Music Ministry (Director - Shawn Gingrich)

Join in Singing Praises to God at FUMC-Hershey

Worship is the focus of musical life at FUMC-Hershey. Our congregation sings hymns and songs from a wide variety of traditions and backgrounds. Instruments used to support our singing include the pipe organ, piano, keyboard, guitars, drums and more. 

Opportunities to participate in a singing choir are available for all ages. Nine choirs involving over 230 children, youth and adults enrich our worship. 

Other instrumentalists are invited to help lead worship by providing special musical selections as well as by supporting the congregational song. In the summer months all are invited to share their gifts in providing special music for worship. Highlights include the singing of our Vacation Bible School and our Summer Worship Choir which rehearses prior to worship each week.

Our Music Leadership Is Provided By:

  • Shawn Gingrich - Director of Music Ministry 

  • Sarah Curry - Director of Cherub Choir 

  • Donna Brown - Co-Director of Youth Handbell Choir

Rehearsal Schedule

Registration for Children's Choirs - Children who will be 3 by September 1 through those entering 5th grade are eligible.

Children's Choirs

  • Joyful Noise Group (Ages Three and Four): Selected Sundays 6:30-7:15 p.m. Please contact Shawn Gingrich for schedule.
  • Cherub Choir (Kindergarten-Second Grade): Sundays 10:40 a.m.-11 a.m.
  • Chapel Choir (Third-Fifth Grades): Wednesdays 4-4:45 p.m.
  • Children's Handbell Choir (Third-Fifth Grades): Wednesdays 4:45-5:30 p.m.

Registration for Youth Choir and Handbell Choir will open again in Fall 2009.

Youth Choirs

  • Youth Handbell Choir (Sixth-Twelfth Grades): Sundays 4:30-5:15 p.m.
  • Youth Choir (Sixth-Twelfth Grades): Sundays 5:15-6 p.m.

Adult Choirs

  • Praise Team: Thursdays 7-9:30 p.m.
  • Trinity Choir: Alternate Thursdays 6:30-7:30 p.m.
  • Adult Handbell Choir: Wednesdays 6:15-7:30 p.m.
  • Sanctuary Choir: Wednesdays 7:30-9 p.m.

Joyful Noise Group

The Joyful Noise group is for children ages three and four. Rehearsals are on selected Sundays 6:30-7:15 p.m. (Please contact Shawn Gingrich for schedule.) In early childhood, we learn language and we know that at that time it is more easily learned and absorbed. The same is true of music. Experiencing music early in life can impact cognitive development and can lead to developing a higher level of reasoning skills. Through various learning styles preschool children are able to experiment, learn through play, and experience the rudiments of reading and writing music “hands on.” Movement is an important element with this age group and can help children internalize the music. At this age, children are excited, energetic and eager to explore their surroundings and their bodies to constantly learn new things. Given time to explore with structured activities and much repetition, and building concept upon concept in a careful process of preparation, presentation and practice, children will enjoy learning simple musical concepts that will last a lifetime.

Using experience as a certified Kindermusik® instructor and the helpful Stepping Stones curriculum produced by Choristers Guild, Director of Music Ministry Shawn Gingrich has built a customized program for three- and four-year old children to begin or continue their musical and spiritual journey.

Some of the musical components that are shared and learned are:

  • vocal exploration (leading to proper use of the voice and good vocal quality)

  • feeling the beat (natural rhythm leading to rhythmic echoing and reading)

  • hearing high and low/short and long (leading to music reading)

  • recognizing fast and slow/loud and soft; and 

  • sharing simple songs of faith which support musical concepts being learned. 

Cherub Choir 

The Cherub Choir welcomes children from kindergarten through second grade. Through Cherub Choir, children are given an introduction to group singing and worship. This choir sings for worship once each month. Rehearsals are Sundays 10:40 a.m.-11 a.m. Sarah and Nick Curry direct the Cherub Choir.

Click on the below images (by Bill Fraley) to see more Cherub Choir performances.

1045-Service-3-21-04-Cherub.jpg (179577 bytes) 1045-Service-3-21-04-(1)-Ch.jpg (183910 bytes) CherubChoir919.jpg (267471 bytes) CherubChoir919b.jpg (420441 bytes)

Chapel Choir 

The Chapel Choir welcomes children from third through fifth grades. The Chapel Choir learns rudimentary music reading and simple part singing. This choir sings for worship once each month. Rehearsals are Wednesdays 4-4:45 p.m.

 

(Photos by Bill Fraley)

Children's Handbell Choir 

The Children's Handbell Choir is for children from third through fifth grades who love music and enjoy the fellowship of ringing bells. Rehearsals are Wednesdays 4:45-5:30 p.m.

Youth Handbell Choir 

The Youth Handbell Choir welcomes students in sixth through twelfth grade. The youth are divided into two groups rehearsing on Sundays 4:30-5:15 p.m. All groups play music that employs the five-octave set and the three-octave set of Malmark handbells and the five octaves of Malmark HandChimes. Donna Brown and Shawn Gingrich are Co-Directors of the Youth Handbell Choir. 

(Photo by Bill Fraley)

Youth Choir 

The Youth Choir is an informal choir of sixth through twelfth grade students. The choir sings for worship once each month. Rehearsals are Sundays from 5:15-6 p.m.

(Photo by Bill Fraley)

Praise Team 

The Praise Team is a choir for adults that sings for our 9:15 a.m. celebration worship service. Rehearsals are Thursdays from 7-9:00 p.m.

