 |
 |
|||||
 |
|
 |
||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
Our Music |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| THE MUSIC LEADERSHIP Kristy G. Kerins, organist, studied at Westminister Choir College and Hartt College of Music and has been a church organist for 25 years. She is an accomplished pianist and harpsichordist whose expertise and tastes range from Bach to Broadway. She is active as an accompianist for various performing groups in churches, schools and the community at large. Susan Godoy, Youth Choir Director and pianist/accompanist is an accomplished concert pianist. She holds the Ph.D. from Radcliffe College and has had an active career as a concert artist as well as having been a teacher at the Choate School in Brookline, at Wellsley College and in the Boston and Brookline Public Schools where she was an elementary school music specialist. She is currently a teacher at Cape Cod Conservatory of Music and Arts and keeps an active performing schedule.
The Federated Church Senior Choir not only keeps bringing wonderful music to the congregation but also keeps up with music technology! Their recent recording is the latest addition to the tradition of recording the choir: first on a long-playing record album, next on a tape cassette, and now on a compact disc. Dr. Robert Kidd, who retired as music director in June 2001, was given the opportunity to choose how to best honor the memory of Charles Van Buskirk with the memorial funds donated to the church in Charlie's memory. Dr. Kidd suggested to the choir a project to record a compact disc dedicated to Charlie, a suggestion which was met with enthusiasm for a much -loved choir member with a lovely and powerful voice.
The editing work was done by Matt Reid, owner of the Booksmith/Musicsmith bookstore at the Shaw's Market Plaza on Route 6A in Orleans. Matt is a dear friend and former student of Dr. Kidd and spent many hours preparing the master recording for publication. Matt would not accept any payment for his work; he considered his work a contribution to Dr. Kidd and the wonderful music of the church choir. The compact disc insert graphics were a concerted effort pulled together from several sources: Hid Welch contributed the complete files from the church directory that was designed by his friend Wayne Dion of Dion and Company. Matt Reid enlisted the skills of his friend Steve at the "last minute' when Matt discovered that his computer system and the files from Wayne Dion were not compatible. The friend worked to put the original insert lay-out design into computer form to send to the production house; he, too, refused to accept any payment for his contribution of many hours at the computer. His reason was only slightly different from Matt's reason: Steve Gregory grew up in the Federated Church of Hyannis (he spoke with pride of his chain of Sunday school pins!) and his parents, Ruth and Joseph Gregory are still members. The final compact disc master and insert graphics were sent for production to Triple Disc in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Singing Angel on the back cover and on the compact disc itself seems to embody the title With a Voice of Singing. The angel, carved in Florence, Italy in 1957 and placed in the alcove in memory of Frederick Freeman Scudder, appears to stand alone. The magic of theater lighting, photography and computer graphics lifts her out of her alcove and gives her a golden glow that matches the warmth of the music. Anthems include the favorites Just A Closer Walk With Thee, Heavenly Sunlight, Amazing Grace, Precious Lord Take My Hand and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, plus solo pieces by Kristy Kerins on organ and Susan Godoy on the grand piano.
We wish to celebrate Charlie's memory in a way that he would love
and understand. Thus, we have recorded here some of our favorite
and best loved music including anthems sung at his memorial service.
Thursday night rehersals and Sunday services were a central part
of Charlie's life. His wife Helen tells us that he would quickly
take his early Thursday evening dinner and rush off to be with the
choir that he loved and respected. He cherished the special meaning
that each anthem brought to him and took great satisfaction in sharing
this with his colleagues and the congregation. We all shared this
peace and spirituality.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The senior
choir began rehearsal in April and recorded the anthems on June
30, 2001. The recording was made in the sanctuary, with the choir
seated in the center of the chancel. Ted Dyett, who did the taping
of the master recording that hot Saturday in June, does professional
recordings for choral groups in the Boston area.
Dedicated
to Charles Van Buskirk
 |