Music/Choir
Music can be one of the most empowering and transformative aspects of the worship experience - it moves us in ways that words often cannot. We invite all of you to join in making Psalm 98:4 the cornerstone of our musical worship at St. Gregory’s: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music!”
Who is welcome in the StGs choir? We don't care if you're a trained professional musician, a community choir singer, someone who loves singing in the car, or someone new to singing altogether - EVERYONE is welcome.
What if I'm not a "great" singer? That's okay! All voices are welcome, regardless of skill. Everyone sounds better in a group, so even if you aren't the best singer out there, we guarantee you'll sound great with us. :)
Are children/youth welcome in the StGs choir? Absolutely! We often have all the children/youth of the congregation sing at special services throughout the year, but older youth (6th and up) are welcome to join the StGs choir at any time.
When do you practice? We practice most Sunday mornings from 8:30-9:15am. We will, very occasionally hold midweek rehearsals (usually in preparation for special services like Easter), scheduled according to everyone's availability.
How can I find out more about the music? Our Music & Engagement Minister sends out emails approximately once a month with all of the music that's coming up - including pdfs, links to recordings, and practice tracks as needed. Shoot her an email with any questions, or to get on that mailing list!
Who are those fantastic professionals I heard soloing during your service? StGs is lucky to have four professional vocalists who lend strength and support to our volunteer choir every Sunday, and periodically cantor or offer solos. Viki, Kathryn, Cameo, and Keanon can also be heard throughout Chicagoland at the Lyric Opera Chorus, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Grant Park Festival Chorus, and many other venues (so if you'd like to hear them outside of StGs just ask!). They're also all available to hire for weddings or funerals, and some of them teach private voice lessons - so reach out if you're interested. You can read their bios below!
Who is your accompanist and why does she have spots on her shoes? We’re grateful to have Kirstie Felland, our resident organist/pianist extraordinaire, as part of our StGs family! She offers beautiful prelude and postlude, as well as inspiring renditions of the service music and hymns for each service, and is available to hire for weddings and funerals. She has a particular affinity for cows, so her organ shoes are cow patterned (and if you visit her back at the organ, you can see her special Holy Cow photo too!). You can read her bio below!
Who's the woman with strange colored hair waving her arms around? Kathryn Kinjo Duncan is the Music & Engagement Minister at StGs, wearing many hats both musical and otherwise. She directs the choir, sings alto in the professional quartet, creates virtual choirs for special occasion... but also works with clergy to craft liturgy, organizes the liturgical ministers for Sunday worship, creates the bulletins, coordinates with our Better Together partners, and much more. You can read her bio below!
Where can I listen to StGs music? During the pandemic the music ministry stayed hard at work, recording new music every week. You can enjoy many of those recordings using the links in the right side navigation of this page. We also made many virtual choirs, which are linked below.
Virtual Choirs
In The Beginning
The first reading for the Easter Vigil at StGs is always the story of the creation. For the Vigil in 2021, the quartet was joined by longtime friend of StGs Tobin Schindler on the cello, and accompanied by Kirstie Felland on the organ. This ethereal arrangement was written by Kyle Pederson.
The Earth is Risen
For the Easter Vigil in 2021, our professional quartet was accompanied on this lovely arrangement (written by Gwyneth Walker) by our organist Kirstie Felland and our extraordinary Easter brass quintet, Alliance Brass (alliancebrass.com).
He is Risen
For Easter 2021, we created a virtual choir of "Her Risen" (arr. Craig Courtney) with members of both our worshipping community and Zion Lutheran (with whom we worshiped in the season of Lent and Easter). This video features our wonderful brass quintet, Alliance Brass (alliancebrass.com).
All my Heart this Night Rejoices
In Christmas 2020, the quartet was joined by more friends of StGs to help celebrate the Savior’s birth with Z. Randall Stroope’s moving composition. Featuring Tracie Rhesean Davis (soprano), Viki Rill (mezzo soprano), Kathryn Duncan (alto), Joachim Luis (tenor), Keanon Kyles (baritone), and Vince Wallace (bass).
