Welcome to our choir blog! At a time when so many churches have given up their choirs, I am happy to report that our choir is alive and well!  

There is a great precedent for choral singing in worship in the Bible. Way back at the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem (built under Solomon in 977 B.C.), the choir sang and immediately the temple was filled with the Shekinah glory of God!  2 Chronicles 5:13  (Could God have given a clearer commendation to choral singing??) Later when the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, there was another dedication service involving not one, but two large choirs! Nehemiah 12:31 (I would have loved to have been there to hear that antiphonal choir music!) 

Who are we? Our choir is a group of people who love to sing music in praise to God, just as has been done for centuries. Our choir is also a family, a place where you can share your concerns and where we pray for each other.  We also take the time to go over the meaning of the lyrics to our anthems so we can sing out of understanding and faith. 

We invite any and all singers to join us! At present we have 12-15 singers. This may sound like a small choir but, in this day and age, it is actually a moderate sized church choir. We have good voices on all the parts and we fill the sanctuary with beautiful music. It helps to have a choral microphone which also makes it possible to broadcast our choir music to those who watch the service online. 

What does it take to belong? There are no auditions. Just come join us! It helps if you read music but it is not necessary. We provide links to the parts so you can learn the music easily. We also go over the parts in rehearsal. 

When do we sing? We perform an anthem about once a month, except for a summer break in July and August. But we sing weekly in December and three times during Holy Week in the spring.  We also occasionally sing for a funeral if requested. Every summer we are part of a larger choir for our Freedom Celebration, a patriotic program which honors veterans. 

When do we rehearse? We rehearse weekly after the Sunday service from 11:20-noon.  On the Sundays we perform, we rehearse at 09:25 but then don’t rehearse after the service (except during December and Palm Sunday.)  We have a 2 hour Saturday rehearsal in November and a month or so before Easter to learn the extra music we sing during Christmas time and Holy Week. (See Choir Schedule in the choir blog for exact dates this year.) In the summer there are evening rehearsals for the Freedom Celebration but optional Freedom Celebration rehearsals after the service as well.  

What kind of music do we sing? A huge variety! We sing everything from classical (think Hallelujah Chorus) and the great hymns of the faith to gospel and spirituals to the best of modern choral composers such as John Rutter, Joseph Martin, and Pepper Choplin. We do some lovely choral arrangements of contemporary Christian music as well.  (See the choir blog for the slated music for the year and for links to demos of the music.)

What kind of accompaniment do you use?  We sing some songs a cappella, some songs with piano, and some songs with accompaniment tracks when the music is enhanced by additional instruments or orchestration. We are blessed to have an accomplished pianist in Anita Forrest. We would welcome anyone who plays other instruments such as flute, violin, or percussion to add to the accompaniment when the composer has written for additional parts.   

Who is the choir director? I am so glad you asked! My name is Holly Solie and I have been singing in or directing choirs almost continuously since I was 5 years old!  I am not a professional musician but, as a retired pastor’s wife, I have had extensive opportunities to be involved in various aspects of church music over the years.  I love participating in our church choir as a director who sings along! I have been privileged to direct the choir here at Pathways since 2022. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding our choir at hsolie2000@yahoo.com.