Music Ministry

Click on the items below to hear music recorded live at St. John's-Grace.

Choir Anthems, Psalms, Chants and Hymns

Christmas at St. John's-Grace 2011:
our featured singers present A Cappella Renaissance and Traditional Carols,
plus two anthems by the St. John's-Grace Choir

All Hallows Eve-All Saints Day-Day of the Dead at St. John's-Grace

Advent Lessons and Carols at St. John's-Grace

Christmas at St. John's-Grace 2009

Easter at St. John's-Grace

The St. John's-Grace Choir sings at every 10:30 Sunday morning service from September through June. The choir offers a broad and ambitious range of sacred music from ancient chants to contemporary compositions, by composers ranging from Byrd, Tallis, Purcell, Bach, and Handel to Mendelssohn, Brahms, Stanford, Vaughan-Williams, Howells, Rutter, and a host of others. Yet at St. John's-Grace we have a Music Ministry rather than a Music Program. The purpose of our choir is not to put on a show but to enhance the congregation's spiritual experience through sacred music, and to support congregational singing.

Congregational singing here at St. John's-Grace is robust and deeply felt. We use two sources for our hymns and service music: the standard Hymnal of the Episcopal Church and the supplementary hymnal Wonder, Love and Praise, which provides more contemporary music.

The St. John's-Grace Choir consists mostly of volunteers and is open to all. Choir rehearsals are on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 and Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 10:00.

Several times each year the "No Excuses Choir" sings on Sunday morning. On these occasions anyone and everyone is invited to sing with the choir. Just show up at 9:00 a.m. that morning for a single rehearsal and sing with the choir at the 10:30 service. No vestments or choir robes are required, no Thursday night rehearsal, no auditions, no musical training, no ability to read music, no long term commitment -- there simply are "no excuses" for not participating. Come and join us for this great informal opportunity to sing with a very friendly group on a Sunday morning! Call David Mathewson at the church (885-1112) for the next date.

Children are encouraged to sing with the St. John's-Grace Choristers. The choristers sing at the 10:30 a.m. service on various Sundays throughout the year. They rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m.

Our Austin pipe organ, originally installed in 1927, was rebuilt in five phases between 1982 and 1999. With three manuals and forty-two ranks, it is the largest Austin instrument in the Buffalo area.

Musicians on staff at St. John's-Grace include:

David K. Mathewson, Organist-Choirmaster

David K. Mathewson has been Organist-Choirmaster at St. John's-Grace since 1981. He is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he studied organ with James Autenrith and William Maul and voice with Mary Lou Hultberg and Richard Griffith. He also studied organ with Will Headlee at Syracuse University.

David has been active in the work of the Music Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York since 1986. He served as chair of the commission from 1989 to 1990 and as secretary from 1996 to 2004. He is currently co-chair of the commission. He is also a very active member of the Buffalo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), serving three terms as a member of the Chapter Executive Board. He is now serving on the Program Committee. In 1996 David was elected to membership in the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM). He is also a member of the Organ Historical Society (OHS) and the Hymn Society.

For more information on St. John's-Grace, click on one of the items below.