Any Violinist Play at their Church??

February 17, 2011 at 08:04 PM ·

I used to, and getting a laid-back pianist meant that I could pretty much have free reign to do what I wanted.  I learned to improvise largely in church. 

February 17, 2011 at 11:47 PM ·

I played for worship services in another city one mid-summer at the invitation of friends I was visiting.  It was a violin/piano arrangement of Franz Schubert's Serenade.

Yes, I enjoyed doing it.  I was part of a small ensemble that had already provided other music earlier in the hour; so when it was Serenade time, it was an easy adjustment.

At present, I don't do it; so the answer to "how often" is "never."

February 18, 2011 at 12:30 AM ·

I almost did. But, almost doesn't count. There was another violinist and I was going to join her and the small group of musicians that were already in place. But, she ended up moving out of town and it ended up being just a keyboard so for me that was the end of that! Maybe one day I'll do it. I wouldn't want to be alone, but part of a group.

February 18, 2011 at 02:03 AM ·

Retired, I found that we had joined an Episcopal church (really a Mission that has been struggling to become a parish having 50 average attendance since 1872).  There were then two regular violinists and a high school student and a retired professional violin/violist who occasionally played. I had hardly touched the violin since high school fifty years ago. I was talked into starting again and now play with most of the hymns and sometimes we prepare something special. I have needed to relearn and practice. It has come back quickly. This year, I don't do four sharps of flats.

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I received my instrument in May and am very pleased with it as are those that listen. Now there are two of us playing regularly. I take the melody line and Sarah plays an octave above or the harmony line. We are accompanied by an organ. If you have an opportunity to play in your church, go for it.

February 18, 2011 at 04:16 AM ·

Funny you should post this thread!  I was thinking about it the other day, and marvelling that half our first violin section plays at my church every Sunday, week after week!  Our church is a fairly traditional, conservative community church, and each Sunday the pianist and five or six violins play six or seven hymns for prelude, one for offertory, and four for congregational singing.  We take turns on SATB, or I like to improvise a descant, etc.  Being also one of the pianists at church, I'm lucky and alternate one week piano, one week violin.  (I also get to pick the prelude and offertory when I'm the pianist, so that's a bonus!)  Occasionally one of us will do one of Tracy Ann Collins' arrangements for offertory, piano and violin.

February 18, 2011 at 04:42 AM ·

In the summer I play quite frequently, maybe once a month or so.  Not so much during orchestra season, but that is also when our choir is in 'session' (they are off in the summer).  We have an amazing assortment of musicians and often collaborate with each other during the summer. 

The majority of what the instrumentalists play is classical - from baroque to modern classical; solos duets, quartets, and when we get ambitious small chamber orchestral pieces.

February 18, 2011 at 06:27 AM ·

What about you, Janine?  (Type of music and how often?)  What an interesting thread!

February 18, 2011 at 10:23 AM ·

Lynae, I would love to come to your church to hear that. That must be so lovely. The group I almost joined had a very cheap electric piano, a drummer, an electric guitar, and a violin.

February 18, 2011 at 01:06 PM ·

well, i play at a church called The Refuge :)

and, our music is very modern, were a non-denominational church also. And currently i play in the youth band(which i attend), when we have services every wed night. although because our congergation is growing so much and our space is so small i play every other week.

And i absolutly LOVE it! It's really such an amazing story of how God brought the violin into my life and how less then a year later i was asked to be on the band, writing my own music because there was none for the type of music we play.

now, if you wondering what kind of music im talking about, just youtube a group called Jesus Culture(there awesome), we also play some jarrad anderson, planet shakers, stuff like that :) (and lots more!)

and if you wanna get a better idea of what im talking about, you could check out t our website, Therefuge.net

:)

February 18, 2011 at 05:01 PM ·

I'm a Lutheran, so our services are as traditional as you'll get--sometimes I play along with hymns if there is a smaller ensemble, or play descant for a choir anthem. For special services or offertories/preludes I sometimes play a solo violin, violin and piano, or ensemble piece. The organ does most of the work :)  I would love to take the time to see what was actually written for strings in the church, as many Baroque and Classical composers wrote pieces especially for services.

February 18, 2011 at 05:32 PM ·

My son and I play violin (and my wife plays flute) with our Catholic church's contemporary worship band.  We are used alot during the more solemn Mass parts, but also a good deal during other portions.  A good deal of the music we play in is from Mercy Me and Casting Crowns.  Both are great contemporary bands with violinist as band members.  Playing with the band has been great at helping me learn to improvise.

