Music Ministry
Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church has an established tradition of outstanding music ministry. Through singing, we amplify God's Word as it is proclaimed in worship each week. Music at Reid Memrial expresses our joy in God's love. It enhances worship and serves as an outreach to our Augusta community.
The music ministry at Reid Memorial consists of seven choirs and various ensembles, involving more than one hundred church members, kindergarten through adult. Participation is open to all.
Chancel Choir
Chancel Choir is the mainstay music group at Reid Memorial. This group of dedicated singers leads in worship every Sunday. Rehearsals are on Wednesdays, 7:15-9 p.m. in the choir room. The choir performs traditional choral literature.
In addition to weekly worship services, Chancel Choir leads a Christmas Vespers service on the third Sunday of Advent. The service consists of traditional Christmas songs or a major choral work accompanied by orchestra. Past performances have included: Antonio Vivaldi's "Gloria", J.S. Bach's "For Unto Us A Child Is Born", Gustav Holst's "On Christmas Day", G.F. Handel's "Messiah" and John Rutter's "Gloria".
Chancel Choir season culminates with Choir Recognition Sunday every spring. The spring 2009 service of music featured traditional hymn anthems with organ and brass accompaniment and congregational participation.
Chancel Choir takes a yearly fall retreat to the beautiful mountain setting at Bonclarken Conference Center, Hendersonville, N.C. Emphasis is given to spiritual community and musical building. Guest clinicians conduct the retreat.
Reid Memorial Chancel Choir has been recorded for Georgia Public Broadcasting System.
Angel Choir
Pre-kindergarten through kindergarten
This choir meets every Sunday morning as part of the church Sunday school hour. It is a fun time of learning through simple action songs, finger plays and movement. The goal of this choir is to introduce children to the basic concepts of worship and liturgy. The children sing occasionally as part of the Sunday morning worship service where they use the skills learned.
Carol Choir
First and second graders
This choir is part of the WORD program that meet Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m in their music room on the second floor of the Christian education building. The choir explores and builds on the concepts learned in Angel Choir. This year the choir is focusing on hymnology and how to use the hymnal. Every month a new hymn is introduced to the choir. Carol Choir participates in worship normally once a month as well as two special services, Hanging of the Greens at the beginning the Advent season and a spring children' musical.
Joyful Noise
Third, fourth and fifth graders
Joyful Noise Choir meets Wednesdays, 5-5:45 p.m. in the choir room. The children explore music and worship through movement, tone chimes, singing, playing instruments and drama. This choir leads in worship normally once a month as well as special services throughout the year. The choir is treated with an annual fall retreat weekend at the Bishop Gravett Center in Aiken, S.C. Joyful Noise choir members go on various field trips and and enjoy a spring lock-in prior to presenting their spring musical.
Middle School Dolce Voce
Dolce Voce youth choir is divided into two components: singing and handbell ringing. This group is open to all middle school members of Reid Memorial and their friends. NOrmal rehearsal schedule is Sunday afternoons, 4 p.m. in Choir Room.
High School Girls Ensemble
The high school girls focus on singing high-quality music in the classical tradition. Works by Handel, Mendelssohn, Bach and others are the mainstay of this group. Normal rehearsal schedule is Sunday afternoons 5 p.m. Contact bcunningham@reidchurch.org for more information.
High School Boys Percussion
Reid high school boys normally meet Sunday afternoons, 5:30 p.m. The focus for the 2009-10 school year is performance on timpani and crash cymbals. Contact bcunningham@reidchurch.org for more information.
Master's Ringers
Reid Memorial is privileged to own a set of five-octave and three-octave Schulmerich handbells. Master's Ringers meets Sundays, 6:15-7:30 p.m., Sept.-June. Membership in this handbell choir is by audition only.
The choir rings for morning worship services approximately once a month. Additionally, the choir is sometimes invited to ring at special events in the Augusta area e.g. Westobou Festival 2008 and 2009. This choir attends an annual winter handbell retreat.
Master's Ringers enhances the worship service by ringing preludes, offertories and postludes and occasionally accompanies the anthems, hymns and processionals.
Instrumental opportunities
Reid Memorial is fortunate to have young people and adults who play various instruments representing woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.
Instrumentalists meet on an as-needed basis throughout the year in preparation for worship services. For more information, contact bcunningham@reidchurch.org.
John G. Schaeffer Organ Concert Fund
Dr. John Gerhardt Schaeffer, former Reid organist and Augusta State University music professor, was a friend to the music and arts community in Augusta. His contributions to our community spanned almost 30 years and his influence continues. After Dr. Schaeffer's death in November 1996, the John Schaeffer Organ Concert Fund was established. The purpose of the fund is to sponsor nationally known concert artists or other events that showcase the culmination of John’s dream, one of Augusta’s finest pipe organs, the Reid Memorial Schantz pipe organ.
The cost of an organ concert featuring a nationally acclaimed artist can cost $3-5,000. Concert donations are not enough to finance these type of concerts.
$75,000 can endow the concert series as an annual event on a permanent basis. Or, funds collected through the new Sept. 30, 2011 cut-off date, can be used to fund the series on an every-other-year basis until the funds run out.
As of Aug. 24, 2010, there is enough money to fund the series every other year beginning 2011 through Nov. 2025.
A gala-celebration is planned for November 2011, the fifteenth year since Dr. Schaeffer's passing. This event will feature Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ and Orchestra with Reid Memorial organist Brad Cunningham at the console and Reid Memorial director of music, Dr. Richard Cook, conducting. The Poulenc organ concerto was John’s last community public performance. Also, Poulenc’s great choral work, Gloria, will be performed with the combined choirs of Reid Memorial and Church of the Good Shepherd under the baton of James Nord. A special printed program will commemorate this event and include the names of those who have contributed to this organ concert fund May 1, 2010-Sept. 30, 2011.
Your support can make the difference. Please mail your contribution to Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church, 2261 Walton Way, Augusta, Ga. 30904 and designate it for the Schaeffer Organ Concert Fund.
We are pleased to report...
There have been 54 financial contributions received since May 1, 2010. The total concert fund has reached $30,846 as of Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Of the 54 contributions received:
- 31 Reid members
- 22 Augusta community-at-large or former Augustans
- 1 Augusta State University Foundation
Thank you!
