Importance of Music and Art

Grace Church Choir & Instrumentalists

Grace Choristers

Pittis Carillon

Grace Church Organ

Tiffany and Stained Glass Windows

Plainfield GirlChoir

Organist & Choirmaster

Importance of Music and Art

At Grace Church, we value highly music and art as an integral part of worship. Under the leadership of our celebrant and organist & choirmaster, the congregation, the Grace Church Choir, the Grace Choristers, and instrumentalists gather together as a community to worship.

The great music of the Christian Church inspires and uplifts worshippers weekly. From the music of J. S. Bach to the music John Rutter, from the music of Henry Purcell to the music of William Matthias, from the music of the Taizé and Iona communities to gospel hymns and African-American spirituals, music of all kinds is part of our worship experience. Musical resources include The Hymnal 1982, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and Wonder, Love and Praise.

Music is the heartbeat of celebration and has always gone hand-in-hand with Christian worship. At Grace Church, this is made possible by the gifts and talents of our members.

We are blessed to have a number of opportunities for people to participate actively in the music ministry, or to simply listen and absorb the rich musical heritage of the church.  é

Grace Church Choir & Instrumentalists

The Grace Church Choir, the backbone of the Grace Church Music Ministry, sings at the 10:30am Eucharist every Sunday, except during the summer. The Choir also sings for other special services during the year, including Lessons and Carols for Advent, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Ascension, and occasional Evensongs. The role of the choir is to lead the congregation in singing the liturgy, psalms and hymns. The choir also presents a wide variety of anthems to enrich the worship experience of the congregation. Choir is open to adults and high school juniors and seniors. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m., in the choir room on the lower level of Grace Church, and Sunday mornings at 9:45am in the chancel, for the 10:30am Choral Eucharist. New members are welcome to join the choir at any time during the year. Anyone interested in offering their vocal talents should contact Robert, organist & choirmaster.

Instrumentalists are always welcomed to enhance our worship. There are opportunities for those who play musical instruments to participate in preludes, postludes, anthems and special music. Please let our organist & choirmaster Robert know if you would like to use your “non-singing” gifts for worship.  é

Grace Choristers

The Grace Choristers is our choir for children age four (4) through grade six (6). Music is an integral part of our Worship and music is also an integral part of our Sunday school. The Choristers rehearse on Sunday from 9:30 to 9:45 in Knickle Hall, between the Family Friendly Communion Service and Sunday school. We learn a variety of hymns, anthems, service music and inspired songs. Whether your child attends Family Friendly Communion at 9:00am and Sunday school, or Sunday school and traditional Eucharist at 10:30am, he/she can be part of the Grace Choristers/Sunday school music program. The Choristers sing on the 4th Sunday of each month, September through June, at the 10:30am Eucharist, Youth and Family Sunday (there is no 9:00am Family Friendly Communion Service on those Sundays), as well as the Christmas Eve and Easter. Children of families of all Christian backgrounds are welcome. Even if your family does not attend a church, your child can still be a part of the Grace Choristers.  é

Pittis Carillon

The Pittis Carillon, one of only four carillons in the state of New Jersey and the seventh carillon installed in the United States, is a blessing for the people of Grace Church. You may view complete information about the carillon here. Our carillonneur, Jeff Spelman, heralds our full choral Holy Eucharist to the Plainfield community every Sunday of the year except during Lent.  é

Grace Church Organ

The Grace Church Organ is a wonderful instrument to lead the liturgical and musical life of our congregation.

The organ is a 37-rank instrument built by Casavant Frères Ltée, St Hyacinthe, Québec, Opus 1186, installed in 1927. You may view the specification here. The Schantz Organ Company, Orrville, Ohio, installed a new console in the 1970s. The swell trumpet was also replaced with a bombarde unit, but the organ has remained essentially unchanged tonally. The instrument offers a unique glimpse into organ aesthetics of a time long past. It is excellent at accompanying liturgy and is particularly well suited for French romantic and symphonic literature. Preludes, postludes and improvisations played on our organ greatly enrich our worship experience.  é

The Tiffany and Stained Glass Windows are yet another blessing at Grace Church. The Tiffany windows in the transept, the great wheel window over the 7th Street entrance and the window above the altar are particularly notable. You can learn more about our stained glass windows here. Constructed in 1892 by British-American architect Robert Gibson, Grace Church is a well-preserved example of Gothic Revival architecture.

Grace Episcopal Church is listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.  é

The Plainfield GirlChoir is a program of Plainfield Community Outreach, Inc., sponsored by Grace Church. The GirlChoir is a classically trained choir that follows the Voice for Life curriculum of the Royal School of Church Music.   The choir is open to all girls, grades three (3) to six (6), in Plainfield and the surrounding communities, regardless of religious affiliation, who wish to experience classical vocal and choral training and learn great choral repertoire of all musical eras. Please follow this link for more information and application forms for the Plainfield GirlChoir.  é

Robert H. Gangewere, Jr. came to Grace Church as Organist and Choirmaster in November 2007.

Robert comes to Grace after nineteen (19) years as Director of Music and the Fine Arts at Fanwood Presbyterian Church, Fanwood, NJ, where he conducted a program of multiple singing and hand bell choirs for all ages. He previously served as Parish Director of Music at St. Margaret of Scotland Church (church and school) in Morristown, NJ and Church of the Holy Family (church and school) in Florham Park, NJ. While in Florham Park, he was Music Director for the Jerry Gibson Memorial Theater, a summer musical theater program for high school and college youth. While in Morristown, he was a member of the Diocesan Worship Commission, Diocese of Paterson, and was invited to be the organist for the re-dedication of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, NJ.

Robert earned his Bachelor of Music (Church Music) and Master of Music (Organ Performance) degrees at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ. After graduate school, he did independent study for two years with André Marchal in Paris, France. During his second year, he was awarded the Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship for Choral Conducting by the Fondation des États-Unis, Cité Universitaire de l’Université de Paris. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists.

You may reach Robert at the parish office at 908.756.1520 or by email to mailto:music@graceplainfield.org.   é