MUSIC MINISTRIES

MUSIC MINISTRIES

Abington Presbyterian Church is both a center for worship and a place for the exchange of ideas and cultural opportunities for the community, a tangible symbol of God's presence in our everyday activities. Music has long played an important role in the life of this church.

Musical leadership for our ongoing worship life includes two children’s choirs, a youth choir, and an adult choir, as well as a bell choir for children to begin ringing, two youth handbell choirs, and two adult handbell choirs incorporating ringers of all ages and abilities.

CHOIRS FOR ALL AGES

CHIME CHOIR

The Chime Choir is for our youngest singers, beginning in Kindergarten and extending through second grade. The children in this choir add their voices to worship about once a month in addition to a special presentations at Christmas and in the spring. Rehearsals: Wednesdays 4:00 - 4:45 under the direction of Ruth Ideen-Sall.

CRUSADER CHOIR

The Technicolor Promise
(Allen Pote)

The Crusader Choir is for children from third through sixth grades. In addition to singing once a month in the worship service, this choir participates in the annual multi-choir Christmas by Candlelight programs, as well as ongoing presentations of Christian musicals and participation in children’s choir festivals in the spring. Rehearsals: Wednesdays 5:00 - 6:00 under the direction of Ruth Ideen-Sall.

CHAPEL CHOIR

The Chapel Choir is for seventh through twelfth grade students. In addition to serving as the primary choir leading worship each Sunday at our early service, the choir tours every spring in a combined music and mission event. This tour is partially sponsored by members of the Abington congregation. Rehearsals: Sunday evenings 6:00 - 7:15 under the direction of John Sall.

CHANCEL CHOIR

The Chancel Choir is open to those college-aged and up. In addition to serving as the primary choir leading worship for the late service each Sunday, this choir forms the core of the ORATORIO CHOIR. Sunday worship includes a variety of musical traditions but is centered in new and classic settings of anthems, hymns, and spirituals, for organ and choir, with some a cappella works and global worship music. Rehearsals: Thursday evenings 7:30 - 8:30 under the direction of John Sall.

ORATORIO CHOIR

The Oratorio Choir is open to all singers in the communities surrounding Abington regardless of religious membership. The Oratorio Choir is joined by the ABINGTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA to present major works each season as a part of the Music at Abington series. Programs include the two Christmas by Candlelight programs, an Annual Memorial Concert in the spring featuring a major work from the classic Requiem literature, and regular appearances on fall and spring concerts with the orchestra. Rehearsals: Thursday evenings 8:30 - 9:30 with occasional Saturday workshop days and dress rehearsals as announced, under the direction of John Sall.

BELL CHOIRS

Bells are ancient instruments which have been incorporated into religious ceremonies for centuries. Abington Presbyterian Church includes in its music ministries handbell choirs for all ages as a means of music leadership for worship, fellowship for the ringers, and musical training and growth for anyone who is interested to learn. Just as music has played an important role in the common worship life of Abington Presbyterian Church, handbells now play an active part in our music ministries.

CRUSADER BELLS

Crusader Bells provides an introduction to handbell ringing for fourth through sixth grade ringers. Ringers learn basic techniques of ringing and handbell notations, and they have fun learning ensemble playing. Their work and learning is shared with the congregation through musical offerings at Christmas and in the spring. Rehearsals: Wednesday 4:10 - 4:55 under the direction of Ethel Geist.

JUNIOR HIGH BELLS

The Junior High group of ringers provides an opportunity for ringers to transition from beginning ringing techniques to the advanced abilities of the Festive Ringers Youth Choir. Often composed of new youth ringers and seventh graders preparing to move up the choir plays small ensemble pieces for worship designed to improve reading and ringing techniques. Rehearsals: Tuesday evenings 6:30 - 7:30 under the direction of Sally Bowie.

FESTIVE RINGERS

The Festive Ringers at the 2005 Tour final concert

The Festive Ringers include seventh through twelfth grade students who enjoy ringing challenging, rhythmic, and beautiful works in the handbell literature and processions, hymn accompaniments and descants for worship and on an annual spring tour with the CHAPEL CHOIR. All ringers are welcome, but some experience with music reading and ringing is encouraged. Rehearsals Tuesday evenings 7:30 – 8:30 under the direction of Sally Bowie.

JUBILEE RINGERS

Jubilee Ringers is open to all adults. New adult ringers are a welcome addition to this choir since much of rehearsal and the pieces are focused on teaching the techniques and process of reading and playing together in a handbell ensemble. Music background is a welcome benefit, but not required. Jubilees play handbell anthems and other worship offerings about once a month through the school year. Rehearsals: Wednesday evenings 7:00 – 8:00 under the direction of John Sall.

CELEBRATION RINGERS

The Celebration Ringers are an ensemble of advanced ringers provides an opportunity for players to explore and enjoy some of the most challenging and technical works for the church handbell choir. Ringing experience and familiarity with many of the extended techniques of handbells is required. The group plays about once a month for worship in addition to an annual “Christmastide” appearance at the mall to share the Christmas spirit with the sound of their music. Rehearsals: Thursdays 6:15 – 7:15 under the direction of Sally Bowie.

