Music at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Welcome to our parish! You'll find musical opportunities of many kinds for children and adults. Previous experience is not required.

St. Stephen's Parish Choir

We welcome singers of high school age and above to participate. If you enjoy singing, come try us out. You will find yourself right at home. The choir rehearses in the church on Thursday evenings from 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM. No audition is necessary. Just come. We usually sing three Sundays a month at the 10:00 AM service.

In addition to Sunday anthems, the Parish Choir usually undertakes one extended musical event each season. Past seasons have featured Traditional English Lessons and Carols, a Cathedral Evensong, the FaurÈ Requiem, Dale Woodís Service of Darkness, Mozart's 'Missa Brevis in C,' and the L¸beck Advent Cantata.

Choir members serve from mid-September through early June.

St. Stephen's Handbell Choir

Our Handbell Choir is in it's third year. We have four octaves of beautiful Schulmerich handbells. The Choir is limited to eleven experienced ringers; and there is no age requirement. If you have rung before and have an interest in joining us, let us know and we will place you on our list of substitute ringers. As permanent openings develop, we try to fill them from our substitute list.

If you've never rung before, but would like to give it a try, let us know. It only takes four or five ringers to form a ringing class.

The Handbell Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the church and embellishes our worship services several times during the season in addition to ringing the liturgy twice a month.

Musical Programs for Children

At St. Stephen's, we try to maximize the musical potential of our dear children. If your child likes to sing or play an instrument, please let us know. We frequently arrange musical selections to accommodate the various performing abilities of our children.

Specific programs for children include a "Preparatory Handbell Choir" and an "Intermediate Handbell Choir". Every child between the ages of 8 and 12 is encouraged to enroll in the Preparatory Choir, which meets for 45 minutes after the 10:00 AM service every Sunday. This choir is for children who have just a little ringing experience, and for those who have never rung. Music reading ability is not required on this level, but is a great help. This group focuses on basic note reading and rhythm skills.

Specific programs for children include a Children's Chime Choir and the Young Ringers of St. Stephen's. Every child between the ages of 8 and 12 is encouraged to participate in our handbell/handchime program. We have a place for those who have just a little ringing experience, and for those who have never rung. This is a fine and enjoyable way to develop your child's musical skills.

If your child has a year's experience ringing, we would be happy to aduition him or her for the "Intermediate Handbell Choir". Since St. Stephen's is associated with the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR), our Intermediate level ringers are allowed to participate in the Guild's annual "Young Ringers Conference", held at various locations throught the state. One year it was held in Visalia and included an overnight in Sequoia National Park. Another year it was in Buena Park and included a day at Knott's Berry Farm.

Music is important at St. Stephen's. We believe it can enhance the worship experience in ways that reach deep into the soul. To that end, we do everything within our power to utilize the musical potential of our members, young and old.

Alan Boehmer - Music Director