Choir
Choral services with the full choir were conducted from January 9 thru June 5th. A special annual gift from Anne Vogel honoring our Director of Liturgy and Music provided funding for 4 choral scholars for June, July, and August. Volunteer singers joined them in continuing choral services throughout the summer. The full choir returned on September 11 singing through the remained of the year.
Choral evensong with an organ prelude was offered on Sunday, October 2nd. In addition to a congregation of 50+, not one, but two birds delighted in the music. Our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols was held on Sunday, December 18th at 4 pm followed by a most excellent reception.
Organ
In July the Gallery Organ received its second tuning since its restoration in 2020. Unfortunately, the weather chose not to cooperate during the two days it takes to tune the instrument. An additional day and a half were required to retune half of the organ because of a 20-degree temperature change.
The Change Ringing Bells
Contributions to the bell project have continued to come in. Mr. Tom Farthing, Captain of the Mitchel Hall Tower at the University of Chicago, visited our tower in April. Tom advised us to engage Justin Cline, SE, Senior Structural Engineer, with ZS LLC. Justin had worked with a parish out east that recently installed a set of change ringing bells. It is our good luck that he moved to Milwaukee within the past year. A laser scan of our west tower was made. Three bricks and some stone are now being examined for their strength. A full report is due at the end of January; to date all reports seem to be looking good.
Brian Laetus and family members of Roland Perschon, donor of the bells, visited St. Paul’s on Sunday, December 4th at the 10 am Service. They presented us with a check for $24,000.00 towards the bell project.
The Milwaukee Chamber Choir
Our Artists-in-Residence presented a program of sacred music for All Saints’ Day on November 6th at 2:30 pm. This highly accomplished group is under the direction of Dr. J. Mark Baker. Well over 120 people attended this beautifully crafted program including music by J. S. Bach, Herbert Howells, and others.
Canon Joseph A. Kucharski
Director of Liturgy and Music
