web1_Justice.jpg

Wilkes-Barre postal worker charged with destruction, delay of mail

web1_donkey-1268897_1280.jpg

Stubbornness pays off for coffee-serving man and his mule

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Midway through a choral rehearsal at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral on Tuesday, visiting music director Andrew Reid rushed over to a chair and pulled a prayer book from a shelf beneath it.</p><p>&#8220;Oh, that one&#8217;s not going to help me,&#8221; he said, quickly reaching for a second volume. &#8220;Oh, that won&#8217;t help me, either.&#8221;</p><p>He&#8217;d been looking for a Bible, Reid explained later, intending to open it to the Book of Isaiah and read aloud a passage that describes God as &#8220;holy, holy, holy&#8221; &#8212; because that&#8217;s the basis for the &#8220;Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus&#8221; by Franz Joseph Haydn the chorus had been singing.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s dramatic and joyous and I want them to feel the joy,&#8221; Reid said, indicating close to 200 singers, ranging from children to senior citizens, who are participating in a week-long training course sponsored by The Royal School of Church Music in America.</p><p>Even without a dramatic reading, Reid&#8217;s enthusiasm was contagious.</p><p>Rather than stand still during rehearsal the conductor, who is director of the Royal School of Church Music International, was just as likely to stride down the aisle, stand on his toes and, sometimes, jump. The singers responded with soaring harmonies and, when Reid invited them at one point to &#8220;do whatever you need to do&#8221; to feel the music, some of them spent a moment twirling like ballerinas or moving their arms as if they, too, were conducting.</p><p>Shortly after the rehearsal, worshippers and other music lovers gathered for Tuesday&#8217;s evensong service at St. Stephen&#8217;s, and the chorus members, who come from all over the country, did their best to sound like a choir of angels.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s fabulous,&#8221; said Sharon Downey, a cathedral organist from Erie who was in town because she brought some of her teenage choristers to the summer program.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re so lucky. We have so much culture in the area,&#8221; said Judy Gardner of West Nanticoke, a retired Wilkes University professor who came to listen to the music. &#8220;The best things happen from collaboration.&#8221;</p><p>The Royal School of Church Music in America, based in Salisbury, England, is dedicated to preserving the future of church music. Queen Elizabeth II is its royal patron and, while the organization is overseen by the Church of England, it is interdenominational, with more than 11,000 members worldwide.</p><p>The summer course, believed to be the largest of its kind in North America, has been held at St. Stephen&#8217;s every year since 1995 and makes use of dorm rooms, dining facilities and rehearsal spaces at nearby King&#8217;s College.</p><p>The public is welcome to hear the large choir sing during choral services at St. Stephen&#8217;s including evensong at 5:30 p.m. July 22 and compline at 9 p.m. July 23.</p><p>On July 24 the week culminates with Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m., Choral Eucharist with Bishop Sean Rowe at 10:30 a.m. and choral evensong at 3 p.m. Music for the week includes psalms, Haydn&#8217;s Mass of St. Nicholas and Herbert Howell&#8217;s &#8220;Magnificat.&#8221;</p><p><ins>Also on Thursday, July 21, the public is welcome to hear a faculty recital featuring principal organist Canon Mark Laubach and Andrew Reid at 7:30 p.m. followed by sung compline at 8:30 p.m.</ins></p><p>&#8220;The music is just beautiful,&#8221; said Grace McCulloch, 18, a soprano from Virginia who has been attending the summer training program for eight years.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s some of the greatest classical music you can hear &#8212; and it&#8217;s free,&#8221; said Tom Sheehan from Cambridge, Massachusetts, who is assistant organist, helping principal organist Mark Laubach for the week. &#8220;Part of what makes it special is (the singers are) held to such a high standard.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a pleasure to come together with a group of people who love singing and sing very well,&#8221; said Raphael Micca of Shickshinny, adding St. Stephen&#8217;s rebuilt Berghaus organ and high domed ceiling add to the majesty of the music.</p><p>&#8220;The reverberations are wonderful,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;Great echos,&#8221; soprano Jean Adams of Pittsburgh confirmed with a nod.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Assistant organist Tom Sheehan of Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggested area residents should attend some of the Royal School of Church Music choral services this week at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral. &#8216;It&#8217;s some of the greatest classical music you can hear, and it&#8217;s free,&#8217; he said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Assistant organist Tom Sheehan of Cambridge, Massachusetts, suggested area residents should attend some of the Royal School of Church Music choral services this week at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral. &#8216;It&#8217;s some of the greatest classical music you can hear, and it&#8217;s free,&#8217; he said. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Close to 200 singers in the Royal School of Church Music program range from children, ages 10 or 11, up to senior citizens. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Close to 200 singers in the Royal School of Church Music program range from children, ages 10 or 11, up to senior citizens. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Choral director Andrew Reid led the chorus with enthusiasm during rehearsal earlier this week, sometimes rising to his toes or even jumping. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Choral director Andrew Reid led the chorus with enthusiasm during rehearsal earlier this week, sometimes rising to his toes or even jumping. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Andrew Reid, who is director of the Royal School of Church Music International, has been to St. Stephen&#8217;s before. He accompanied a choir from Westminster Abbey that sang during an October 2000 concert held in conjunction with the &#8216;Polish the Gem&#8217; campaign that rebuilt the church&#8217;s historic pipe organ. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic04.jpg</photo3><caption3>Andrew Reid, who is director of the Royal School of Church Music International, has been to St. Stephen&#8217;s before. He accompanied a choir from Westminster Abbey that sang during an October 2000 concert held in conjunction with the &#8216;Polish the Gem&#8217; campaign that rebuilt the church&#8217;s historic pipe organ. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic05.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">&#8216;I want them to feel the joy,&#8217; Andrew Reid said of the close to 200 singers whose rehearsal he led earlier this week at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_churchmusic05.jpg</photo4><caption4>&#8216;I want them to feel the joy,&#8217; Andrew Reid said of the close to 200 singers whose rehearsal he led earlier this week at St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Public invited to hear Royal School of Church Music at St. Stephen&#8217;s</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>Who:</strong> Royal School of Church Music singers</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Choral evensong, 5:30 p.m. July 22; sung compline, 9 p.m. July 23; choral Eucharist 10 a.m. July 24 and choral evening 3 p.m. July 24.</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> St. Stephen&#8217;s Episcopal Church, 35 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre</p><p><strong>Info:</strong> 570-825-6653</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

St. Stephen’s hosts singers from Royal School of Church Music in America