Dan Dufford
Director of Music
mixing ancient and modern styles
Christ Church is blessed with an abundance of talent and energy offering musical excellence to the Glory of God. Volunteer and staff musicians work together seamlessly each week to produce a unique blend of ancient and modern musical styles. 2024 was marked by consistent growth and expansion of the musical capacity of our ensembles, and planning for the future.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2024
Once again the band for our Youth Good Friday service was staffed primarily by our younger members. Several of them were invited to continue their development by joining the band on a regular basis. In July the band also presented our much beloved Americana Church Music service. Former members Jono and Jenny Shuster travelled from their new home in Wyoming to help us out and keep us musically honest with their banjo and mandolin!
Sarah Kanyok and Elizabeth Arons at Ordination 2024
Leading into the fall it was all hands on deck as Christ Church was tapped by the bishop to host the Diocesan Ordination service. The choir was recalled back early from summer break to begin preparations for the musical leadership required for this expansive service. Two new staff singers of excellent quality and character were recruited to help us out and they have stayed on for the program year. Their leadership, combined with the rest of our staff musicians (who have all served here now 3 - 6 years), is essential to the success of our ministry.
Musicians at our new Sunday evening service, The Fountain. Left to right: Elizabeth Arons, Nichole Sidebottom, Dan Dufford and David Royster
The rest of the fall remained busier than usual, filled with design work and preparations for the soon-to-be implemented worship expansion component of the parish’s multi-year growth plan. Our new Sunday 5 PM service “The Fountain” will serve as an incubator for the continual refinement of our vision of what the ancient yet modern liturgical worship experience might be. The music has been carefully curated from a multitude of diverse sources and is supported by a small intimate group of modern instrumentation and vocals.
the ORGAN modernization PROJECT
2024 bore witness to multiple project milestones, a most spectacular one being the cleaned-out West Room, which emerged sparkling from the ashes in late August. Fresh spackling and paint, 6 gleaming coats of wax on the tile floor, and heavenly acoustics greeted happy choristers as they gathered for the first choir rehearsal of the 2024-25 program year.
Before this could happen though, the team was busy installing new racks of pipes which comprise the family of organ tones known as ‘reeds’. These are specialty pipes that replicate the brass sounds of the orchestra. During the winter, a large-scale 16’ trombone and oboe horn were installed. Over the summer, a new 8’ trumpet was added. And just in time for the bishop’s visit in September, a high-pressure Tuba was added to crown the solo division of the organ. This particularly valuable stop was originally built in 1924 by Ernest M. Skinner, the most famous American organ builder of the symphonic tradition, and was originally installed in a Connecticut boarding school. Finally, restoration of a large scale wooden pedal stop was finished and installed along the southeast wall of the nave.
With the addition of the reed and pedal ranks, the new organ was now in a better position to accompany hymn singing on Sundays - the second milestone. We tested this in late September with a visit from my colleague Michael Lodico. Fresh off the plane from Washington, DC, he joined us on a Sunday morning to play the new organ and direct the choir. For the postlude we selected a piece that featured both parish organs playing together in spectacular fashion.
Volunteers and staff regularly contributing to the project in 2024 include Ron Breaux, John Bredehoeft, Michael Brown, Dan Dufford, Heidi Farr, Gary Hard, Sarah Kanyok, Frank Olson, and Mark Dafoe.