Music
Music Program
Music at FPCY includes:
- Hymns at every service, using our organ, grand piano, or electronic harpsichord
- Adult choir of about 25, who sing at most 10:45 a.m. services, and at spring and fall concerts
- Adult bell choir of 12-14, who play during services, 4-6 times per year
- Youth bell choir of about 10, who also play during services, 3-4 times per year
- Concert series of 5-6 concerts including both professional guest musicians, choir members, and our Music Director
Music Director – Simona Frenkel
Simona Frenkel has been the musical director of the First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown since 2000, and is also an internationally acclaimed musician. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, she holds an M.M. degree in Performance from Juilliard School of Music in New York, and a Ph.D. in musicology from the Kiev Conservatory. In 1994, she became the youngest organist ever to receive the national award “Honored Artist of the Ukraine”. Ms. Frenkel is heard frequently in recitals in the United States, Europe, and the former Soviet Union. She has made numerous television and radio recordings.
Notes from the Music Program
written by Carol Jensen
Our music programs provide ways for youth to participate in the life of the church. Simona Frenkel organized a youth handbell choir in 2002, and about 40 young people have been involved in it since then. They learn general musical skills as well as the specific skills needed to play handbells. Some of them have also contributed to the adult handbell choir or the adult choir.
Simona also encourages vocal development of talented youth. Two outstanding examples are Sean McAuliffe and Amy Savino, who have amazed and moved us with their singing. Both of them had some prior experience with music, but Simona has encouraged and coached them. They assert that they couldn’t be where they are without her teaching skills her support and caring. Sean took voice lessons and sang in two choirs at the college he attended. Amy has competed in the finals of a classical singing competition for high school students in Chicago, and attended a summer program at the Eastman School of Music.
All of us (and especially Simona!) are very proud of all these young musicians. Simona invites more teenagers to join the handbell and choir programs.
New Harpsichord
Heartfelt thanks to Cal Weber and the donors to the Kathy Weber Memorial Fund for the harpsichord which has been placed in the sanctuary in memory of Kathy. The harpsichord was used for the first time at the Christmas 2010 concert! This gift is sure to enrich our worship services and music program and we are all most grateful.
Concert Series
The Concert Series was initiated in the Winter of 2001 as a musical outreach to the community, to provide high quality musical concerts at little or no cost. (Previously, an Organ Concert Series was held in 1995-1996). The Concert Series is organized and facilitated by the Concert Series Task force under the auspices of the Worship Commission. The funds to support the series are provided by annual donations of music patrons; the concert series is entirely self-supporting.
The concerts held over the years include:
2011-2012
- November 6th, 2011 – The Cary Brown Trio
- December 11th, 2011 – Christmas Choir Concert – Charpentier, Soler, Chilcott
- April 22nd, 2012 – Choir concert with the “Juilliard 415″ Early Music Ensemble
- May 12th, 2012 – Cabaret Evening
2010 – 2011
- December 5th, 2010 – Choir concert – Handel’s Messiah
- December 29th, 2010 – Candlight Concert with David Baranowski
- March 6th, 2011 – Bob January Swing Dance Orchestra
- April 3rd, 2011 – The Yale Whiffenpoofs
- May 15th, 2011 – Choir Concert
2009 – 2010
- December 13th: The Adult Choir, Simona Frenkel, Director – Vivaldi Gloria
- December 27th: David Baranowski – Candlelight Concert
- April 25th: The Adult Choir, Simona Frenkel, Director – Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Chilcott Jazz Mazz, and several Rachmaninoff pieces
2008 – 2009
- November 16th: The Cary Brown Trio
- December 7th: Simona Frenkel, Director – Handel’s Messiah (Parts I and II)
- December 28th: David Baranowski – Candlelight Concert
- February 22nd: Carnaval – Bob January’s Swing Dance Band
- March 8th: Young Artists Concert – Special Music School NYC
2007 – 2008
- November 18th Varick String Quartet
- December 16th Simona Frenkel, Director – Bach Christmas Oratorio
- December 30th David Baranowski – Candlelight Concert
- Spring: Simona Frenkel, Director - Schubert Mass in G, Lieder and Musical Schubertiana
2006 – 2007
