Sanctuary Choir
The Sanctuary Choir is an adult vocal choir, which rehearses Wednesday evenings and sings at the Sunday worship service. It is typically accompanied by organ or piano but often incorporates other instruments, including a small orchestra, or handbells and brass.
The Bells of the Valley
The Bells of the Valley is an adult handbell choir that plays five octaves of handbells and four octaves of chimes. Rehearsals are on Wednesday nights with monthly worship service participation as well as community outreach.
Children’s Choir
Following worship on Sundays in September through April, children 3 years old and up gather to prepare musical offerings for worship.
On Wednesdays from 4:30-5:15 pm, 1st-8th graders meet to prepare to lead the Wednesday evening worship service as well as musical offerings for Sunday worship.
Once a year, the children’s choir performs a musical – a highlight for all ages!
Organ
First Presbyterian Church Schlicker Pipe Organ, 1971
The Schlicker Pipe Organ at First Presbyterian Church is a representative of classic ideals in organ building prevalent in the country in the mid-twentieth century. The organ was specially designed and voiced for the sanctuary by the Schlicker Organ Company of Buffalo, New York, with guidance by Dr. Paul Bunjes, Organ Consultant.
The pipes are placed in an encased structure that is free standing in the building. The casework serves as a reflective body for the sound, focusing and projecting the sound directly to the listener by natural amplification.
The playing mechanism of the organ is mechanical (or tracker) action. This means that the connection between the keyboards and the corresponding pipes is by mechanical linkage rather than by electrical cables.
The three divisions on the organ contain 21 ranks with 17 stops and 1029 pipes ranging in size from 3/8 inch to more than 16 feet. Every stop is conceived and designed to stand on its own merit as a musical entity, yet to work well in combination with other registers of the organ. This duality gives the instrument its great flexibility. The use of variable scaling of the pipes, low wind pressures, and no nicking of the languids produces the prompt speech, crisp articulation, and full harmonic development of the pipes. Materials used for the pipes include oak, tin, zinc, and various alloys of tin and lead.
The pipe organ is the primary instrument for accompanying the congregation, choirs, soloists, and instrumentalists in worship. In addition, it is used for teaching organ students and special education programs and performances.