Choral EvensonG, Compline & Concerts
Choral Evensong is one of the liturgical treasures of our Anglican/Episcopal tradition. Some of the most beautiful choral music ever written was composed specifically for Evensong. Our choirs offer Choral Evensong several times throughout the year. Nearly all of the service is sung by the choir, and the congregation participates in spirit as the choir sings the beautiful prayers, psalms, canticles and anthems on their behalf.
Sung Compline is sung entirely by the Adult Choir, in a darkened church. Compline is an ancient liturgy, offering the perfect way to end a day, meditating during a time when nothing is required other than being present.
Our concert series features performances by a variety of singers, choirs, organists, and other solo/chamber instrumentalists. Previous performers have been: The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, England; The Choir of Gloucester Cathedral; The Chamber Singers of East Carolina University; Organists Daryl Robinson, John Scott, David Flood, David Briggs, Matthew Michael Brown, Dorothy Papadakos, Andrew Scanlon, Christopher Jacobson, Douglas Major, Eric Plutz, Charles Callahan and Timothy Olsen; Violinist Brian Reagin; Violinist Natasha Korsakova with pianist Ariadna Nacianceno; Cellist Kirsten Jermé with pianist Bridget O’Leary; Violinist Niccoló Muti with chamber music players of Incontri Musicali; Pianist Solomon Eichner; Soprano Katherine Posner with pianist Margaret Singer; The Oakwood Waits; The Triangle Brass Band; The North Carolina Master Chorale Chamber Choir; Pianist Mac McClure with violinist Juan Carlos Higuita; and The Raleigh Flute Choir
To receive notices of upcoming concerts, as well as Evensong and Compline, simply email our Organist/Choirmaster and ask to be added to the email list.
Guest Organist Timothy Olsen
All Saints’ Day Choral Evensong
Sunday, November 1 at 4:30 p.m.
Organist Timothy Olsen, Kenan Professor of Organ at the UNC School of the Arts in Wiston-Salem, will play a pre-service organ concert at 4:30 p.m., followed by Choral Evensong at 5 p.m., sung by the choir of St. Michael’s.
J. S. Bach: Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552ii
George Shearing: Amazing Grace
César Franck: Choral I in E Major
Evensong will include:
William H. Harris: Holy is the true light
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange: Responses
C. V. Stanford: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in G
Paul Halley: Bring us, O Lord God
Advent/Christmas Organ Concert
Monday, December 7 at 7 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church Organist, Karl Zinsmeister, will present a recital celebrating Advent and Christmas. The one-hour program is suitable for all ages and will include settings of familiar carols such as O Little Town of Bethlehem and Good Christian Friends, Rejoice, as well as less well-known carols From Heaven Above to Earth I Come, and the French carol Noel Nouvelet. Diverse settings of the same carol, as well as sets of variations are featured to demonstrate the wide range of registrations available—almost like an exercise in sampling every color and combination possible on an artist’s palette of paints. Works by J.S. Bach, Max Drischner, Ernst Pepping, Marcel Dupré, and Brenda Portman are included.
Karl Zinsmeister served as Director of Music for White Memorial Presbyterian Church from 2007-24. In his semi-retirement he serves as organist for First Presbyterian. He currently serves on the national board for Presbyterian Association of Musicians and will serve on the faculty for their 2027 Conference on Worship and Music in Montreat, North Carolina. In April 2027 Karl will present a recital on the recently installed Dobson organ at Bruton Parish of Colonial Williamsburg.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Tchaikovsky Piano Trio
Jackie Wolborsky, Violin
Nate Leyland, Cello
Solomon Eichner
Sunday, November 14, 2027
Don’t miss this performance of Tchaikovsky’s monumental Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50, performed by three of the Triangle’s extraordinary musicians.