Music in the liturgy

Music has always been an integral part of the celebration of the Eucharist at St. John’s. Having a monastic history, St. John’s was a forerunner in the use of plainsong in worship in the Episcopal Church. Throughout the years, the music on Bowdoin Street has been led by a series of distinguished musicians with a commitment to music as a vital part of worship for the congregation. Notable among these is Everett Titcomb, who served for fifty years at St. John’s, beginning in 1910. The choir’s repertoire includes many of Titcomb’s works, as well as anthems and motets from medieval to 21^st-century composers of church music. At a typical Sunday Eucharist at Saint John’s, the congregation sings three or four hymns, a psalm, and other service music.

Choir

At each Sunday Eucharist from mid-September through Trinity Sunday, St. John’s choir, known as the Schola Cantorum, leads the congregational singing and sings an anthem or motet at the Offertory and during Communion. Four professional singers serve as section leaders for St. John’s Schola Cantorum Volunteers and section leaders currently rehearse each Sunday morning at 8:45 and at other times as announced. Additional volunteers are most welcome. A desire to commit to regular rehearsals is required. Please contact the Organist and Director of Music to arrange an audition.

Click here to learn about the choir's repertoire for the coming weeks.

Other music at St. John’s

Each week at 5:30 pm, Saint John’s hosts local musicians as performers on its Wednesday evening concert series. In its first season, this series has become increasingly popular as an “after office hours” destination in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. It is also fast becoming known as a friendly location among artists who enjoy performing in a fine acoustic. Admission is free, but listeners are encouraged to make a contribution to the artist as a gesutre of thanks at each concert.

In addition, several performing ensembles have begun to recognize St. John’s as an excellent place to hold concerts. Schola Cantorum of Boston, Boston Choral Ensemble, and Longfellow Opera Company held ticketed performances at St. John’s in 2007 and will continue to delight audiences on Bowdoin Street in the year ahead. Boston Secession regularly uses St. John’s as a rehearsal space. Recently, Intermezzo Opera announced St. John’s as its location for Benjamin Britten’s The Prodigal Son, to be performed in September 2008. If interested in exploring St. John’s as a concert and/or rehearsal venue, contact the Organist and Director of Music.

Organist and Director of Music

Since the end of May 2007, the music program at St. John’s has been led by Jeffrey Mills. Mr. Mills studied organ and church music at Indiana University and has held positions of musical leaderhsip in parishes in Illinois and Massachusetts. His primary teachers were Marianne Webb, Oswald Ragatz, Robert Rayfield, and John L. Hooker. Upon moving to Boston, Mr. Mills sang in the choir at All Saints, Ashmont, under the direction of Herbert Peterson, a student of Everett Titcomb, and later sang in the Schola Cantorum at St. John’s during the tenure of William Porter. Much of Mr. Mills’s work has been as an interim organist and choir director in parishes undergoing periods of transition. He looks forward to developing a strong music program at St. John’s and expanding its musical outreach as a concert venue and as a place of spiritual and practical support for musicians and artists of all types.