MUSIC MINISTRY
The Music Ministry at Queen Anne Lutheran Church provides opportunity for children, youth, and adults to share their vocal or instrumental musical gifts in the worship life of the congregation. All the music is prepared to offer praise to God and to proclaim the Word, as well as support and strengthen the congregational song. All choirs welcome new members with joy and thanksgiving, and if you have other musical gifts to share, we look forward to hearing from you as well.
Cantor’s Message
“Alleluia, Christ is risen!” “This is the feast of victory for our God, alleluia!” “Jesus Christ is risen today, alleluia!” The “alleluias” rang loud and clear on Easter Sunday. It was, in my opinion, the most festive day of worship at Queen Anne Lutheran Church in recent memory (and, the Easter breakfast was incredible!)
Please join me in thanking all who helped elevate the “alleluias” of our music together on Easter: The QALC Choir, whose faithful service and musicianship inspire us nearly every week from September to May; Sonia Patten, who joined me for a simply gorgeous flute sonata at the 10:30 service; Deepa’s son, Neal Patten, whose clear tone and musical phrasing at the trumpet show skill beyond his years and elevated our hymns; and the group of youth, many fresh from helping with the Easter breakfast, who added a jubilant “free ring” to our Easter processional hymn (Jenna Del Vento, Elisabeth Koppelman, T. J. Koppelman, Jimmy Porter, and Phoebe Porter). Also, a big “thank you” again to Neal Patten and his sister, Sonia Patten, for offering their music as pianists for the 10:30 service prelude on March 17and also Jenna Del Vento, who beautifully led the Psalm of the Day as vocal soloist on Palm Sunday, March 24. It’s a delight to work with QALC’s talented (and fun) young people!
Looking ahead, Queen Anne Fine Arts will be advertising several Sunday afternoon concerts soon—some details are still being finalized, so please bear with me if there are any tweaks or adjustments. But for now, please mark your calendars for:
Sunday, May 12 (Mother’s Day) at 4 p.m.
Works for violin and piano with guest artists
Pentecost Sunday, May 19 at 4 p.m.
Vespers at Pentecost with music for organ and for choir, with guest singers and the QALC Choir
Sunday, June 2 at 4 p.m.
Works for small instrumental ensemble (chamber ensemble) with guest artists
As with our recent programs, a suggested donation will be announced to support the Fine Arts Fund (with all welcome and none turned away). Again, please watch your emails and the Sunday bulletin for more details (and any updates or revisions) as the dates approach. I’m grateful for the recent surge of support for fine arts events, extending our programming from one event on Pentecost to the three events above. Plus, I’m looking forward to putting together a 2024-2025 season of fine arts programming that can be advertised well in advance to the congregation and the Seattle arts community. I’m excited for the possibilities ahead!
Back to Easter: I hope you’ll join me for the fifty days of Easter (and beyond) in remembering that Sunday is something we can revisit every day. Why? It’s all about baptism: through our baptism, we daily return to both the death of the old self and the promise of the resurrection. As Luther puts it in the Small Catechism, baptism indicates that there is a new person who daily turns away from the old self and also “should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” But this isn’t just Luther’s opinion, as he also immediately cites Romans 6: “We were therefore buried with [Christ] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” That’s something to sing “alleluia” about, indeed.
“Alleluia, Christ is risen!”
Kyle Haugen, Cantor
cantor@queenannelutheran.org
