Mysteries of the Pipe Organ

The First Presbyterian Church of Meadville presents:
Mysteries of the Pipe Organ
Tuesday, April 17
Kevin Dill, presenter

We're all familiar with the sound of pipe organs, but how do they actually work? And how did they come to be associated with the church? Join Kevin Dill, First Presbyterian's Director of Music, as he leads a hands-on demonstration of Meadville's largest and most complex musical instrument. (If you've always wanted blow into an organ pipe, this is your chance at last!)

This presentation wraps up another year of First Presbyterian's Lunch @ First series, which hosts speakers on a variety of topics on the third Tuesday of the month. A potluck lunch will be served in the fellowship hall at 11:45 AM, and the presentation begins in the sanctuary at approximately 12:30 PM.

Get "SMART"

(This article originally appeared in the January 2018 edition of the church newsletter.)

It's a well-guarded secret that in order to do the work I do, I first had to pass an exam. This exam, known as the Sacred Music Aptitude Revealing Test (SMART), is administered annually to those earning degrees in disciplines such as organ performance and choral conducting. In this exclusive for the Evangel, you'll get a peek at examples of the tough questions being posed to the next generation of church musicians.

1. A bellringer remarks that your conducting is hard to follow. Should you:
A) thank her for the constructive criticism, and work on refining your gestures
B) confront her and ask if she could do it better
C) 'promote' her to music librarian
D) buy her a one-way ticket to Australia

2. The pipe organ's electric blower expires after 35 years of service. Should you:
A) beg the church trustees for funds to replace it
B) raise money by holding a bake sale
C) round up a crew of burly men to pump the organ by hand
D) attempt to replace it with the motor from a vacuum cleaner

3. During the sermon, you realize that you’ve left your copy of the choir anthem in the music room. Should you:
A) dash out and retrieve it while the congregation recites the Creed
B) steal a copy from one of the singers
C) try to conduct from memory
D) just flail your arms randomly, since nobody’s really watching

4. A church member complains that you play the hymns too loudly. Should you:
A) find him a pair of earplugs
B) play the hymns much softer
C) play the hymns much louder
D) give up the organ and learn the banjo

5. The storage room is stuffed with old anthems you’re not likely to use. Should you:
A) recycle them
B) keep them and let the next music director deal with them
C) donate them to a church with more shelf space
D) use them to heat your house in winter

Bonus question: what is your reason for considering church music as a vocation?
A) an office with a window
B) an excuse not to travel on Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day
C) sincere desire to inspire others with the message of God's love
D) last resort after being rejected by Burger King

Holiday-Themed Recital

Kevin Dill, organist
on the 2500 pipe Schlicker organ
with guest soprano Sonya Eagles-Dill

Tuesday, December 19, 2017
11:45 AM-12:15 PM
First Presbyterian Church, 890 Liberty St, Meadville

Bach - Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552
Traditional, arr. Rutter - Noël Nouvelet
Leavitt - Little Christmas Suite
Reger - Maria Wiegenlied
Near - Carillon on a Ukrainian Carol

This recital is presented as part of First Presbyterian's 'Lunch @ First' series, which offers programs on a variety of topics on the third Tuesday of each month. Admission to the recital is free, with a $5 lunch available afterwards.

December at First Presbyterian

December 3: Advent I
8:30 & 11:00 AM Worship with Holy Communion
Preaching: Rev. Dr. Brian Jensen
12:00 PM 'Chili, Cornbread, & Carols' in Fellowship Hall

December 10: Advent II
8:30 & 11:00 AM Worship
(with the French Creek Brass Quintet at 11:00)
Preaching: Rev. Dr. Brian Jensen

December 17: Advent III
8:30 & 11:00 AM Service of Lessons & Carols

December 19: Lunch @ First
Organ recital by Kevin Dill, 11:45 AM
with soprano Sonya Eagles-Dill
(Recital admission is free; a $5 lunch is available afterwards)

December 24: Advent IV/Christmas Eve
(no 8:30 service this Sunday)
11:00 AM Worship
7:00 PM Family Service
10:00 PM Choral Candlelight Service
Preaching: Rev. Dr. Brian Jensen

Allegheny College Choral Concert

The Allegheny College Choral Ensembles
Ward Jamison & Kevin Dill, conductors



Saturday, December 2 -- 3:15 PM
Shafer Auditorium, Allegheny College

free admission
Click here for more information.

Fair Allegheny, Yonder on the Hill...

(This article was originally published in the November edition of the church newsletter.)

If you have a moment, take out your calendars and flip ahead to Saturday, December 2nd: Allegheny College's annual Christmas choral concert takes place at Shafer Auditorium at 3:15 PM that afternoon. (I mention it in this newsletter because next month's edition probably won’t arrive in your mailbox until that same day.) Several members of our congregation, in addition to all four choral scholars, are singing in the various ensembles, and the conducting duties will be split between Professor Jamison and myself. Admission, as always, is free.

When I was asked to step in as the interim director of the college choir and women's ensemble, a little trepidation accompanied my ‘yes’. After all, my conducting experience until now has been confined to a church setting. Church choirs, by their nature, rely more on speed than on finesse: our mandate is to have something ready to sing every Sunday. The director's job is to bring that music to an acceptable level of polish in the limited time available. Hence the necessity of repetition -- there simply isn't time to learn a new anthem from scratch every single week -- and the need to prioritize, to discern which are the two or three adjustments that will quickly elevate our singing from 'satisfactory' to 'good'.

Up on college hill, by contrast, an entirely different approach is necessary. Each week the women's ensemble rehearses for two hours, and the college choir three hours, for approximately three months. The goal here is to prepare a half-dozen pieces for a single performance. This timescale allows the director to choose more complex music, and to delve into greater detail about shaping, blend, tone production, and the nuance of each phrase. Essentially, it requires the director to be a lot more picky! On the flip side, that one performance is a high-stakes game: the college choir doesn't have the luxury of regrouping and trying again in a few weeks if things go sour.

So which is more enjoyable, from a director's standpoint? I have to say that they are both, in their own way, equally rewarding! While I’ll certainly be glad to hand the baton back to Professor Niblock when he returns from sabbatical, I’m grateful for the opportunity to sharpen my own skills as a conductor. In addition, two of our current choral scholars (John and Audrey) are set to graduate next month, and I hope my rapport with the students will open up opportunities for recruiting more of them to our choir in the future.

Until next time,
Kevin

Welcome Nicholas Viall!

The First Presbyterian Church of Meadville is pleased to welcome Nicholas Viall, tenor, as the newest recipient of a Pletcher Choral Scholarship. Nicholas is a 2017 graduate of Seneca High School, near Erie, and is a freshman at Allegheny College where he sings in the College Choir and Men's Ensemble.