Concerts and Events

Thanksgiving Day Service
Thursday, November 28: 10:30 a.m.
Plan to arrive early for this festive and well-attended service of Morning Prayer! This service, a tradition begun in 1952, features celebratory music for choir, organ and brass, including Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” John Rutter’s “For the beauty of the earth,” Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Old Hundredth, and Gratias agimus tibi from J.S. Bach’s monumental Mass in B minor. The Rev. William L. Sachs, associate rector, will preach at this year’s service.

Winter Solstice Concert
Wednesday, December 18: 7:00 p.m.
This candlelit concert is offered as a time for rest and beauty in the midst of the busy holiday season. Music and poetry mark the longest night of the year while anticipating the joy of light’s return. The program also holds space for those for whom the holiday season is a difficult time. Sanctuary, our Compline choir, joined by cellist Peter Greydanus and harpist Anastasia Jellison, will present music by Stephen Barton, Judith Bingham, Kerensa Briggs, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Ola Gjeilo, Peter Hallock, Joanna Marsh, Owain Park, Frank Ticheli, Will Todd, Marcel Tournier, and Lucy Walker. A reception follows the concert in the large fellowship hall.

Winter Solstice Tickets 

Christmas Eve
Tuesday, December 24: 2:00, 5:00, 8:00, and 11:00 p.m.
Our Christmas Eve services offer the full breadth of music at St. Stephen’s, and each service will be preceded by a half-hour prelude. St. Stephen’s Choristers, St. Stephen’s Choir, and a string quartet will lead music for the 2:00 and 5:00 services, while the 8:00 Celtic Evensong-style service will feature trios of instruments and cantors. The St. Stephen’s Choir, accompanied by organ and orchestra, sings for the 11 p.m. High Mass, this year offering movements from George Frederic Handel’s Messiah during the prelude and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s Missa brevis during the service, as well as music by Gerre Hancock, John Rutter, and Healey Willan.

Epiphany Lessons and Carols and Chili Cook-Off
Wednesday, January 8: 6:00 service, 7:00 supper and Chili Cook-Off
Similar to the beloved service of Christmas Lessons and Carols made famous by King’s College, Cambridge, this candlelit service will feature choral and organ music for the season of Epiphany, including anthems by composers Andrew Carter, Herbert Howells, Philip Stopford, Eric Whitacre, Alison Willis, and Jonathan Dove. Bring trimmings of your Christmas greenery to burn at the conclusion of the service, and join us afterwards for a chili cook-off, with proceeds supporting our music ministry.

Belvedere Concert Series: Nicholas DiEugenio, violin
Music of J.S. Bach
Friday, January 24 | 7:00 p.m. concert; 8:00 p.m. reception
Nicholas DiEugenio performs the monumental sonatas and partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach on baroque violin. This performance will be accompanied by displays of original artwork by Nicholas. In demand as a soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble leader, Nicholas creates powerful shared experiences in music ranging from early baroque to contemporary commissions. A core member of the Sebastians, a period group hailed as “top-notch” by The New Yorker and “sharp-edged and engaging” by The New York Times, Nicholas also performs with pianist Mimi Solomon, his wife.

Belvedere Series Tickets ($30 per person); free student tickets are available using the code STUDENTTIX. All tickets are non-refundable.

American Guild of Organists:
Meet the Composer, Rebecca Groom te Velde
Tuesday, February 18 | 6:00 p.m. dinner in the large fellowship hall (registration required) | 7:00 p.m. program in the church (open to the public)
St. Stephen’s Church will host this American Guild of Organists Richmond Chapter event featuring the music of organist and composer Rebecca Groom te Velde in a conversational and engaging format. Rebecca is a composer in high demand, a contributing editor for music publishing at Oxford University Press, an advocate for the music of her father, Lester Groom, and Director of Music Emeritus at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. She is also the mother of our Director of Music, Brent te Velde. Registration will be required for the 6 p.m. dinner, but the 7 p.m. program in the church is open to the public.

Three Choirs Concert
Sunday, March 2 | 7:00 p.m.
At St. James’s Episcopal Church, Richmond
The choirs of three Episcopal churches–St. James’s, St. Paul’s, and St. Stephen’s–join forces each year to present a musical offering, with the three churches rotating hosting duties. St. James’s Church is this year’s host. The combined choirs, accompanied by orchestra, will sing Karl Jenkins’ Miserere: Songs of Mercy and Redemption, which is dedicated to all who have suffered or perished in the Middle East over the last 70 years. Jenkins was motivated by the desperate situation of the millions of people displaced and affected by the cruel effects of war, and hoped the healing and uniting powers of music could be used to bring together people from different religions.

Labyrinth Concert
Wednesday, March 26 |  7:00 p.m.
For the first time, Sanctuary, our Compline Choir, will offer a concert during Lent. The program is inspired by the meditative practice of walking the labyrinth. This ancient practice has found new vitality in the 20th and 21st centuries as the labyrinth’s power for channeling self-awareness, finding peace, engendering gratitude, stimulating creative energy, and processing grief and trauma has changed countless lives. The program will reflect the three-part experience of walking the labyrinth: the release and spiritual trust of walking into the labyrinth; receiving the gifts of the labyrinth at its center; and returning to the world as one leaves the labyrinth. Portions of the program will be accompanied by flutist Amy Blake and sound bath musician Jim Morgan. The program will include music by Johannes Brahms, Hildegard von Bingen, Kerensa Briggs, Damon Daldridge, David Hurd, Michael McGlynn, Claudio Monteverdi, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Eric Whitacre. A labyrinth will be open to the public in Palmer Hall Chapel during the week of the concert, and more information will be shared in the new year about the practice of walking the labyrinth. Tickets will be available soon.

Brent te Velde and Diana Chou, organ
Music of J.S. Bach
Friday, April 4 | 7:00 p.m.
In celebration of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 340th birthday on March 31, and alongside the January Belvedere Series concert, Director of Music Brent te Velde and Associate Director of Music Diana Chou will present selected organ works by Bach. As a complement to a class that to be taught by Dr. Christopher Lindbloom on Lenten hymnody, the program will include chorale preludes by Bach setting some of the Lutheran chorales discussed in the class. The program will also include a variety of some of his most remarkable free works for solo organ, showcasing the life and legacy of the greatest composer for the organ.