Recording a CD of favorite hymns and anthems has been a conversation Pastor Rachel and I had been in discussion about a year or two before the pandemic, and our Wednesdays Together program was slowly working its way toward having the numbers and confidence to make it happen.
Though the years following the pandemic have resulted in smaller choirs, the children and youth involved are completely dedicated to our weekly rehearsals, where we come together in community and song. This past fall, it became my goal to ensure that the recording finally happened sometime during the 2023-24 program year, and it did.
“Canticles of Praise” is the culmination of years of working with these groups, with support from staff members, families, leaders, helpers, and all those involved in the Beginners Choir, Children’s Choir, and Youth Chorale ensembles of BMPC.
It was a great joy for me to see the children and youth making music on their own and together, with the support of four of the Sanctuary Choir’s talented Staff Singers. Two of these singers, Kara Goodrich and Jeffrey Wilber, have a special connection to our church. Kara, a child of this church, and Jeffrey, who has been a Staff Singer for forty years and raised his three children as church members, are integral to this recording.
Recordings are a snapshot in time, and this snapshot will always prove to me that a dream is possible—but not without the support and help of everyone who came together to make that dream happen.
If you’re interested in a copy of “Canticles of Praise,” please contact the Music and Fine Arts Department. The CDs are available with a freewill donation towards the Tour Fund for the Sanctuary Choir’s trip to France in June of 2025.
