St. Mary's
in the Mountains
A Community of Faith, Helping Our Neighbors and Celebrating God's Good News.
MUSIC
The music program during services at St. Mary’s is a compendium of a wide variety of styles of sacred music, as well as nontraditional music with a spiritual message. The Sanctuary has wonderful acoustics, as the ceilings, pews and much of the walls are wood. Our Odell pipe organ is over 100 years old, and recently underwent a substantial refurbishment and upgrade at the talented hands of Peter Walker. St. Mary’s invites all to attend services, where you may hear traditional church music accompanied on organ or piano; spirituals; and nontraditional music with spiritual meaning.
Service Music at St. Mary's in the Mountains
Music has long been an important part of our services, our history and our ministries. Before each service, we offer preludes to help prepare for the service. Our services include traditional hymns, as well as other styles of music ranging from jazz, to folk, to blues, offered by our church musicians, our talented parishioners, Valley Voices, and local musicians, all as a setting and enhancement for our worship together. Our congregation enthusiastically joins in our music. Services are followed by postludes.
Church Musician: Michael Pennington
Michael Pennington has joined St. Mary's in the Mountains as our Church Musician.
Michael is a pianist, organist, and composer, who graduated from Vassar College in
2020 with a BA in Mathematics. He has previously performed organ at such venues
as Central Synagogue in New York City and the Vassar College Chapel in
Poughkeepsie, NY. Michael also played piano for All Saints' Church in Peterborough, NH,
and organ for Smithfield Church in Amenia, NY. In addition, during college,
Michael gave many recitals with his piano trio. He has composed music for
two hour-length plays. In his spare time, Michael enjoys tinkering
with computers, coding, and mathematics.
Red Door Concerts
Since 2016, St. Mary's in the Mountains has offered quarterly "Red Door Concerts" in our sanctuary. Our events feature a wide variety of musical styles and themes, and each year culminate in our Red Door Community Carol Sing. Admission is always by free will donation, and the concerts are fund raisers for local charities and community groups in need. For more information about past and future events, visit our Red Door Concerts page, located here.
