Rehearsals

Drummers: Wednesdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Ringers: Thursdays, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Singers: Thursdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Endless Cup Coffee House: Friday, January 13, 8pm 

There will be no Endelss Cup Coffee House in November or December. Please visit us again in January! 

Music Ministry

Welcome to the UUCR Music Ministry Page!

Music plays a tremendous role in our lives, here at UUCR and in the larger community. At UUCR, we have a wonderful, exciting music ministry, with many opportunities to share your musical talents and/or knowledge. Below are listed several ways in which you can get involved.

In addition, if you would like to perform at a Sunday service, or you would like to join in brainstorming specific songs for worship, please contact our Music Director, Mary Ann East.

Everyone is welcome to participate!

Our vocal choir welcomes all ages and levels of music experience. We sing a variety of music from simply unison chants to challenging SATB pieces; traditional to popular music.

We meet Thursdays between 7:30 and 9:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and perform two to three Sundays a month. If you are unsure of making a long-term commitment, we welcome short-term commitments as well. Please contact Mary Ann East for details. 

Our handbell and chime choir welcomes all ages and levels of musical experience. We meet Thursdays 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary and perform about once a month. For details, contact Mary Ann East, Music Director. 

Our drum circle welcomes all ages and levels of musical experience. We meet Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. The group is primarily a meditation circle, and we occasionally drum during worship services. For details contact Laura Potter.

Each month UUCR brings in a unique performer to entertain and share stories, while light refreshments are served. Friday Night Coffee House events are usually held on the second Friday of each month, and there is a $5 cover charge. Watch the page above for information on upcoming perfomers, and please email Doug Sedgwick with questions.

The Music Committee is a group of musicans and music lovers who support the Music Director and the Music Program. Please contact Lesley Tyson for details. 

Below is Mary Ann East's personal philosophy of music ministry:

I believe music ministry is much more than leading hymns on Sunday and preparing the choirs/soloists to perform at services. Music is a form of worship itself. It touches a part of the soul that words cannot. It carries the Minister’s message to the people in a different medium. It is not a performance, but an extension of the service as an offering of our gifts through music. Singing together as a religious community joins our voices and spirits in worship and fellowship and makes the congregants creators of worship, not just spectators.

Outside of services, it is a way to educate the congregation about music (history, repertoire, theory, and note reading) and experience fellowship. Music connects generations in the church and can connect the church with the community. The music program should reach everyone in its congregation, trained musicians as well as music lovers and music consumers, both during and outside of Sunday worship services. This can be done through participatory ensembles, lecture series, workshops, and concerts. Rehearsal times are not just about perfecting the music. During these times we connect as a community.

The church can also reach out into the community through music connecting us to other faiths and cultures. It can also bring people to our faith both through enhancing the worship experience and providing other musical events.

I am called to serve this yearning for worship through music. I want to serve people on their journey of faith and give them another outlet in which to experience it. I also want to give people a way to give back to their church by performing with an ensemble, sharing a solo, or helping to plan music for a service or workshop. I also want to educate people young and old and expose them to music they may not experience in other aspects of their lives.