 The 1990 Casavant Organ The Choir of Grace Church and João Kouyoumdjian perform Cantate Domino by Hans Leo Hassler Concerts at Grace Church, March 2011 Mr. Joseph Arndt As Director of Music at Grace Church, Joseph Arndt directs the parish choir, the men's chorus, plays the Casavant organ for High Masses, and coordinates Concerts at Grace Church. Mr. Arndt received a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College. He has studied organ with Paul Jacobs, Ken Cowan, and Diane Meredith Belcher. A recipient of numerous awards, he is a past First Place winner of the West Chester University Organ Competition. He has performed organ recitals throughout the eastern United States and has also performed in Cambridge (UK) and Paris. He is a continuo organist and harpsichordist for Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City and is the concert accompanist for the Rutgers-Newark Chorus. An advocate of new music, he has given premieres of new organ works by Jonathan Dawe, Christian Carey, and Conrad Cummings. In 2011 he will be recording Jonathan Dawe's new organ piece Zipoli Automata for an upcoming CD release. Mr. Arndt is committed to promoting awareness of the pipe organ and serves on the Executive Board of the Metropolitan New Jersey Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Prior to his appointment at Grace Church, he was the Associate Organist at Christ Church (United Methodist) in New York City and Assistant Organist at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, NJ. Mr. Jonathon Hampton Jonathon Hampton performs professionally as an alto, tenor and bass and has established himself as an accomplished conductor and educator, having conducted choirs for nearly a decade. A native of Chicago, he has performed locally with such acclaimed ensembles as The American Boychoir, the choirs of St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, St. Mary the Virgin, St. John the Divine, and he is now in his second season with The Parish Choir and The Choristers of Grace Church. In addition to having given lectures and performance reviews across the country, he founded and led two choirs in affiliation with Cornell University - The Chorus & Glee Club Summer Ensemble and The Alumni Singers. He has been guest conductor of Cornell's World Music Choir, the Pacific Boychoir's tenor and bass ensemble Continuum, and the choirs of Trinity Church Wall Street, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, and Trinity Princeton. He also works in music education for Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. |
Music at Grace Church The music program at Grace Church exists to enrich parish worship services and offer cultural outreach to the City of Newark and its suburbs. Music at High Mass reflects the beauty of the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The Choir of Grace Church offers the finest sacred music with an emphasis on Renaissance masses and motets and Gregorian Chant. The Parish Choir is composed of eight staff singers. At High Mass the Choir sings the Introit, Offertory, and Communion antiphons from the Graduale Romanum, one or two motets or anthems, and often a setting of the Kyrie, Gloria, and Agnus Dei. The congregation joins in the singing of at least three hymns, the Nicene Creed, Sanctus, psalm refrains, and other responses. The organ is a 48-stop tracker instrument built by Casavant Frères in 1990. Major works from the organ repertoire can be heard before and after all services. The Men's Chorus is an ensemble of talented parishioners. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. The Men's Chorus sings once or twice a month at High Mass from September through June. They also sing for Evensong & Benediction in Advent and Stations of the Cross in Lent.
The Choristers are a choir of children in grades 3-12 who rehearse Sunday mornings and occassionally Sunday afternoons, September through June. They perform with the Parish Choir in mass monthly as well as on special occasions. The Choristers program is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music and aims to teach youngsters leadership, character, and musicianship. Learn more
The Music Society of Grace Church provides funding for the Choir and Concerts at Grace Church. Donations of all sizes are welcome. Interested donors should speak to the Director of Music or the Rector. Service Music Click here for access to Bruce Ford's Sunday Gospel and Passion Settings. Choral Music at High Mass Click here to view the High Mass
Click here to read a Star-Ledger article about Joseph Arndt by reporter Jeff Diamant Mr. João Kouyoumdjian In his role as Artist in Residence, Brazilian classical guitarist João Kouyoumdjian presents recitals on the Concerts at Grace Church series. He received a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Sharon Isbin. In November 2011 Mr. Kouyoumdjian will perform a recital at Carnegie Hall sponsored by the Consulate General of Brazil in New York. |
