Music | First Congregational United Church of Christ Alexandria, MN

OUR MUSIC PROGRAM

Our music program centers around traditional music coupled with the best of more contemporary religious music, centered around the warm, distinctive sound of our vintage 1937 Kimball pipe organ, our baby grand piano, our digital piano, our choir, and musicians from within our congregation, our local community, local school music programs and the Lakes Country Symphony Orchestra.

In congregational singing we use more traditional songs and contemporary hymns which give us greater depth and important things to think about doing and being. We sing in a style and speed which helps keep our service lively.

Our Choir

We’re always open to and welcoming of new members!

Our Choir is made up of volunteer singers and is open to 7th grade and up including singers at any level of experience and ability. We take great joy in enhancing worship at First Congregational UCC.

We sing a wide variety of literature from simple songs to full Anthems. During the fall, winter and spring, we sing the first three Sundays of each month. During the Summer, we sing only one Sunday each month. The choir generally rehearses in the late afternoon/early evening on Wednesdays the week preceding each time we sing and again before worship on Sunday mornings. We work hard, but we also have a lot of fun.

Our Organ

Our pipe organ is a vintage 1937 Kimball with two manuals and full pedals. It provides the warmth and tonal colors characteristic of organs of that era when theater organs were so common throughout the US. The organ is in excellent condition and is unaltered from its original installation. There are 15 ranks of pipes. The Great and Swell division are in separate chambers, both under expression. There are eight presets total, four for the Swell and Pedal and four for the Great and Pedal. There is a crescendo pedal and a reversible toe switch for Sforzando. There are tremulants available on Great and Swell manuals, both with the throbbing quality characteristic of theater organs of that era.