Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, Colorado

Special Music

Music Notes
Music is an important aspect of our worship experience at church. Shepherd of the Hills offers
several opportunities to parishioners who wish to share their musical abilities. As we look forward to the fall schedule, prayerfully consider the following musical opportunities available to you:

Adult Choir: begins rehearsal September 4, meets every Wednesday at 7 pm, and assists
in worship services at one service every Sunday.

Handbell Choir: begins rehearsal September 4, meets every Wednesday at 6 pm, and
assists in worship services once a month or more.

Sunday School Choir: begins September 15, meets every Sunday morning at the end of
Sunday School, assists in worship at the beginning of every 10 am worship service.

Shepherd’s Song: meets every Tuesday at 6:30 pm, and assists in worship services every
Sunday.

SOTH Christmas Cantata: This will be a special worship experience on December 17, presented
at all three worship services. Our own Gabriel Swanson and Cathy Simmering collaborated
to put this work together. If you are interested in being part of this presentation, please contact Kari Fedde at 223-3259. Rehearsals will begin in October on Wednesday evenings.

Special Music: Anyone who is interested in singing a solo/duet or playing an instrument for
special music during a worship service is encouraged to contact Kari Fedde at 223-3259 or sign up
on the sheet in the hall outside the choir room. It’s an excellent opportunity to work up a special
piece to share.
Please contact Kari Fedde at 223-3259 if you have any questions or are interested in making
music in any of these groups.

Senior Choir

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church's Senior Choir is a group of dedicated members that range in musical training from "shower baritone" to life-long chorister, and in age from teen to octogenarian. Reading music is not a necessary skill to sing in this choir, but you may actually pick it up along the way. Although the choir is part of the traditional music program, the choir sings quite a varied musical repertoire. Anthems and cantatas are chosen from church choir standards, classical repertoire, multicultural literature, choral hymn arrangements, and contemporary choral anthems. Senior Choir collaborates regularly with instrumentalists and groups within the church such as Shepherd's Song Praise Team, Rejoice Quartet and Bell Choir as well as with other area churches and visiting musicians. Senior choir meets once a week on Wednesday nights 7pm to 8:30pm from September to May. During the first and third Sundays of the month when there is communion, the choir sings an anthem that supports the liturgy and leads the congregation in musical worship at the 11am service. The choir sings at the 8am service on the second and fourth Sundays and the occasional fifth Sunday is "TBA."

Bell Choir

Bell Choir currently rings three octaves of handbells and chimes once a month in traditional worship services and four times a year in the contemporary worship service. Literature is varied and mid-level in difficulty utilizing a variety of ringing techniques such as "martelating" (striking the bell on the table pad) and "plucking" (reaching into the bell to flip the hammer). Bells meet Wednesdays at 6 - 7 pm, September through May. Because of a significant membership overlap with Senior Choir, many ringers enjoy a church supper or pizza from 6pm to 7pm. Reading music is a tremendous help in this group, but if you can count to 4, you are welcome to join! Curious new-bies may call the SOTH office at 481-9692 for up-to-the-minute updates.

Youth Choir

Youth choir is made up of Sunday-Schooling students from 2nd to 12th grades. They meet from 5:00-5:45pm on Sunday evenings. They sing all kinds of music from all kinds of countries, in all kinds of languages, in all kinds of styles! Not only limited to using their voices, this group plays handbells, puts on skits, plays a variety of instruments, and has a tremendous amount of fun! This choir sings/plays once every four to six weeks at any of the three traditional and contemporary services. The first rehearsal of the 2002-2003 year is Sunday, September 8 from 5-5:45pm.

Pre-School/Kindergarten/ 1st Grade Music

PK1 children have music every Sunday morning as part of Sunday School. They explore body motions, sign language, rhythm instruments, choreography, singing games, and singing as part of their musical experience. Every year, PK1 participates in the Christmas pageant with the Youth Choir.

Celebration Choir

This is a contemporary choir who sings mostly at the 10am contemporary praise service. Made up of adults and youth from 7th to 12th grades, this choir meets on selected Sundays from 5:30-6pm. Celebration Choir sings simple praise songs and requires a minimal time commitment. Two 30 minute rehearsals are required to sing on a specific Sunday. You do not have to read music to participate.

Rejoice Quartet

Rejoice Quartet is a group of four fun-loving singers, Karen Lauer-Anderson, Louise White, Olav Vik, and John Miller. They are currently looking for an accompanist. This group participates in worship once a month with an anthem that beautifully supports the liturgy and sings for numerous church socials and community events. This group has collaborated with Senior Choir to perform double choir literature. Questions: John Miller, j.miller102@gte.net

Instrumental Music

We have many talented musicians, from organ players, to bagpipers, to guitarists and more. If you would like to share your musical gift, please contact the church office.

Organist, Keith Cottis

Shepherd's Song Praise Team

This talented group of musicians provides the worship songs and offertories for the 10 am contemporary service. This group also perform special concerts on occasion. Membership in this group is by audition. Contact the church office with any questions.