Trinity Choir 

The Trinity Choir is a choir for adults that sings for our 8 a.m. traditional worship service twice each month. Rehearsals are alternate Thursdays from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Sanctuary Choir 

The Sanctuary Choir is a choir for adults that sings for our 11:00 a.m. traditional worship service every Sunday as well as other special worship services. Rehearsals are Wednesdays from 7:30-9 p.m.

Adult Handbell Choir 

The Adult Handbell Choir is for adults. This group play music that employs the five-octave set of Malmark handbells and the five octaves of Malmark Hand Chimes. Rehearsals are Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 p.m.

(Photo by Bill Fraley)

Music Factory

 Music Factory is a  week-long choir day camp for kids culminating in an evening presentation by the kids for family and friends!

Our tenth-annual choir day camp for children entering Kindergarten through sixth grades will be held June 21-25, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day. The group will present the program on Friday, June 25 at 7:00 p.m. We will also sing selections for 11 am worship on Sunday, June 27.

Past presentations include "Life of the Party: The story of Mary and Martha" (2009), "Singing the Seasons: The Greatest Shepherd” (2007), "Elijah" (2006), and "Imagine God!" (2005).

Concert Series

Sacred Concert Series 2009-2010

Quartet die Posaunen, a trombone quartet founded by James Erdman at Lebanon Valley College in 1988, will be featured on October 18, 2009 at 3 p.m. in our inaugural concert of the 2009-2010 Sacred Concert Series.

The concert is open to the public and free though an offering will be accepted at the door for those wishing to contribute. Child care will be provided.

The Hershey Handbell Ensemble will perform on December 6, 2009 at 3 p.m.

Singer Mark Cable will perform on December 31, 2009 at 7 p.m. Mark Cable has been ministering full-time through music since 1981. An accomplished acoustic guitarist and songwriter, Mark has released nineteen albums and has received radio airplay on Christian stations across the United States. Please join us for this informal kick-off to the downtown New Year’s festivities.

The Wheatland Chorale will perform on March 14, 2010 at 3 p.m. Since its founding in 1987 by Artistic Director Robert J. Upton, the Wheatland Chorale has earned a reputation as one of Pennsylvania's premier choral ensembles. The ensemble now numbers 39 singers, all volunteers, who are selected through audition. The choir's repertoire is very broad, and features selections from all periods.

Carl Iba, violinist, and Randy Day, pianist, will perform virtuoso music for violin and piano on April 25, 2010 at 3 p.m. Carl Iba is a native of Hershey, and is an accomplished ensemble and solo violinist. Randy Day, accompanist, resides in Lititz where he serves as Director of Music Ministries for the Lititz Moravian Congregation and instructor of piano, organ and violin at the Lititz Academy of Music. 

Interested in sponsoring the 2009-2010 concert series? Download the sponsor sheet and return it to the church office.

New Organ

May 2009 - We are pleased that our contract with Letourneau Pipe Organs of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada has been enacted and we will have a completed pipe organ by the end of October  2010. The new instrument will initially contain 31 ranks of pipes (reusing 8 ranks from the Kilgen organ) and playable from a three-manual console. It will have preparations for 8 more ranks of pipes across the manual divisions as well as 2 digital 32’ stops in the pedal and 3 digital percussion sounds. Our instrument will be the company’s Opus 121. For more information on the organ builder, visit Orgues Létourneau Ltée.

(Organ picture by Orgues Létourneau Ltée)

Sounds of Bronze

Orders for the recording of the church handbell concert are now being taken. We will produce them beginning June 15 and we are only making 150 copies. Order yours today by filling out your request and submitting it with your payment. Fill out the order form and return it with your payment ($9 each). The free Adobe Reader needs to be installed to print the form.

This is a live recording from the Church Handbell Concert on April 17, 2005 by the Children's Handbell Choir, Praise Ringers, Exaltation Ringers, Adoration Ringers, Adult Handbell Choir and Hershey Handbell Ensemble under the direction of Donna Brown, Will Curry and Shawn Gingrich. Titles include: Processional Jubilee (Page); My Lord, What a Morning (arr. Thompson); A Gentle Chorale (Burroughs); Peace Like a River (arr. Eithun); Awesome God (arr. Bettcher); Shout to the Lord (arr. Bettcher); Thy Word (arr. Bettcher); How Majestic is Your Name (arr. Cota); Joshua (Hascall); Come Christians, Join to Sing (Hymn); Lamb of God (arr. Waldrop); Walk in the Light (Buckwalter); Siyahamba (arr. Ward); Dorian Dance (Joy); Serenity (Smith); and Elite Syncopations (Joplin / arr. Gingrich).


March 14, 2010 - The next concert in the Sacred Concert Series will feature The Wheatland Chorale at 3:00 p.m. in the FUMC-Hershey sanctuary. Click here to see all the upcoming concerts in the series.

Read about our new organ here.

Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program provides funds to the handbell fund to purchase new equipment. There is a collection box in the narthex. Most major brand cartridges are accepted.

“Moo Money” Needed for Organ Fund - Products like milk with the special “Moo money” sticker on the lid are sold only at Turkey Hill Mini Markets. A box is located on the counter beside the Welcome Center.

Music Ministry Opportunity for Children & Youth – Any piano or instrumental student wishing to play a sacred or classical selection appropriate for Worship, please contact Shawn Gingrich at 533-9668.

Sounds of Bronze Form

Handbell Fund Established – A number of special gifts have been given to purchase treble bells. Anyone wishing to give a bell as a memorial, contact Shawn Gingrich at 533-9668. Cost range from $215 for treble bells to $2,200 for bass bells.