Music at St. David's
St. David’s is a warm, welcoming, spiritual home for people from various religious backgrounds. We echo this diversity in the musical styles shared in worship. We offer traditional hymnody, grounded in Episcopal identity and theology, poetry, and gravitas; spirituals, which reflect the faith and hope of many of our brothers and sisters from various corners of the Anglican world; gospels,which bring urban energy and engagement to worship; and contemporary songs, which emphasize relevance and connection to our modern world. We do all this through choral works, special music, Anglican chant, preludes and postludes to worship, and through congregational singing.
We sing and pray in an awarenenss of the wider world of Christian experience, preparing for the day when we will all sing each other’s songs of praise around God’s Throne in glory.
The parish choir strives to enhance worship with Psalms and anthems, as well as encouraging the gathered community to join in the singing of hymns and spirituals. The Choir meets (in non-Covid times) on Thursday evenings to share our joys and sorrows, pray, and rehearse for Sunday worship, as well as other special services during the church year. The presence and ministry of the choir helps to set the mood — leading the congregation more deeply into worship…into an encounter with The Divine.
St. David’s offers several special musical programs each year. Join us for a special sing-along “Hootenanny” led by Fr. Pete on Guitar and Steve Weatherman on keyboard. Come out for a fun, informal evening of singing some favorites old and new…stay tuned for more information to come and check back often for future programs.
St. David’s is blessed by the recent acquisition of a Rodgers Artist Series 599 digital organ. Dedicated to God’s glory in 2020, This 3 manual, 39 stops, w/ LED draw knob stop controls is an amazingly versatile instrument that features a broad palette from four different organ building schools: American Eclectic, English Cathedral, French Romantic, and German Baroque.
Along with traditional organ stops, this organ features a wide variety of orchestral sounds, ranging from flute, oboe, and clarinet to solo trumpet, french horn, and a brass ensemble. Having such versatility proved invaluable when COVID 19 forced us to suspend in-person worship. We were able to offer the longing, heartfelt music of Holy Week, as well as a full brass presence on Easter morning to joyfully celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ for broadcast on Facebook Live!
The Artist Series 599 offers wide flexibility of styles and graduation of scale for use when accompanying choral anthems, as well as full congregational singing. This instrument will bless and enhance worship for decades to come.
Meet the Music Director
Steven has studied Church Music at Waldorf Lutheran College in Forest City, Iowa and Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He has studied conducting with Drs. James Jordan, Allen Crowell and Joseph Flummerfelt. As a member of Westminster Choir and the Bridge Ensemble from Philadelphia, Steven has toured throughout the U.S. and performed for seven years at the Spoleto Festival, USA and Il Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He has performed as a professional chorister with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He has also performed under the batons of such great conductors as Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Spiros Agiris and Wolfgang Swalisch. A trained vocalist, accomplished keyboardist and composer, Steven works to enliven the spiritual life in worship at St. David’s. At St. David’s we blend classic and contemporary styles together to reflect the depth of tradition and vibrancy of spirit in our worship. Choir members minister not only to the congregation, but to each other, forming a group that shares in each others’ joys and sorrows. We are always looking for new people to join in the fellowship of this important ministry at St. David’s.
