THE MUSIC MINISTRY
Our search is over! We have found our new music director and organist. Sunday November 4th we welcomed Alan Rodi to our family. More information will follow soon!
Music is a vital part of our Sunday morning worship. We have a strong group of dedicated adult singers, and an active children’s group. We use both the Pilgrim Hymnal and The New Century Hymnal for our worship. With these two we have a wide selection of hymns and service music from the early years of the church as well as additions from the last several decades. The variety of music is an enhancement to our message of welcome and faith. Our Austin organ was built and installed in 1904 and is a two manual, (9 rank) pipe instrument with chimes. It was extensively refurbished in 2004.
"Click here to see the Middletown Press's feature on our church's music."
The Higganum Service Choir is dedicated to providing a meaningful musical experience in worship. They sing a cappella and with organ accompaniment. Throughout the past eighteen months, they have performed sacred music ranging in era from the 16th Century to new compositions by Maxfield Heath and former Director of Music Brian Parks. Participation in the choir is welcome to anyone, church member or not. Interested parties may join the choir on a seasonal basis.
The Higganum Concert Choir is a sizeable group that prepares larger works from the classical canon for special service and out-of-service concert presentations.
This first-ever event took place on Christmas Eve, 2009. Soloists came from the church membership and the larger community. The Concert Choir has also presented work by Felix Mendelssohn, J.S. Bach, and John Rutter and performed Tertius Noble's "Go to Dark Gethsemane" and T. Dubois' "Requiem" for the 2010 Good Friday service.
The Children's Music
This group is made up of the children of the Sunday School and is led by our music director. The children meet most Sundays after worship. There are student instrumentalists as well as singers. The children love it!
Our Pipe Organ
Our Higganum Congregational Church organ, Opus 109 of the Austin Organ Company, was a gift in 1904 of Mrs. Hezekiah Scovil in memory of her husband. It has two manuals and nine ranks of pipes. It is one of few such pipe organs with original specifications intact, including tibia and narrow string stops which were hallmarks of its designer, Robert Hope-Jones. The then vice-president of Austin, Jones later became famous as the father of the “unit organ”, and eventually Wurlitzer theater organs used to accompany silent movies.
In 1946 the organ was restored, and a new console allowing electro-pneumatic action was installed. (The original console was against the wall, under the pipes.) The following year a 25-note set of chimes was installed, donated by the Spencer family. More recently in 2001, the organ chamber ceiling and walls were repaired, the organ completely overhauled, and chimes repaired to fit Opus 109 for many more years of harmonious service.
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