Lift Up Your Heads
For Palm Sunday 2021, the StGs quartet was joined in celebrating the arrival of Jesus Christ by Kirstie Felland, organ and our brass quintet, Alliance Brass (alliancebrass.com). The familiar text is set to music by the ever-talented Leo Nestor, and the photos are of the combined worshipping communities of St. Gregory’s Episcopal and Zion Lutheran.
The King of Love my Shepherd Is
Early in the pandemic, the StGs community needed a fun pick-me-up - so we decided to create a delightful virtual choir of our quartet and volunteer choir singing this cheerful arrangement of the familiar hymn written by Jeremy Bakken.
Untraveled Worlds
For the 2021 Annual Meeting which had a theme of adventure and exploration, the quartet created this virtual choir with inspirational lyrics from Tennyson's Ulysses and music by Paul Halley.
Her Beacon Hand
This virtual choir was created for the service on July 5, 2020. The lyrics are from the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, written by Emma Lazarus.
Go Tell It on the Mountain
This virtual choir was created for the 2022 Epiphany pageant, and features Kirstie Felland on organ, as well as the delightful vocal talents of some of the youth from StGs and St Lawrence in Libertyville.
Vocalist I'm not exaggerating when I say that music is pretty much my entire life. Years ago, I read an article about finding one's "ikigai" - and as a Japanese-American, I was fascinated. "Ikigai" can be loosely described as someone's reason for getting up in the morning. It encompasses 1) what you love, 2) what you're good at, 3) what the world needs, 4) what you can be paid for. I have come to understand that music is very much my ikigai. I've been a musician my whole life - I grew up Mormon, so one of my earliest memories is going to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing live. I knew from that moment that I wanted to sing in a choir, and that shaped most of my schooling and extracurricular choices from grade school through college, and eventually became my career. Even though I'm not Mormon anymore, sacred music is part of my DNA - and I've come to appreciate how important it is in both weekly communal worship and in building a personal relationship with God. While music is, for me, the medium through which I find spiritual connection, I also truly believe it is one of the most restorative and empowering forces for good in the world. It is my honor to serve at StGs as Music Minister, a capacity in which I take no greater joy than encouraging people of all ages and all skill levels to experience the transformative power of music. In addition to serving as the StGs Music Minister, I also am the Engagement Minister - which means I am somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades! I craft liturgy, organize the liturgical ministers for Sunday worship, create the bulletins, coordinate worship and social activities with our Better Together partners, and am responsible for all the technical aspects of our worship (the Zoom meeting, live-streaming, camera and audio equipment, etc). When I'm not at StGs I work as a professional chorister, singing with many organizations including the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Grant Park Festival Chorus, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, the High Holy Days Choir of Temple Sholom, the studio recording choir for World Library Publications, and many freelance singing gigs all over the city. In my blink-and-you'll-miss-it spare time, I love doing hands-on projects around the house and playing with my dog Charlie and cat Bella. I have a strange love of mowing lawns, reading anatomy textbooks for fun, embroidering silly things, and changing my hair color frequently (so if you come to StGs I'm easily spotted as the one with some unspeakably unnatural shade of hair!).