MUSIC AT ABINGTON

CONCERT SERIES

Music at Abington was founded in 1972 by G. Stanley Powell, Minister of Music Emeritus. As a concert series, Music at Abington brings outstanding professional musical programming to the Abington community for free. The series has grown to include annual features of solo and chamber music, choral and instrumental programs, children’s concerts and other unique programs all supported through free-will donations and patrons of the concert series. Music at Abington builds community relationships by offering childcare and public receptions at its programs, and it celebrates and features the community-based ensembles of Abington Presbyterian Church: the Abington Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Choir in orchestral programs and combined choral works. The purpose of Music at Abington is to bring quality musical opportunities to the APC and Abington communities and through collaboration and musical excellence to “glorify God and refresh the soul” (-J. S. Bach).

MUSICAL LEADERHIP

John Sall, Director of Music Ministries

G. Stanley Powell, Minister of Music Emeritus

Ethel Geist, Organist & Accompanist

Sally Bowie, Director of Handbells

Ruth Ideen-Sall, Director of Children’s Choirs

Rick Bruce, Chair, Worship and Music Council

Alan Keiter, Chair, Music at Abington Committee

Alan Keiter, Organ Curator

Click here for description and photos of the organ

To e-mail us, click here pastor@apcusa.org

John Sall, Director of Music Ministries
jsall@apcusa.org

John Sall serves Abington Presbyterian Church, founded in 1714, as Director of Music Ministries, where he leads youth, adult, and handbell choirs and the Abington Symphony Orchestra and oversees congregational music programs and the Music at Abington concert series. With a background including organ, choral, and church music studies, Kenyan percussion choral accompaniments, and work with children, youth, and adults, John brings a variety of personal and professional experiences to the musical worship life of Abington Presbyterian Church. He has developed unique and creative programs which combine the rich and varied community resources of the Abington Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Choir in literature ranging from baroque cantatas to newly composed works for a cappella choir or solo orchestra, as well as classic large Oratorios from the 18th to the 20th Century.

John Sall’s interest in music was fostered in the rich resources of strong school, church, and private music study in Holdrege, Nebraska, and through the Lutheran Summer Music Academy. A graduate of St. Olaf College (Minnesota), John was uniquely involved in the strong performance tradition of the school as a member of the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Orchestra and St. Olaf Choir in addition to his studies in Church Music and Organ with John Ferguson; he received the Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music and Organ with high honors. John Sall studied conducting with Alan Harler and completed the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2007 and was honored with the Elaine Brown Tribute Award, presented by the choral department each year to an outstanding student for their work in relating music to broader issues of community-building and human expression. Following graduation from the program, John was immediately invited by the faculty to teach conducting to beginning students, and has been repeatedly invited to cover rehearsals with Temple’s Contemporary Music Ensemble. John has studied and worked in masterclass settings with Joseph Flummerfelt, David Hayes, Dale Warland, and Robert Scholz, and has studied orchestral conducting with Luis Biava and Steven Amundson.

John Sall appears regularly as a conductor and singer with the Skylark Ensemble and enjoys composing for his choirs and in other settings, distinguishing himself as the Grand Prize winner in the First Annual Composition Contest for Young Composers, Riverside Church, New York, with his anthem, “Is Not This The Fast That I Choose?” composed for choir, organ and string quartet. This work was selected by the Harmony of Hearts program of Cross International as one of their featured pieces in 2009. John is a member of the American Guild of Organists participating in the Philadelphia chapter through regular appearances on the Tuesday recital series, as a conductor for a chapter hymn festival, and on the program committee. He served as president of the Rochester Area Chapter of the Choristers Guild, and is a member of ACDA. John came to Abington in 2001 and makes a home with his wife Ruth and their daughters Lily and Miriam in the historic Isaiah Hubbs’ “Corner House” (1796) alongside the church.

Ethel Geist, Organist and Accompanist

Organist Ethel Geist, daughter of a Lutheran pastor, began her church music involvement playing piano, then organ, while growing up in Ohio. With a major in clarinet, and as concert mistress of the touring concert band, she received her Bachelor of Music Education degree (cum laude) from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and her Master of Arts in Music Education from The Ohio State University.

Although Ethel’s life as an educator consisted of 32 years teaching public school music in Ohio and New Jersey (15 years in Voorhees, NJ), she remained active in church music.

Most recently, Ethel served Trinity Lutheran Church in Perkasie, PA, as Director of Music/Organist and Associate in Ministry, leading an extensive music ministry.

Ethel is active in the Philadelphia American Guild of Organists (AGO) Chapter, where she served as the Dean from 2003 to 2005, chaired Promotion for the 2002 National Convention, and served as Education Chair and as an Executive Committee member. She is also involved with other AGO chapters, Choristers Guild, American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Organ Historical Society, and the Hymn Society.

When Ethel retired from teaching school, she began to study organ, concentrating on its concert repertoire, with Dennis Elwell, and continues this “hobby.” She and her husband, Norm, who is also a church musician, live in Quakertown.

Sally Bowie, Director of Handbells

Ruth Ideen-Sall, Director of Children's Choirs