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Music

The small choir is composed of volunteers and an occasional paid professional. Under Dr. Francine Maté’s guidance the choir leads hymns and service music and performs offertory anthems through most of the year, with a break over the summer.

The Grace Church Choir sings at the 10:30 service from the Sunday after Labor Day through the Sunday before the Memorial Day weekend. Our rehearsals are Wednesday evenings from 8–9 and Sunday mornings from 9:45–10:15 in the choir loft. The choir also sings at the Christmas Eve service. Although participation is highly recommended for all rehearsals and services, it is not mandatory. All choir members have family responsibilities and work related travel. This does not allow for 100 % attendance the entire year.

We sing a variety of choral literature from Renaissance music through to the present day.

We have a number of works in our “repertoire” which we repeat from time to time during the year, but we are always working on at least one new and challenging piece to add to our repertoire.

If you are interested in joining the choir, please see Francine Maté, Reverend John Graham, or any choir member.

Choirmaster (Francine Maté)

Dr. Francine Maté, who has been our organist and choir director since 1998, received the DMA and MM degrees from The University of Michigan, and is a music copyright examiner with the United States Copyright Office in the Library of Congress on weekdays.

Dr. Maté recorded a CD, For the Means of Grace and the Hope of Glory, on the organ in 1999.

The A. David Moore Organ

The church’s classical-action pipe organ was built by A. David Moore in 1981. Perhaps partly because of the superb quality of this instrument, we have been blessed with a succession of very fine organists, and a high proportion of the parish members demonstrate their appreciation of the music by remaining in their seats to hear the full postlude every Sunday.

In Memoriam

Grace Church’s music program, and all of us, have lost a friend. Peter Clegg passed away on Sunday, June 7, 2009, at Alexandria Hospital. His twin brother, John, his sister and a second brother were at his side, as were a few of his close friends.

Peter had a history of heart problems during the past year.

Many of you at Grace will remember Peter’s singing at several of our Christmas Eve late services. With great power and artistry he rendered “O Holy Night,” “The Welsh Carol” and other inspiring Christmas compositions. Peter and Organist/Choir Director Dr. Francine Maté have been friends and worked together for over 20 years. Peter lived in the same apartment building where Francine, as well as Sakena and I, live.

Peter received a degree in voice performance from the Julliard School of Music. His “day” job for over 25 years was working in the box office at the Kennedy Center. One of his many notable performances was as the tenor soloist in a National Symphony performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the early 1990s. In the past recent years, Peter had many singing engagements with the Prague opera and in Italy and France.

Singing was Peter’s life.

Peter was preceded in death by his parents. He was 55 years old. Peter will be sorely missed, and our prayers go to his family and many friends. May his dwelling place be in the light of God’s pure love, surrounded by the praises sung by saints and angels.