Sing Praise to the Lord!
One of the true joys of my time so far at PTS has been singing with our amazing choral program. PTS has three choirs and I am blessed to be part of all of them. Our largest ensemble is the Chapel Choir, a group of close to 50 seminarians that rehearses for an hour and a half each week. Chapel Choir helps lead worship at least once a week (usually on Thursdays) and sings at all of the main concerts during the year. We also have an audition-only group called the Seminary Singers. This smaller ensemble of about 25 practices for another hour each week and focuses on more challenging literature for worship and concert. From Seminary Singers is drawn the PTS Touring Choir. Over the course of the year the Touring Choir attends 8-10 events away from the seminary. Events range from singing during worship with area congregations to performances at workshops and prisons.
Dem Dry Bones
On Friday, September 21, 2012, I sang in my first concert with Chapel Choir and Seminary Singers. We rehearsed twice before, which surprised me a bit as I'm used to much more rehearsal time, but it went really well. The concert was titled "Dem Dry Bones: A Revival of African American Spirituals" and it included solos, congregational singing, and anthems by our choirs. It was a wonderful time!
Since I know many of you won't be able to make the long drive to Princeton to hear us sing, below are a few tracks from the concert. Please note, to the best of my knowledge all of these tunes are in the public domain at this point. If you are interested in using them in worship contact me and I can point you in the right direction.
Wade in the Water & Take Me to the Water
These two classic spirituals are joined together with solo voice, choir, and congregational singing.
Ride the Chariot (arr. William Henry Smith)
This spiritual is performed by the joined voices of the Chapel Choir and Seminary Singers.
Ezekiel Saw De Wheel with Dem Dry Bones
This rousing gospel song, led by the amazing solo voice of William Herd, brought the entire audience to their feet. I challenge you to not find your feet tapping by the end of the song!
More Singing!
The next month will be filled with many more concerts and worship services. This coming weekend will see our first Touring Choir event and in a few short weeks we will be singing at the PTS Bicentennial Worship at the Princeton University Chapel. Look for more updates, including a picture of me in our lovely choir robes. Let's just say I miss the Geneva style robes of Lee's Summit!
Enjoy and have a wonderful day!