serve the Lord with gladness,
and come before his presence with a song.
The Christ Church Choir sings the Solemn Mass on Sundays and Feast Days, and sings the Choral Office at Evensong and Compline. The fully-professional choir is composed of students from Yale University, most of them working on advanced degrees, and professionals from the New Haven community. The worship at Christ Church, deeply sacramental, incarnational, and devotional, makes full use of the rich resources of the Book of Common Prayer and, true to the ideals of the Oxford Movement, music plays a very important part in the liturgy. The choir sings Psalms (to both plainsong and Anglican Chant), settings of the Mass Ordinary, the Gregorian Minor Propers, canticles, and anthems and motets drawn from all periods of music history while placing an emphasis on the music from our own rich Anglican heritage. Several recordings of the Christ Church Choir are available for sale from the parish shop.
& Artist in Residence
Thomas Murray, the Principal Organist & Artist in Residence at Christ Church, is also University Organist and Professor of Music at Yale University, where he teaches and performs on the renowned Skinner organ in Woolsey Hall. Widely known for his interpretations of Romantic repertoire and orchestral transcriptions, his recordings are highly acclaimed.
Professor Murray has appeared in recitals and lectures at six national conventions of the AGO, which named him International Artist of the Year for 1986. In 2003 he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Organists in England, and in 2005 he was awarded the Gustave Stoeckel Award for excellence in teaching from the Yale University School of Music. He has made numerous recordings on the AFKA, Gothic, and JAV Labels.
- Schumann: Study for Pedal Piano, Op. 56, No. 4 on YouTube
- Interview by the Yale Daily News on YouTube
- Thomas Murray (organist) on Wikipedia
- Murray, Thomas in Grove Music Online (subscription)
Noah Horn holds degrees from Yale University (MM 2012, 2010) and Oberlin College (BM 2007). He is currently enrolled at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, studying with Marguerite Brooks in the D.M.A. program in choral conducting. He previously held positions at St. Thomas's Episcopal, New Haven; St. Peter's Episcopal, Lakewood, OH; and with the United Girls' Choir and Elm City Girls' Choir. He is a native of Davenport, Iowa, and is an active conductor, singer, organist, harpsichordist, pianist, and composer.
Ian Tomesch holds the B.M. degree in organ performance from Oberlin College, where he studied with James David Christie. He is in his third year of study with Thomas Murray at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he earned a M.M. and is working towards a D.M.A. in organ performance.
Arianne Abela is a graduate from the Yale School of Music in choral conducting ('10) and studied with Marguerite Brooks, Jeffrey Douma and Simon Carrington. Abela is currently the director of choral music at Notre Dame High School in West Haven, was acting director in 2011 at the Westover School, and has worked at both St. John's Episcopal Church in Waterbury and the Elm City Girls' Choir. Originally from San Francisco, she sang with the San Francisco Girls Chorus for many years. Abela is the founder of House of Clouds, an organization dedicated to raising money for charities through performance and musical collaboration in various cities.
| Soprano |
Arianne Abela Katie Dryden Mary Larew Sarah Norvell Angharad Rebholz |
|---|---|
| Alto |
Michael Doran Esther Morgan-Ellis |
| Tenor |
Ben Geertz Robert Strebendt |
| Bass |
Andy Berry Mark Biggins Mark Spicer |
| Year | Choirmaster |
|---|---|
| 2012-2013 | Noah Horn |
| 2011-2012 | Noah Horn and Arianne Abela |
| 2010-2011 | Noah Horn |
| 2009-2010 | Noah Horn |
| 2008-2009 | Ryan Brandau |
| 2007-2008 | Ryan Brandau |