Kathryn Kinjo Duncan
Vocalist Keanon Kyles, praised by CNN for his “incredible bass-baritone voice” and by Scottish Magazine, Opera Scotland for his “beautiful technique”. Kyles was raised in Chicago where his musical journey started and where he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Chicago’s Columbia College. Keanon made his opera debut as Colline in Puccini's “La Boheme”. Conducted by Metropolitan Opera’s Maestro David Jackson, he made his Italy debut in Trento, Italy as Betto in Gianni Schicchi and Peter in Hansel and Gretel. Keanon was featured as Billy Evans in the world premiere of Floating Opera Company’s production of “War and Peace”. Kyles made his Chicago Opera Theater debut as Daggoo in "Moby Dick", shortly after he was asked to return perform the role of Tommie in the opera, "Freedom Ride" with Chicago Opera Theater. He has ranked one of the top 5 singers in the National Association of Negro Musicians competition. He made his Lyric Opera debut by way of Lyric Unlimited’s production of “Earth to Kenzie” and soon after made his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut as a featured soloist in their “Purpose Over Pain” concert. Keanon was invited to Carnegie Hall to make his solo debut where he sung a plethora of genres on Perelman Stage. Kyles’s versatile voice has gained him notoriety and has allowed him to share the stage with some of music’s greatest artist- Samuel Ramey, Andrea Bocelli, Kathleen Battle, Celine Dion and more. Aside from his growing Opera career, he has performed concerts across the globe at popular venues such as Allstate Arena, United Center, Chicago Theater and internationally at the Edinburgh Festival and Japan World Music Festival. He made his South America debut doing the title role in Benjamin Britten’s Opera “Noye’s Fludde” under the baton of Maestro Guerrasim Voronkov in Bogotá, Colombia. After making his U.K. debut as Colline, Keanon returned to Scotland in the role of Rigoletto in Clyde Opera Group's production. His career has been highlighted by CNN, Good Morning America and the headline of The Chicago Sun-Times. In addition to his performance career, Keanon teaches voice performance in jazz, gospel and musical theatre out of his studio in downtown Chicago, as well as, at Lyriq Music School in Northcenter. Kyles is a 2 time award recipient of the Reva and David Logan Foundation award and Resident Music Artist of the private club -The Cliff Dwellers Okay, okay enough of the “text bookie” talk lol outside of singing I’m deeply rooted in fashion and interior design. For years I would co-host fashion shows in downtown Chicago for Columbia College’s Fashion Department all while being an Assistant Manager/Visual Merchandiser for department store, Tuesday Morning. So, if you went into their Lakeview, Lincoln Park or Niles store and said, “Oh my what wonderful displays—it was I! *Shameless plug* so feel free to call on me when you get into your spring cleaning! Life is full of surprises, good and bad, I live each day accepting everyone as they are, sharing God’s love, sharing the gift God gave me, speaking life into people trials and tribulations and making sure I smile through it all. Smile—because a smile heals and nourishes the soul with positivity! Vocalist I was born and raised in the Chicago area, starting in Jefferson Park, then moving to Des Plaines at the beginning of 7th grade. Since then I've lived in Wisconsin, Ohio, Italy, then back to Palatine, IL, and finally back to Chicago proper. I'm a city girl at heart, and have found my perfect spot in Lincoln Square where I live with my adorable cats. My current day job is as the Associate Director of Total Rewards at the Illinois Institute of Technology - I've always joked that human resources is great for the right half of my brain, while musical endeavors are for the left half! Many people know that I'm a huge Cubs fan - I finally got my season tickets in 2019 after 13 years on the waiting list! In the summer there's nothing better than a warm, sunny day at Wrigley Field with the Cubs in the lead. It's also one of the avenues I use as an excuse to spend time with my fantastic nephews and niece, who are some of the brightest spots in my life and who I enjoy spoiling rotten. When I'm not at Wrigley I love traveling to see the Cubs in other cities - I'm on a mission to visit all 30 MLB parks, to see the Cubs play in as many of them as I can. I also love just traveling and new experiences in general - my other mission is to do my favorite Bodypump workout in all 50 states. When in Chicago, I love playing tour guide for family, friends, and the aforementioned nephews and niece. For several years now St. Gregory's has been another musical home of sorts, as well as a spiritual one. I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity to sing with such incredible musicians, and to be part of such a vibrant and welcoming community. It is my sincere hope that I can give back to St. G's as much as it's given me. Organist Organist at St. Gregory’s since 2018, Kirstie accompanies the weekly liturgy, as well as the professional quartet and adult choir. Prior to this, she held several church music positions in the Chicago area, which included organ, adult, children’s and handbell choirs. Originally from Madison, she began piano at age six and organ at 15. She won first place at an AGO high school organ competition in Milwaukee, earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in organ performance from Wartburg College and Northwestern University, and studied one year at the Berlin School of Church Music. Kirstie enjoys spending time outdoors, striving to improve her Sudoku skills, dreaming of travel again, and being entertained at home by two wonderful German Shorthair rescues, Greta and Harriet.Keanon Kyles
Viki Rill
Kirstie Felland
Music and Engagement Minister
Vocalist
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