make a joyful noise
If you have a desire to serve God and use your musical gifts, we want to help you find a place of service. Our diverse offerings include opportunities for children, youth and adults. If you have questions about which ensemble might be right for you or a member of your family, please do not hesitate to contact any member of our music staff. Join us as we lift our voices in praise to God!
Serve with the Music Ministry
Rehearses: Wednesdays • 7:00-8:45 PM • Choir Room 318 The Sanctuary Choir sings in the traditional worship services each Sunday. They prepare music for major liturgical observances and present periodic concerts as musical offerings to the larger community. It consists of singers at varying levels of musical ability, each of whom enjoys singing and leading in musical worship. Professional section leaders and soloists enhance the quality of the Sanctuary Choir. The Choir is always open to new members including adults, college students, and advanced high school students. No auditions necessary, although the ability to read music and prior experience in choral singing is helpful as the choir prepares well over 100 pieces each year. The Modern Worship Band leads the music in our modern worship services each Sunday. They also prepare music for other events, such as worship nights and special services. The modern worship team is always open to new members including adults, college students, and advanced high school students. The majority of our music comes from chord charts, so the ability to perform based off of reading those and listening to recordings is very helpful, as well as prior experience being in church bands/worship teams. Rooted in a relationship with Jesus, they excel in their musicianship and work hard to lead our congregation by example. Rehearses: Wednesdays • 7:00-8:30 PM • Westminster Hall Contact: Callan Brown Friday Singers are a key element in our outreach effort to retirement and rehabilitation communities in the greater San Antonio area. No singing experience is needed, just a desire to make life brighter in our community through song. Rehearsal: Select rehearsals Fridays • 9:00 – 10:30 AM • Room 309 • resumes in August Performances: Fridays • 9:30 and 10:30 AM • resumes in August Contact: Charlotte Hains Gates at 210-271-2730 Rehearses: Wednesdays (resumes in August) • 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM • Room 309 Contact: Dr. Jae Ha, 210-226-0215, ext. 229 Bell ringing is fun, therapeutic and develops musicianship and teamwork while at the same time adding an exhilarating dimension to worship services. Thirteen bell ringers are needed at all times to be able to utilize all five octaves of handbells. Handbell ringers should have the ability to read music, as well as basic hand/eye coordination. The Chamber Singers is a professional vocal ensemble formed from the staff singers supplementing the Sanctuary Choir with the addition of other singers by audition. This ensemble has performed regularly as a part of the Midday Noels Concert Series, as well as occasions such as Good Friday worship. Rehearses: Sundays • 8:15-8:45 AM • Choir Room 319Sing the Glory of the Lord!
Contact: Tom Dooling, Minister of Music, 210-226-0215, ext. 217Modern Worship Musicians
Outreach Opportunity
Join the Handbell Ensemble
Chamber Singers (Professional Vocal Ensemble)
Contact: Tom Dooling, Minister of Music, 210-226-0215, ext 217
Children & Family Music
Children from Pre-K to 5th grade are invited to be a part of our vibrant Children’s Choir. This wonderful program offers: Choir rehearsals take place every Wednesday from 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM in the Assembly Room (136). Following the rehearsal, a light dinner will be served in the Nutrition Center. Our Children’s Choir has the opportunity to perform at various special events throughout the year, including the Christmas Pageant, Christmas Eve service, Palm Sunday, and other worship services. Come join us for an enriching and enjoyable experience! Rehearsals Resume Wednesday, August 28, 2024! Contact: Kathy Jamison, Children’s Choir Coordinator, 210-226-0215, ext. 230 Enjoy a musical setting where you and your child can sing, rock, listen, bounce, and play instruments, nurturing their musical aptitude. Light dinner immediately following class! Classes: Wednesdays • 5:15-5:45 pm • Room 139 • September 11 - November 20, 2024 Contact: Rebecca SweetSpiritual Formation and Growth
Music with Families (Parents & kids 8 wks – 3 yrs)
Our Organ
The Robert L. Sipe Organ of First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church’s Robert L. Sipe organ, completed in March 1999, is an instrument of 55 ranks of pipes, many of which came from the preexisting 1968 Holtkamp instrument, but which have been rescaled and revoiced. The detached, three-manual console is built from mahogany and rosewood with sharps from ebony and natural key coverings carved from 100,000 year-old mammoth tusks. Each of the pipes is handmade to specific requirements, some of metal, some of wood. All the pipes have been carefully voiced for the acoustics of First Presbyterian Church.
All the pipes in the façade are speaking pipes. Visible from the chancel are Pedal Principal pipes and horizontal Festival Trumpet pipes. The upper center section behind the façade contains the Great organ. The enclosed Swell division is positioned behind the Great. The enclosed Choir division, decorated with Scottish thistles, is beneath the Great division. The Pedal division is divided on both sides of the organ. The Festival Trumpets may be played either from the Choir, the Great or the Pedal divisions.
Annual Music Events
The William C. Hall Pipe Organ Competition was founded as the “San Antonio Pipe Organ Competition” in 1970 at University Presbyterian Church, largely through the efforts of Mr. William C. (Bill) Hall who originally conceived it out of his great love of church music. His purpose was to ensure the future of organ music by encouraging the study of organ by students who would later become professional organists in churches. For the first 16 years he almost single-handedly brought it into being by organizing the many necessary volunteers, raising money for cash prizes and securing prominent organists from across the country to serve as judges. Following his death, as a tribute to him, the title of the Competition was officially changed in 1986 to reflect his name. The full-day competition is held in the Sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of San Antonio and has gained a reputation as one of the most outstanding organ competitions in the country. Contestants consist of both graduate and undergraduate status and are limited to only organ students from Texas universities. Contact Tom Dooling or Dr. Jae Ha for more information on the pipe organ competition. 2025 Competition Brochure and Rules 2025 Competition Advertising Poster The Mary Jean Rogers Choral Endowment was established at First Presbyterian Church in 2002 by Jean Rogers Winchell in honor of her mother and as a perpetual memorial to her and her love for the great sacred choral music of the church. The Endowment provides financial support for the presentation of a major choral work with orchestral accompaniment. Previous concert presentations have featured Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Rutter’s Requiem, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Schubert’s Mass in G, Brahm’s German Requiem and Mozart’s Requiem. Concerts are typically presented in the Spring of each year in late March or April. In 2025, we will present Mozart’s Requiem. Each December, FPC offers its holiday ‘gift to the city’ with a variety of creative musical offerings. These concerts are scheduled on Thursdays at 12:00 PM in the church Sanctuary. In addition to in-person seating, all three concerts are livestreamed on our website and archived on our YouTube.com channel after the concert. Look for upcoming concerts in 2024! The William C. Hall Pipe Organ Competition
Competition Documents
Mary Jean Rogers Choral Endowment
Our Gift to the City