February 18, 2011 at 06:56 PM ·

At one time church bands in England were not uncommon because some churches could not afford an organ. Especially in rural areas, the church band would have a multiple role and play also for weddings, parties, fairs and other social events – today we call them gigs.

A few years ago a rare document surfaced. It was a manuscript of gig music played by a church musician, William Winter, a fiddle player, in his band throughout his long life spanning the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th. He was a village shoemaker who played in the band of the Lydeard St Lawrence parish church, in Somerset, about 140 miles west of London. Towards the end of his life he assembled his collection of over 400 dance tunes into a single manuscript which was lost but turned up in a second-hand bookshop in London in the 1960s. It was bought by Geoff Rye of the English Folk Dance and Song Society who had it rebound and presented to the Margaret Grant memorial library at Halsway Manor Traditional Music and Dance Centre at Crowcombe, Somerset. Some of those tunes would have been lost if the manuscript hadn't been rescued.

It has since been edited by a local musician and musicologist Geoff Woolfe, and published together with a CD recording of some of the music played by a band led by Robert Harbron as "William Winter's Quantocks Tune Book". The book and CD may be purchased from Halsway Manor, Crowcombe, Taunton Somerset TA 4BD, office@halswaymanor.org.uk. The ISBN reference is 978-0-9556397-0-8.

Quoting from Geoff Woolfe's introduction, "The book is good evidence  for the repertoire of country dance musicians of the period. Over 200 of the tunes can be traced to eighteenth century printed collections." Interestingly, one of the tunes was also used by Paganini in one of his "Lucca" sonatas for violin and guitar.

February 18, 2011 at 10:10 PM ·

I've played "Fantasia on Greensleeves" at Christmastime 3 different years.  This past year it was the opening of the Christmas pageant. I've also played for the offertory, and with a violist friend for the prelude.  That time we played an arrangement of the 2nd movement of the Vivaldi double cello concerto.  I had played a  violin part accompanying a cello-playing friend and his teacher, and I thought the solo part was so beautiful and worshipful that I downloaded it and wrote it out in alto clef for two violas so I could play it.

 And, our church has a talent show every year and I've played twice in that.  

February 18, 2011 at 10:18 PM ·

 I am very fortunate; for various reasons I count myself a member (more or less) of three different church communities; a monastery of RC sisters, a small Episcopal mission/church and a 'greying' Lutheran church--and I play at them all!  With the sisters, I play solo, with harp or organ, or to accompany singing; with the Episcopalians, solo or with a clarinetist and/or guitarist; with the Lutherans, accompanied by/accompanying a wonderful Tracker organ.  There, I also play any descants needed by the choir.  I alternate between viola and violin (in fact the Lutherans helped me choose between two violins I was looking at {they didn't know that's what they were doing}).  

For 'newer' musicians, it's a wonderful way to build confidence and to realize the love of giving music, and for anyone, it's a great experience.  

February 19, 2011 at 04:03 AM ·

thats really cool(saying that to all of the comments :) )

i know that what i love the most about it is being able to help lead worship and let others enter into a really awesome God time. where they can just love Him in His presense. :)

February 20, 2011 at 01:53 AM ·

I played in the church choir at my Catholic church when I was a teenager. A friend of mine still plays in it. We were the 5:00 Saturday evening choir, so played a lot of the more folksy church music, along with the liturgical stuff.

The Catholic church here in Brownsburg has a chamber ensemble, but I'm unsure if they actually play for Mass.

I've also attended a Unitarian Universalist church that welcomed people to come and play an instrument during part of the service. Never saw a violinist (and I wasn't playing anymore/again yet at the time.)

February 20, 2011 at 12:28 PM ·

Wow! Great thread.

I play guitar, violin and sing lead in our contemporary Catholic band. We've got drums, bass, three guitars and piano and play a lot of Matt Maher music. I'll have to check out Mercy Me. I did not know they had a violinst.

Our Mass has tripled in attendance since the music was changed from traditional organ to our new sound. I really want to add more violin but I am sensitive to just "bargeing in."

Tom

February 20, 2011 at 01:47 PM ·

Hi, I don't attend a church on regular basis.  (just at Christmas)  So I don't play happen to play in churches.

But I love to visit churches and when I visited an Anglican church here in Montréal, they told that they paid the music studies of students who played music at the church.  

I almost got tempted... : )