Choirs
The PCPC choirs exist to train men and women, girls and boys how to be singing Christians. The preparation which takes place in rehearsal during the week is applied in both worship and concert settings, as well as other ministry opportunities. Participation is open to all singers, kindergarten through senior adults.
Adult Choir
Chancel Choir — adults, college, and older
The Chancel Choir sings weekly at our 9:30 and 11:00 worship services, concerts, and special services during the year including Christmas Eve and Maundy Thursday. The choir also engages in missionary activities, both locally and overseas.
Rehearsals on Wednesdays, 7:00—9:00 p.m., late August through June
Meets in Cambridge Hall - Level Two
Contact J. Marty Cope, 214-224-2638, [email protected]
Children’s Choirs
For Children’s Choirs, please contact Katie Haring, Ministry Leader of Children’s and Youth Choir at 214-224-2636, [email protected].
Covenant Choir: 5th—8th grade
Rehearsals on Wednesdays, 5:00-6:00 p.m.
meets in Cambridge Hall - Level Two
Chapel Choir: 2nd—4th grade
Rehearsals on Wednesdays, 5:00-5:45 p.m.
meets in Kid’s Court - Level Two
Carol Choir: K—1st grade
Rehearsals on Wednesdays, 4:30-5:00 p.m.
meets in Kid’s Court
(Limited enrollment)
Cherub Choir: four and five-year-olds
Rehearsals on Wednesdays, 4:00-4:30 p.m.
meets in Elementary 8
(Limited enrollment)
Register for Children’s & Youth Choirs
Musikgarten - under the age of 4
Click here to learn about our Musikgarten program.
Children’s music programs meet from September through April.
Children’s Choir Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
We hold weekly rehearsals on Wednesday evenings starting mid-September and running through late April, taking off for the usual holidays. Cherub and Carol Choirs rehearse for 30 minutes; Chapel and Covenant Choirs rehearse for an hour. Cherub Choir’s commitment is limited to Wednesday afternoons. In addition to Wednesday rehearsals, Carol Choir participates in worship once or twice a semester. Chapel Choir and Covenant Choir participate in worship about twice a semester, perform in our annual Christmas Concert, and lead worship for our Family Christmas Eve Service. There is also sometimes a spring concert in which one or both choirs are invited to participate. We do ask that you miss no more than three rehearsals per semester. Participation in worship or a concert depends on consistent weekly attendance and attendance at the dress rehearsal: the final rehearsal before we participate in worship or perform in a concert. If you have extenuating circumstances, please notify Mrs. Haring. Of course not! Choir is not just for those who find they are gifted singers. It is a place to learn to sing and worship our great God! There are no prerequisite skills or experiences needed to join our choirs. No, you do not have to be a member of PCPC to join our choirs. However, we ask that your family attend PCPC on the Sunday mornings your child sings in worship. Yes, children must be five years old when the school year starts to join the Carol Choir. 1. We find Carol Choir to be more developmentally appropriate for five and six-year-olds. 2. Carol Choir has a limited capacity, and we want to ensure that all children who wish to can participate for the two years they are eligible. Those not old enough to join Carol Choir can join our Musikgarten classes on Monday mornings (birth-4) or our Cherub Choir (4-5-year-olds). With the exception of scheduled parent volunteers, we ask that parents remain outside of the rehearsal room in order to eliminate distractions. There will always be at least one additional adult in the room with the choir director, per PCPC’s ministry safe policy. The exception is our Cherub Choir, where we stronglyencourage parents to attend with their child (similar to our Monday morning Musikgarten classes). If a kindergarten singer has difficulty separating from their parents, the Cherub Choir might be the appropriate option for a year. The Cherub Choir is a training choir for four and five-year-olds that is meant to be a bridge between our Musikgarten program on Monday mornings, which are music classes, and our Wednesday evening choir rehearsals. The Cherub Choir will follow Musikgarten’s wonderful “God’s Children Sing” curriculum for preschoolers throughout the year while gradually being introduced to elements of choir participation. This choir will not sing in Sunday morning worship but will be well-prepared to do so when they move on to the Carol Choir the following year. Please check our Midweek page to find other ways to get involved in our church on Wednesday nights. I highly encourage our choir families to register for our Midweek dinner, which runs from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Follow that link for information on menus and costs. It’s a wonderfully convenient way to feed your family on Wednesday evening, allowing further fellowship among our choir families!What are the different choir levels at PCPC?
What is the time commitment of the choir?
Is there a choir attendance policy?
Do you hold auditions?
Do I have to be a member of PCPC to participate in the choir program?
Does my child have to be in Kindergarten to join the Carol Choir?
Can parents attend rehearsals?
How does the Cherub Choir differ from the older choirs?
Are there other activities we could participate in on Wednesday nights at PCPC?
Why Choir?
As a covenant child of this church and an alumna of our dear Lynda Fray’s choirs, I could go on forever about why singing in a choir is a valuable endeavor. Choir teaches us to read music, sing well, participate meaningfully in worship, listen, and collaborate. Studies show that music-making has a myriad of benefits for child development and for our physical and emotional health. In my college career and young adulthood, choir opened the doors to incredible experiences including winning awards at international competitions, recording CDs, performing in 1000-year-old cathedrals, singing with people from all over the world, and making wonderful friendships. When I joined the PCPC Chapel Choir in 1999, I entered a life full of music. Could joining the choir open these kinds of doors to your children? Absolutely. But music will also be there for your children when doors are shut upon them.
During his imprisonment in World War II, Dietrich Bonhoeffer found great solace in music. In 1944 he wrote to a dear friend, “It has been a year now since I have heard a hymn sung. But it is strange how the music that we hear inwardly can almost surpass…what we hear physically.” A few months later he wrote to his infant godson, “Music…will help to dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibility, and in times of care and sorrow will keep an underlying [note] of joy alive in you.” In other words, as Lynda Fray would put it, music is able to “plant the word of God deep into hearts.” There are numerous anthems and hymns that we sang in our children’s choirs 20 years ago that I still know from memory. Many Alzheimer’s patients who have forgotten their loved ones’ names can still hear, sing, or play the music that they cherished during their lives. What inward music would you like your children to hear in 20, 40, or 80 years?
I first received the gospel through a hymn, and throughout my life, the Lord has consistently ministered to me through music. Our goal in the PCPC Children’s and Youth Choirs is to give our singers spiritual food that will nourish them in the present and sustain them for the years to come. We want to put a song in their hearts that will keep resonating throughout their lives, so that when they walk through valleys of care and sorrow, like Bonhoeffer, the Apostle Paul, and King David, their inward music would be a spring of the living water that will never run dry. – Katie Haring, Ministry Leader of Children’s and Youth Choirs
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:16-17
(Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and Eberhard Bethge. Letters and Papers from Prison. S.C.M., 1967.)