Our Choir is an active, lively, and welcoming group of committed musicians, led by our Music Minister Marilyn Brayne.
We rehearse on Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 pm as well as Sundays at 9am and prepare two choral pieces for the Sunday service. We enjoy making music together and the spiritual reward of sharing our musical gifts with the congregation.
Marilyn Brayne, of Amherst, holds a Master of Arts from McGill University in her native Montreal. Marilyn has been working for South Congregational Church as organist and then Minister of Music for over 30 years. Marilyn brings the joy of sharing sacred music to young and old alike. In 2012 she supervised the installation at South Church of the restored 1896 Casavant organ by Czelusniak et Dugal. With a Bachelor of Music in School Music, she previously taught general music to all students at Hadley Elementary School for many years.
About Our 1896 Casavant Organ
South Church’s 1896 Casavant Organ, Opus 74, was originally installed at Saint Ann’s Church in Woonsocket, RI, which primarily served the immigrants who worked at the Woonsocket mills. When three Woonsocket churches merged 85 years later, the “St. Hyacinthe” organ was acquired by the St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center, which intended to restore the instrument; however, other priorities prevailed. Parkman S. Shaw Jr., of Brookline, MA, purchased the organ and made arrangements with Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., of Northampton to document and remove the instrument with all its pipes and parts so that it could be restored and installed in a church in the greater Boston area. Two Boston sites were considered, but neither proved to be a good fit, physically or visually. The disassembled organ was then placed in safe storage until a new home could be found.
When South Congregational Church faced the prospect of having to make major repairs to its Berkshire organ in early 2011, the church’s Organ Committee advocated purchasing and rebuilding the available 1896 Casavant organ. The congregation voted to purchase the organ and contract with Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc. to build and install the instrument. It was first played in a church service on September 9, 2012.
