Senior Choir Roster 2011

The choir is normally in summer mode from mid-June until September.  We are always looking for new voices so please contact Brian Webb if you are interested.  Rehearsals during the term are Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:00 and at 9:15 on Sunday mornings.

Junior Choir

          
 The Christ Church Jr. Choir is directed by Bill Beard, Jr.  Here is a picture of the 2009 choir.  New recruits are always welcome.

The Abiel M. Smith Memorial Organ at Christ Church was dedicated in March 1972.  The organ was built according to principles which are widely acknowledged as the most reliable mechanically and the most satisfying artistically. The instrument comprises two manual divisions (keyboards) plus pedal and consists of 19 stops or voices. The keyboard divisions are named Hauptwerk (main keyboard or Great) and Brustwerk (literally, at the breast level). These divisions are clearly defined visually with the chief manual division and pedal located in the upper and larger section of the organ and the secondary manual division located just above the music rack behind hand-operated doors.

The playing action of the organ is direct mechanical (tracker) which means that a system of levers responds precisely to the player's fingers in admitting wind to the pipes. The only electrical component of the organ is the blower motor which provides the wind for the instrument.

The placement of the organ in the geographical center, lengthwise, of the church affords many musical advantages.  Liturgically, the musical leadership is with the worshipping congregation rather than set apart in another room. This location permits an easy egress and rather even distribution of organ tone throughout the room, a factor which contributes greatly to the ease with which congregational singing is supported. Then, too, this location, along with the compactness of the organ, permits great flexibility in the arrangement of chairs for singers and instruments.  The case of the organ is made from solid white oak which, for acoustical reasons is not sanded but planed smooth.  Since the case serves as a "sounding board" or chief resonator for the pipes as well as projecting the sound into the room, it is most important that the fine acoustical properties of the white oak be maintained; therefore, the wood is finished naturally with no varnish, lacquer or shellac.

The pipe shades located at the top of each pipe tower and in the Brustwerk doors are hand carved from white oak by a German wood sculptor. These pipe shades provide an acoustical function as well as enhancing the visual appearance of the organ.

All the metal pipes in the organ were made by the German pipe-making firm, Mittermaier, and are constructed from an alloy which is 70% pure tin. Reed pipes were made by the German firm, Giesiege, and the wooden pipes were made in Mr. Wilhelm's shop. Woods used in the organ other than white oak include white mahogany, rosewood, ebony, cedar and African mahogany.

KARL WILHELM, the builder of the organ, is German by birth and received most of his training in Europe, primarily in Germany and Switzerland. He came to North America to be the director of the mechanical action division of a large Canadian organ building firm. Later he began his own shop and until recently built organs exclusively for Canadian clients. As of 1972, he had built instruments in the states of Washington, Oklahoma, Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  The Christ Church organ was his first instrument for a church on the East Coast. The builder, in consultation with the Organ Committee of the parish, was responsible for the overall design, specification and realization of the design. The pipe-scaling and voicing of the organ was done by Christoph Linde. Mr. Linde was trained by and worked with European organ builders among whom are Rudolf von Beckerath, J. Neidhart, G. Lhote, and Karl Schuke. Within 15 years Mr. Linde installed and voiced numerous instruments of all sizes in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and the United States.  He worked with Mr. von Beckerath in voicing the large instruments in St. Joseph's Oratory, Montreal (1960), and in St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburgh (1962).