQS3w Compline is the perfect way to end the weekend and you can enjoy the experience every day by tapping on one of several audio files further down below (in blue) on this page to watch and listen. Your heart will thank you.
Monday 10:00 am Morning Prayer Rite 1 (ZOOM)
↓ Click the link in the green box below ↓
Monday 11:00am Zoom Bible Study-
The Zoom Group meets on Monday mornings at 11:00. If you would like to be included in the Zoom invitation to the Bible Study, leave us a comment from our CONTACT page. Every week, we read a little together, we raise questions, and we discuss a lot of suggestions. Very stimulating conversation!
Tuesday Pipes- 12:10-12:40-
A World Class organ concert at lunchtime every Tuesday
Thursday 7:00 pm Evening Prayer Rite 2 (ZOOM)
↓ Click the link in the green box below ↓
Tap on the brick head of Lego Dave to learn more.
Hi. My name is Dave Jutsum. I am excited to be starting a LEGO® building club at Christ Church Downtown. We meet each Sunday from 1pm til 3pm.
The purpose of our club is to walk in and build. People can stay for as long as they want. They do not have to stay for the entire two hours . There is no registration. There is no charge, whatsoever. We will display the finished creations, and people can take pictures.
I provide the pieces. I have acquired thousands of pieces for the purpose of hosting a building group. This is something which I have envisioned for a long time. I found out how much I enjoy providing for builders by accident. I brought some of my pieces to a brick convention where I had a display table. I invited kids passing by to build, and then to display their creations. It was a whole lot of fun. I waited a whole year to do it, again. And, it was still fun. I especially liked to watch parents interacting with their children. We had a lot of kids in our family, and I was reminded of those times. I would like to emphasize that this is not a drop off your child and leave event. I need a parent or guardian or grandparent or older sibling to stay with kids under the age of 12.
And, for that matter, our group is meant for builders of all ages.
Building with LEGO@ pieces can be joyful, playful, creative, and therapeutic for people of many different backgrounds. People on the Autism Spectrum often make connections through LEGO® building. I believe that all of these factors are inspired by our wonderful God. I am hoping to celebrate these joys with some LEGO® loving members of our downtown churches. It is intended to be an opportunity to focus on something which can bring us together: the joy of building LEGO@ creations. I would love to see LEGO@ builders from all kinds of denominations join in. Let's Build Together! is the name of our group.
Meet Andrew Johnson
winner of the VanDelinder prize- Assistant Organist
Andrew Johnson is thrilled to be joining the music staff as Assistant Organist at Christ Church Rochester! Originally from Bloomington, IL, Andrew 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
A New Children’s Choir at Christ Church Sunday, right after the 11 am service.
Dear Christ Church Parents and Guardians,
My name is Andrew Johnson, and I am the assistant organist at Christ Church. Additionally, I will be leading the new Children’s Choir here. This is a fun and rewarding way for youth to be involved in Christ Church’s liturgy and we would be delighted for your children to be a part of this ensemble! The choir will be geared towards children grades K-3, incorporating singing and movement through engaging activities to teach basic musicianship skills.
Weekly rehearsals will be in the second-floor nursery for 20 minutes on Sundays directly following the 11:00 Holy Eucharist. Regular communications and reminders will be sent to parents and guardians via email. Please feel free to contact me if you have a child interested in participating or if you have any questions about our program. Thank you!
Blessings,
Andrew Johnson, director
Cobbs Hill ©2006 T.Jutsum
^ Meet James Jeffery ^
VanDelinder fellow
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!
Jazz improv ©2005 T Jutsum
Meet Dominic Fiacco
VanDelinder fellow
Dominic Fiacco started playing the organ in 2012. He attends the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York as an organ performance major in the studio of renowned organist Nathan Laube.
His interest in the organ began when he attended a recital at First Presbyterian Church in Utica, New York, after which he was invited to try the instrument. Shortly thereafter, he took up lessons with Stephen Best, organist at First Church and lecturer in music at Hamilton College. Best would continue to mentor him throughout high school.
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 by The 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.”
Fiacco began piano lessons at the age of four, currently studying the instrument at Eastman. His prior piano teachers include Sar-Shalom Strong, lecturer in music at Hamilton College, who taught him throughout middle and high school. 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.
Sunday night Compline can be experienced every Sunday from October 6, 2024 - April 27, 2025
Click the image of Schola to hear the story. ^
WXXI acknowledges the 25th anniversary of Compline on Sunday nights October-April.
Click on the image-link above to hear the story and get a feel for why so many people use this spiritual space to end one week and start the next.
News 8 Now story can be seen by clicking the image link here.—>
<———For the sheer fun of it…
The Liturgy Rap- Anthony Letchworth
This photo appears in the April edition of Crux est Mundi Medicina, the newsletter of Holy Cross in West Park, NY. It includes our own aspirant, Anthony Letchworth
http://www.christchurchrochester.org - our website
https://www.facebook.com/ChristChurchRochester/ - our Facebook page
The Rt. Rev. Kara Wagner Sherer- Bishop
Stephen Kennedy - Music Director
Christ Church announcements, prayer request list, and full calendar- click the image link above.
Informing, Transformingand Singing: 1st Sunday Candlelight Concerts, and Compline with Schola Cantorum
Singing and transforming: Compline with Schola Cantorum
Make this the joyous end to your weekend: Compline, preceded by the first Candlelight Concert. The Candlelight Concert 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.
Compline and Candlelight Concerts are supported by Christ Church “Friends of Music”
Notable (Bragging Rights!)
Archived Compline performances by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum, Stephen Kennedy, Director
Weekly compilation videos from current and past Compline liturgies became available on YouTube beginning on Sunday, March 7 at 9:00 pm. with new videos weekly.
They featured works by Byrd, Monteverdi, Palestrina, & a new setting of the Te lucis ante terminum by Stephen Kennedy
Compline, performed live in the church, is an event October - May, 9:00 pm Sunday evenings .
The links here connect to all the videos that were published because the Covid19 pandemic made in person events impossible. Listen and watch as often as you wish.
Our newest acolyte
The coffee hosts of pop-up coffee hour
The tall and short of it.
A charming example of life at Christ Church Rochester is a reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans read by Elizabeth Dugdale with an assist from her child.
“And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Nancy Norwood
Lisa Pigut
Dan Meyers
Kristy Liddell
Four Parishioners talk about the reasons they love Christ Church Rochester-Stewardship Campaign 2021
Wednesday Evening Prayer smiles
Click on the image-link above to visit the In Memorium page
http://www.christchurchrochester.org - our website
