Our worship through music
Chancel Choir – Alex Koppel, director
When: Sings every Sunday at the 11 a.m. service
What: SATB vocal arrangements, spanning a wide range of musical genres
Who: Singers high school age and older
Rehearsals: Thursday - 7:00-8:15 p.m. and Sunday – 10:15 a.m., in Room 25
9 AM Ensemble – Alex Koppel, director
When: Sings most Sundays at the 9 a.m. service
What: A flexible and fluid group who musically lead a less formal worship experience. (A great opportunity to be involved for those who may not be able to make a firm weekly commitment)
Who: Singers and instrumentalists
Rehearsals: 8:15 Sunday mornings, in the sanctuary
Handbell Choir - Brian McNulty, director
When: Shares musical offerings with the congregation four times a year
What: A 4-octave ensemble
Who: No handbell experience is required, but the ability to read music is a big plus
Rehearsals: Thursday, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in Room 30
Children’s Choir - Eileen Jennings, director
When: Offers special music for worship services periodically throughout the year, and also participates in the annual Christmas Pageant
What: An introduction to worship through music for our younger congregants
Who: Singers through Jr. High age, and instrumentalists who would like to play carols for the Christmas Pageant.
Rehearsals: Sundays immediately after 11 a.m. worship, in Room 25
Special Music – Contact Alex Koppel
When: Any time we worship or fellowship
What: Through the years, we have enjoyed a wide range of offerings, from a flute choir, to vocal and instrumental soloists, to a bluegrass group.
Who: Anyone with a talent to share
The FPC Hymnal
Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal was introduced in 2013. It includes 800 hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs. About half of the hymns are from the 1990 Presbyterian hymnal, with the remaining pieces coming from former Presbyterian hymnals, other denominational songbooks, and individual authors and composers. Music is included from six different continents, and covers all major historical and contemporary sacred genres. It includes a musical setting of almost every Sunday lectionary psalm.
The FPC Organ
Congregational singing is vital to worship at First Presbyterian Church, and the Paul Fritts Op. 41 organ is the ideal instrument to lead it. The 2-manual 36-stop instrument, built at the Fritts Organ Shop in Tacoma, Washington, was dedicated to the service of the church in February 2018. It was designed in appearance and sound to strongly connect to significant historic organs throughout Northern Europe and central Germany. While each stop has a distinct personality, the organ offers innumerable small and large combinations. Essential to its sound is a German Baroque influence, which is brilliantly blended with older and more modern characteristics on the Swell, such as the Hautbois, celestes, Principal, swell box, and combination action. It was mechanically designed to thrive in Indiana weather, with wooden components treated to enable a change in dimensions as the humidity fluctuates. The mechanical action of the keys, which literally hang from the valves that wind the pipes, is self-adjusting throughout the seasons. The voicing of the 2300 pipes was optimized for the acoustics of the sanctuary and the musical needs of a singing congregation. Aesthetically, architectural ratios found in the church sanctuary were considered when designing the instrument casework, and hand carved pipe shades are painted with gold leaf to enhance the visibility of the intricate detail.