- December 10th: Simona Frenkel, Director – Vivaldi Gloria, Bach Concerto
- December 27th: David Baranowski - Candlelight Concert
- February 11th: Simona Frenkel Director – David Glukh and Handbells
- March 25th: Simona Frenkel, Director – “Billings to Broadway”
2005 – 2006
- December 4th: Simona Frenkel, Director – Selections from Handel’s Messiah and “Come Ye Sons of Art”
- December 28th:David Baranowski – Candlelight Concert
- March 5th: The Yale Whiffenpoofs
- April 30th: Simona Frenkel, Director – “Pretty Much Mozart”
2004 – 2005
- November 14th: The Brass Apple Quartet
- December 5th: Simona Frenkel, Director – Handel’s Messiah
- January 9th: Scarboro Trio
- February 13th: Cary Brown Trio (Jazz)
- April 10th: Simona Frenkel, Director Spring Concert
2003 – 2004
- October 5th: Organ Concert with Stewart Holmes (children’s concert)
- December 7th : Simona Frenkel, Director Christmas Concert, variations on “Ave Maria”
- December 28th : David Baranowski Candlelight Concert
- February 8th: Cary Brown Trio (Jazz)
- Mrch 21st : Scarborough Trio
- April 25th Simona Frenkel, Director Spring Concert
2002 – 2003
- September 29; Annie and the Natural Wonder Band
- December 15th: Simona Frenkel Director – Handel’s Messiah
- December 29th; David Baranowski Candlelight Concert
- February 11; Christopher Lewis, Piano
- April 6th : Simona Frenkel, Director: Elijah
- May 4th: Bob January and his Satin Swing Band
2001 – 2002
- November 11: David Baranowski, Piano, Atsuko Takahata, Clarinet & Jeff Shah, Cello
- December 16th Simona Frenkel, Director - Handel’s Messiah
- April 29th : Christopher Lewis, Pianist
- May 20th; Kathleen Vande Berg, Director – the music of Stephen Sondheim: from “Into the Woods”
April 22 - International Artists "Juilliard 415"
An Early Music Ensemble with Choir and Soloists
Musical Reflections on Don Quixote
The Sunday Afternoon Concert Series will present the first of two spring concerts on Sunday afternoon, April 22 at 4:15 pm. Members of the Juilliard 415 period instrument ensemble will join with our choir in a concert of baroque, classical and contemporary music drawn from the 1700's to Broadway, played on period instruments.
Juilliard 415 is the school’s principal period-instrument ensemble and has received unanimous critical praise for its performances of both rare and canonical works of the 17th and 18th centuries. The ensemble takes its name from the pitch commonly accepted for the performance of Baroque music. “415” refers to the tuning pitch of stringed instruments. "A" is the note, typically sounded before a rehearsal or concert, to which all instruments are tuned; in Baroque music, musicians tune their A to 415 Hz or Hertz, which refers to the number of cycles per second. On a modern piano this pitch would sound like A-flat, or a half-step lower than usual.
This highly acclaimed professional ensemble has traveled internationally, been featured on WQXR, the New York Times classical musical station, and New York Public Radio. Their performances at Lincoln Center this year were sold out! This very entertaining and light-hearted concert will explore musical themes dedicated to Don Quixote.
To save any confusion, the concert will begin at 4:15 p.m. in the Sanctuary. A reception will follow the performance in Fellowship Hall. Please join us for this exceptional concert!
Come to the Cabaret!
On Saturday evening, May 12th, at 7:00 p.m., the Concert Series will present an International Salon and Cabaret. The event will be held in Fellowship Hall, and guests to the cabaret will be seated at intimate tables to be entertained by singers who create a special cabaret atmosphere filled with music and dance. Cabaret inherits its name from the French wine cellars and taverns of its birth, and became an international art form that combined a place for artists to perform as well as an intimate, intellectually ambitious revue. Cabaret songs were often satirical, politically risqué, and avant garde. The cabaret performer played directly to his audience, and this intimacy broke down the usual distance of stage performer from audience member. Prepare to enter the international world of the Cabaret! Stunning music will take the audience on a journey through the portals of old Paris, pre-war Berlin and Buenos Aires, to the Cotton Club and Tavern on the Green in New York. The Cabaret will feature many of the choir in solo and group performances as well as percussion and cello.
Light refreshments will be served at your tables. This is an evening’s entertainment for adults, and sure to be a sizzling, romantic, and witty evening of fun.
Christie Herman, Worship Commission
