Adult Choir
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, St. Martin-in-the-Fields strives to continue its support of worshipful music-making, musicians, and the Arts. Worship continues to be offered hybrid: on-site and live-streamed. Fully vaccinated choir members have returned for on-site rehearsals and worship as of mid-May, 2021. We greatly appreciate your support during this difficult time for us all.
Above: On Sunday, September 19, 2021, the Choir and Director of Music Tyrone Whiting (left) celebrated 40 years of service from Connie Haggard, St. Martin's Liturgical Coordinator, Choir Librarian, and soprano. We are grateful that vaccination has allowed us to resume re-integrating our volunteer choir members.
The Choir of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is a volunteer ensemble of more than 35 members, supported by a professional quartet of section leaders, who support our worship at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist and monthly Choral Evensongs. Rehearsals take place on Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
With a repertoire spanning from the renaissance to the present day, the choir, while continuing in the richness of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition, often also includes new music and that from other genres/traditions to enhance worship and performances. Tallis, Mozart, Elgar, Stanford, Chilcott, Rutter, Hurd, Price, MacMillan, and much in between and beyond can be heard at our services and events.
As well as adding to our worship services, the choir perform concerts throughout the year, and in recent years have taken part in two choral pilgrimages to the UK. Most recently serving as Choir-in-Residence at Bristol Cathedral in August 2017, the choir also sang Evensong at Westminster Abbey in London.
Our professional quartet of section leaders add much to our music-making offering a strong scaffold to the choir’s development and serving as soloists in our service. We are particularly grateful to our quartet for their continued work and achievements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An informal group of volunteers help support our semi-monthly Wednesday Compline service, singing plainsong chant in a beautiful short service, which has its routes in the 6th century.
Connie Haggard manages our extensive Choir Library, preparing scores for all our singers for each of our services and events.
The Choir of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is always looking for new members! Please contact our new Director of Music, Mr. Tyrone Whiting.
Director of Music (215) 247-7466 ext. 105 Tyrone (he/him) writes, “I am beyond excited to have been appointed as the next Director of Music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and I cannot wait to begin working with you all. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work in such a faithful, progressive, and musical church with such a wonderful tradition. My husband, Sean and I look forward very much to meeting you all.” A prize-winning organist and conductor, Mr. Tyrone Whiting is a graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and the Royal College of Music, both in London, UK. In September 2017, Tyrone was appointed Director of Music at Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey, USA and began work there in February 2018. At Grace Church, Tyrone extended the Chorister Choir School program, developed and expanded the adult choir, and founded a brand-new adult chamber choir, Brick City Chorus, raising the profile of music at Grace Church and the Arts in Newark, NJ. He has been fortunate to perform at some of the top churches and venues including Westminster Abbey, the Royal Albert Hall, St. Sulpice and Le Mans cathedral in France, as well as featuring in Trinity Wall Street’s Pipes at One series last summer. Prior to Tyrone’s arrival in the USA, he was Director of Music at St. Mary’s Parish Church, Battersea from 2012 to early 2018. At St. Mary’s, Tyrone established a biennial recital series as well as a new fully funded choral scholarship program, and conducted several large-scale concerts including Mozart and Fauré’s requiems, J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion, and Stainer’s Crucifixion. Collaborative work included conducting a recent commission by prominent British composer Simon Bainbridge written for the Choir of St. Mary’s, as well as working as accompanist for the Philharmonia Chorus under conductors Stefan Bevier and Yaron Traub. Passionate about teaching, Tyrone was awarded the Licentiateship diploma of Trinity College, London (LTCL) in Instrumental/Vocal Teaching with a high distinction and worked in and around London as a teacher of organ, piano, and theory. He was formerly Head of Music at Elmhurst Independent School for Boys for 3 years and worked as an animateur in London schools and the London Mozart Players. As a pianist, Tyrone has studied with Philip Fowke, Andrew Zolinsky, and Alvin Moisey. He performs often as a soloist, accompanist, and répétiteur, holding the Licentiateship diploma of the Royal School of Music (LRSM) in Piano Performance. More information about Tyrone can be found at www.tyronewhiting.com. Coordinator of Liturgical Ministries (215) 247-7466 ext. 116 When St. Martin’s Church welcomed volunteer singers into the adult choir in 1981, Connie (she/her) volunteered. She is still singing, and the choir has grown from nine to 35. Her St. Martin’s journey has included choir librarian, three soup kitchens, board of Women of St. Martin’s, outreach committee, book room (now out of circulation) reorganizer and coordinator, clerk of the vestry and, her favorite, playing Peppermint Patty in St. Martin’s production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown in 1986. Currently she works alongside over 100 parishioners as liturgical coordinator, with hopes that many more will come on board. A graduate of Cornell University with a major in English, Connie taught in Ithaca High School and in the Wissahickon School District for 17 years. She and her husband, Dick, a retired research chemist, have lived in their Fort Washington home for 46 years where they raised three sons. They are fortunate to have three grand-daughters who live nearby. When Connie and Dick are not busy at St. Martin’s, they enjoy musical events, visits with family and friends, and travel, near and far.Tyrone Whiting
Connie Haggard
