"To sing is to pray twice"
- St. Augustine
Our Music
The Music Ministry of All Saints’ Church & St. George’s Chapel is a diverse group of musicians with members of all ages and backgrounds. All genres of music are performed including but not limited to traditional sacred music, Anglican, Gregorian and Taizé chant, gospel, contemporary, jazz and at times even pop music. We have two choirs (one for each church) who come together periodically for services and special concerts. The choirs sing at main Sunday services and on special occasions like Christmas, Easter, and Holy Week Services.
Throughout the year, we also offer special concerts and musical offerings, including a jazz mass, during the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, The Singing Soldiers/U.S. Army Chorus Barritones in September, and Lessons and Carols in December
The choirs usually rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm. New members are always welcome, and no experience is necessary. For more information contact, contact our Music Director, Jon Rania (jonrania@allsaintsandstgeorges.org).
Meet Our Musicians
Jon Rania is our Director of Music, principal organist, and choir director, and he is the primary organist for weddings, funerals, and other special services.
Our assistant organist is Steve Shoop. Steve alternates with Jon between our two locations and also plays at special occasions like parish music concerts, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter.
In addition, we have wonderful contemporary musicians who assist at our Saturday evening services; Chris Morrow, Mark Barbone, Kyle Offidani, and other instrumentalists who also perform at other occasions.
We are hoping to re-launch our parish handbell and children's choirs soon. Those interested in participating should contact Jon Rania (jonrania@allsaintsandstgeorges.org).
Our Organs
We are blessed with two beautiful and well-maintained pipe organs that fill the churches with glorious sounds during our services and special events.
All Saints' organ is a Peragallo Opus 617, installed in July of 2005. It has 18 and a half ranks and 825 pipes. The pipe divisions and facade are located in the gallery in the back of the church (see photo) and the organ console is located in the chancel at the front of the church. Thanks in large part to digital and solid-state technology, the connections between the key desk (organ console) and pipework involve just one coaxial cable line! In addition to being the primary instrument used to accompany the congregation and choir at Holy Eucharist, it is also used for weddings, funerals, concerts, and other special occasions. The organ installation was made possible through a generous gift by parishioners Hilda and Bob Walton, given in loving memory of Hilda's brother Granville Munson, Jr., longtime organist and choir director of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA. The specification list of the organ can be found here.
The St. George's pipe organ was built in 2006 by David Storey of Baltimore, MD. It has 11 ranks and 642 pipes. The construction of this instrument incorporated pipes from an organ that was purchased decades before. The facade, (seen in the picture) is believed to be at least one hundred years old. The instrument is a tracker organ with the keyboard attached to the organ itself, and it was designed similar to the ones first built centuries ago and used by the great composers like Bach and Handel. The organ was recently refurbished to include a new clarinet stop and a new blower motor. The organ is used weekly in services and on special occasions. The specification list of the organ can be found here.
