Role of music in community life at Epiphany
Music that lifts the spirits of both those who hear it and those who make it is an essential part of our ministry at Epiphany. The sounds of congregation, choirs and instruments can be heard at Sunday worship, and music features prominently in other parts of Epiphany’s life as well. Through the Tuesday Concert Series and other events, we offer this vital ministry to the entire Greater Washington community.
• The Epiphany Choir, composed of volunteers and professionals, and the all-volunteer Welcome Table Choir provide music for worship and special occasions.
• The weekly Tuesday Concert Series provides a variety of excellent musical offerings every Tuesday at noontime throughout the year.
• Two fine musical instruments, a 64-rank Aeolian Skinner pipe organ and a nine-foot Steinway ‘D’ concert grand piano, are used for worship and performances.
• Special liturgical music is offered during the year and features additional professional musicians.
• An historic chime of fifteen bells in Epiphany’s tower marks time for the city and is played for periodic recitals.
• Outside musical groups frequently take advantage of Epiphany’s fine acoustics to present concerts.
Diverse styles and voices
Representing the diversity of Epiphany’s community is one of the goals of Epiphany’s music ministry, as is maintaining continuity with the traditions of our forebears, whose music continues to resonate in our hearts and ears.
The 8:00 Welcome Table Eucharist service features gospel hymns and songs and spirituals, drawn primarily from Lift Every Voice and Sing II, the Episcopal Church’s African-American hymnal. The all-volunteer Welcome Table Choir, leads congregational singing, and performs choral selections and solos, accompanied by piano and organ.
Worship on Sundays at 11:00 is a sung Rite II Eucharist with choir. Our hymns and service music are drawn mostly from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982, liberally supplemented with selections from Lift Every Voice and Sing II, the Episcopal Church’s African-American hymnal, and other hymn resources, both Episcopal and ecumenical. Congregational music may be accompanied by organ or piano, or sung a cappella, i.e., unaccompanied. Chants from various historic and modern traditions invite worshipers into a space of contemplation and devotion.
