We have had a very busy musical year here at Second Presbyterian. We again joined with several area churches to present combined worship for Maundy Thursday and at Thanksgiving in 2019. At Easter, 2019 we again invited all interested to join our choir to sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus for the postlude and several did. Due to coronavirus distancing, for Holy Week 2020 we relied on recorded music from previous years and some anthems sung by a quintet from the choir. We hosted the Youth Music Festival for one day of Piccolo Spoleto again in May 2019, when several hundred people attended over the course of the day and over $500 in donations received. Our bell choir has rehearsed and played in the service several times, and continues to be an inspiring and close-knit group. Sally McDuffie joined the bell choir this year.
We have had a very busy musical year here at Second Presbyterian. We again joined with several area churches to present combined worship for Maundy Thursday and at Thanksgiving in 2019. At Easter, 2019 we again invited all interested to join our choir to sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus for the postlude and several did. Due to coronavirus distancing, for Holy Week 2020 we relied on recorded music from previous years and some anthems sung by a quintet from the choir. We hosted the Youth Music Festival for one day of Piccolo Spoleto again in May 2019, when several hundred people attended over the course of the day and over $500 in donations received. Our bell choir has rehearsed and played in the service several times, and continues to be an inspiring and close-knit group. Sally McDuffie joined the bell choir this year.
We had several performances from promising young instrumentalists during the service, in return for using our sanctuary as a venue for recording auditions for competitions or schools. In June 2019 Charleston Academy of Music moved into our Education Building and we have had a couple of students play in the service, hopefully more to come. The Charleston Gospel Choir/Spiritual Ensemble sang in May and December 2019. During Piccolo Spoleto we hosted the Spotlight Series of nine concerts for the first time, showcasing musicians of national and international renown. We hosted the College of Charleston Concert Choir in concert in May, October and November.
Our music program welcomes persons who wish to sing, play bells, or contribute their other musical talents. Please contact me at jharlow@2ndpc.org if you would like to be involved in any of our choirs or to play an instrument in the service. I would encourage all also to visit the Music page on the church website (www.2ndpc.org/music) to hear some of our anthems or the Christmas Pageant. As of this writing, in April 2020, the church is still presenting services online, for which the quintet is singing, but the choirs gather virtually on Zoom on Sunday mornings to keep in touch.
Respectfully submitted,
Julia Harlow, Director of Music and Organist