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 IUCC ANNOUNCES
NEW DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
It is with great pleasure that Irvine United Congregational Church announces that John St. Marie will join the church staff as our new Director of Music. John was chosen from a large group of excellent candidates, a testimony to the quality of the IUCC music ministry. John’s first Sunday with us will be August 1.
John brings a wealth of personal and musical abilities to IUCC. He is a classically trained tenor well-known in the Southern California music community, having sung under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, John Alexander, and Carl St. Clair, among others. John is also a music therapist, using music as a healing source, and he recently returned to school in music education and conducting with the specific goal of working in church music. He will finish his doctorate in choral music at the University of Southern California this August.
We are particularly impressed not only with John’s technical abilities but his love and care for communicating the core message embodied in the music. He brings an inspirational quality to his gentle leadership. While we are very excited about our new director of music, we also want to express our deep gratitude for the contributions of our interim director of music, Tina Glander Peterson. During our time of transition, she has shown great sensitivity and caring as many in the congregation adjusted to the departure of our past director, Dr. Rob Istad. She faithfully and competently prepared the choir for its weekly service to the congregation.
The church is planning opportunities for the congregation to meet and get to know John. Please look for future information regarding those events as well as information about John in our church newsletter, bulletin, and website. |
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Chancel Choir
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Since its inception in 1984, the Irvine United Congregational Church Chancel Choir continues to strive for new heights of artistic excellence and spiritual inspiration in the performance of music in worship. Members of the Chancel Choir find great pride in their efforts to support one another, the congregation, and the progressive and inclusive mission of Irvine United Congregational Church. Since 1988, IUCC’s Chancel Choir has built a tradition of fine choral singing of superior repertoire in weekly worship services, festive special services, inventive holiday programs, and an annual musical variety show. IUCC’s musical programs have garnered high praise from the outside community and attract a sizeable, supportive audience from all over Los Angeles and Orange County. The choir, an entirely volunteer ensemble, has been guided to musical excellence through the efforts of many extraordinary artists including Bonnie McClain, Paul MacNeff, Ted Reid, and most recently, Robert Istad and pianist Jill Carter. Through the guidance of Mr. Istad, the chorus has developed a community concert series that brings the chorus and community together in support of local and guest artists. The chorus annually produces “A Winter’s Solstice,” an Advent program of lessons and carols, and a program of large choral-orchestral works in the spring. In summer 2005, the Chancel Choir performed to high acclaim for large audiences on a concert tour throughout northern Italy. As part of this tour, the choir was invited to be a featured ensemble in the prestigious sacred music festival that takes place annually in the medieval city of Lucca. The chorus has also performed with members of the University of Southern California’s Thornton Symphony in J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria, W.A. Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Confessore, K. 339, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs. The choir has also performed many other great works including Benjamin Britten’s Festival Te Deum and Rejoice in the Lamb, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Orartorio, and John Rutter’s Requiem. The choir looks forward to an upcoming concert tour throughout France during the summer of 2009.
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