Music
Music is central to worship and life at All Saints' Episcopal Church.
Throughout our history, singing has been one of the important ways we draw closer to God and to each other in this community of faith. From our weekly enthusiastic congregational singing to the extraordinary legacy of the Burt Carols, All Saints’ is, and has always been, a parish in love with music.
For those who want to contribute on a regular basis, All Saints’ maintains an active adult choir that provides music for weekly Eucharist and special services throughout the year, and occasional concerts as well. Music making opportunities also exist for All Saints’ many other talented musicians, youth and adults alike, and All Saints’ acoustically splendid sanctuary has been the setting for concerts by leading musicians from throughout the region and across the country.
We invite you to explore music at All Saints’ and see how you can get involved, too!
Music Director
Music Director Lois Kaarre has served at All Saints’ Episcopal Church since 2005, as organist, choirmaster, and organizer of concerts and other musical activities. She also serves as faculty member and staff accompanist in the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Oakland University, a department founded by Michigan Opera Theater founder, Dr. David DiChiera. Ms. Kaarre is active as a collaborative pianist and organist throughout Southeast Michigan, plays keyboards in the Oakland Symphony and other local orchestras.
Lois Kaarre holds degrees in music performance from Concordia, Ann Arbor and Eastern Michigan University. She spent two years at the Eastman School of Music in the doctoral program in Accompanying and Chamber Music, holding an assistantship with the Eastman Opera. Her other collaborative activities have included faculty recitals at Vanderbilt, Skidmore College, Marshall University, the University of Michigan, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, national flute, horn, and tuba/euphonium conventions, a season with the Ohio Light Opera, community programs with Michigan Opera Theatre, a national Music Teachers National Association convention, and a performance in New York’s Carnegie Hall with the winner of the Leontyne Price Voice Competition.
Adult Choir
The All Saints’ Adult Choir is the center of its music program. The choir, under the direction of Lois Kaarre, provides musical leadership for the 10:30 am Holy Eucharist from the Sunday after Labor Day through mid-June. Additionally, the choir provides music for special services such as Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil, plus the occasional concert.
The Adult Choir rehearses weekly on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm, and again on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. Comprised primarily of volunteers, the choir also includes four paid section leaders, positions that have been endowed in perpetuity. Often recruited from Ms. Kaarre’s contacts at Oakland University, several of All Saints’ past section leaders have gone on to distinguished careers in opera and vocal music performance.
The Adult Choir’s repertoire spans both centuries and traditions, from medieval chant, classical pieces, Negro spirituals, and settings by contemporary composers such as John Rutter, David Hurd, and Robert Ray. Membership is open to all, though sight-reading skills are highly desirable as the choir sings a great deal of challenging repertoire. New members are always welcome; simply contact Lois Kaarre directly for more information.
The All Saints' Organ
All Saints’ Episcopal Church is privileged to have in its acoustically distinctive sanctuary a splendid pipe organ, contracted in 1956 with the famous Boston firm of Aeolian-Skinner as their Opus 1333.
All Saints’ Aeolian-Skinner organ was installed in 1958 and dedicated on January 25, 1959. Phillip Steinhaus, organ design consultant and for some years on the staff of Aeolian-Skinner, was organist-choirmaster at the time of installation. The January 1956 issue of The Diapason says that the “stoplist was drawn up in the summer of 1955 in London, England, by the late G. Donald Harrison and Mr. Steinhaus.”
The organ consists of three manuals and pedal comprising 26 voices consisting of 41 ranks of pipes, all housed in a chamber of the Apse of the church. The wind chests of the organ are of electro-pneumatic design, both “pitman” and “unit.” The metal pipe work is of high quality tin and lead alloys. The wooden pipework is of clear pine, all of Aeolian-Skinner manufacture. The organ is fitted with a blower manufactured by the Spencer Turbine Company, situated in the basement. The original console was rebuilt in 1998 incorporating solid-state memory and multiplex coupling equipment manufactured by Solid State Logic, Ltd. It is comprised of 58 drawknob Stop Controls and 16 tilting tablet Coupler Controls and is fitted with a Multilevel Capture Combination System providing 256 Levels of Memory serving 51 thumb pistons and 19 toe pistons. The console is movable by means of internal castors and is provided with an adjustable bench.
Other Musical Activities
All Saints’ Episcopal Church is blessed with a lovely acoustical space in its sanctuary, a home for music making of all kinds. Whether it’s a guest prelude performance by an All Saints’ youth member, a benefit event with a touring folk singer, or a concert performance by members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, All Saints’ is a home for music making of all kinds.
