Music
Music
We strive for high-quality music with congregational singing accompanied by organ, piano, and other instruments at the first service and a band at the second. Our services engage the talents of members in our choirs, hand-bell ensembles, and as vocal soloists and instrumentalists. Musical offerings enhance the message for the day and feature a wide range of musical styles. Our two Sunday services follow the same pattern, but with a different flavor.
The Soli Deo Gloria Choir of First Lutheran Church is one of the most active and vibrant musical ensembles in the Duluth-Superior community. The choir strives to enrich our lives, our community, and our worship with beautiful and meaning music. From September through May, the choir provides musical leadership and choral music for the 8:30 AM worship services at First Lutheran, as well as music on Christmas Eve and Holy Week. For over seventy years, the choir has commemorated Good Friday with performances of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. Rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings (September – May) from 7:15 – 8:45 PM and all high school and adult singers are welcome to be a part of this musical community.
Please contact Dr. Michael Fuchs (michael@flcduluth.org) for more information or with any questions that you might have.
Opus 52 Jaeckel Organ
The sanctuary houses two tracker action pipe organs by local builder, Daniel Jaeckel. The small organ, Op. 1, purchased from a church which was closing, was originally placed in the balcony, then moved to the front of the sanctuary to lead singing while the the new instrument was being built and installed. Jaeckel’s model was the south German organ of J. S. Bach’s era, its primary purpose to lead congregational singing of hymns and liturgy. Other ranks of pipes were included to make it a versatile instrument capable of playing the full range of organ literature and accompanying choirs and instrumentalists.
Youth Ringers offers handbell choir experience for middle school – high school youth, usually rehearses Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m., but future rehearsal day/time negotiable. The Ringers play for worship, and occasionally take their music into the community. Contact Karen Sande, director, for more information:
Jubilation Ringers handbell choir for adults, rehearses Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. We have five octaves of bells and 4 octaves of handchimes, and enjoy playing in worship and participating in local and area bell festivals. Contact Karen Sande, director, for more information.
From college choirs to avant garde, our space is sought out and we are pleased to host many local college and community choirs, orchestras, and bands, as well as those from regional Lutheran colleges. Recent concerts have been performed by Arrowhead Chorale, Twin Ports Choral Project, Greenlight New Music Project, American Guild of Organists, and TubaChristmas. Let us know if you or your group would like to perform here.
The Rising Sound
“The Rising Sound” at First Lutheran Church is a fun mix of styles and personalities that come together to lead weekly worship in a way that aims to reach people through unique and genuine experiences with music. Although our repertoire primarily consists of modern worship songs, we also enjoy branching out into other styles such as Celtic, Jazz and Folk music. Worship in the Park during the summer is a particularly fun time for the band, when we play outside near the beauty of Lake Superior. We are always looking to expand our team vocally and instrumentally, and enjoy adding new sounds and songs to our repertoire. Please contact Bryan Gatten at bjgatten@gmail.com.
First Lutheran Church
1100 E. Superior St.
Duluth, MN 55802
