MUSIC

Trinity’s music program provides opportunities for all age groups to make joyful noise. Music instruction is incorporated into our Sunday School program and a children’s choir often provides music on a seasonal basis.
 
The parish choir sings weekly at the 10am Choral Eucharist from September to May. Membership in the choir is open to all. The choir typically chants the psalm and performs an anthem each week. In addition, the choir sings a Requiem Eucharist on Remembrance Day, an annual service of Lessons and Carols (Kings College model) in December, and a variety of choral literature to mark feast days during the liturgical year.

Director of Music

Ryan Malone was appointed Director of Music and Organist in 2015. He completed his undergraduate studies at the College of the Holy Cross where he held the Liturgical Music and Organ Scholarship. From there he continued his studies at Duke University where he earned an A.M. and Ph.D. in composition. At Trinity, Ryan directs the parish choir, administers the choral scholar program, and serves as organist for the Choral Eucharist on Sunday mornings. Prior to Trinity, Ryan worked for over a decade as an organist and choral director in metropolitan New Jersey where he founded Sacred Heart Schola, a professional ensemble that performed a complete choral Mass setting and Gregorian proper at the church’s weekly high Mass.
 
Concurrent to his appointment at Trinity, Ryan is Associate Professor of Music at Bucknell University where he teaches courses in music theory, the history of western music, and organ performance. His research focuses on the choral music of Moravian musician and cleric Johann Friedrich Peter (1746–1813), music and identity in Moravian communities, and eighteenth-century performance practice.
 
Ryan lives in Lewisburg with his wife Bethany and their two children, Bastien and Adelaide.

The Choral Scholar Program

In Fall 2015, Trinity launched a Choral Scholar Program aimed at strengthening the church’s music program. Since this time, the program has exceeded all expectations: our choir sings a four-part motet on a weekly basis, musical offerings throughout Advent, Lent, and Holy Week are on par with those performed by cathedrals and churches in major metropolitan areas, and our annual Festival of Lessons and Carols continues to draw an unprecedented attendance from the Williamsport community.

We refer to our singers as “Choral Scholars,” not paid singers. As such, our student singers are “appointed,” not hired, and receive a “scholarship,” not wages. We believe these distinctions are important, especially when we consider how this program dovetails with our mission and outreach to the community.

The students who participate in our program greatly benefit from the financial assistance they receive from Trinity. In addition, over the course of the semester, students form a bond with choir members and parishioners. Students sometimes linger after the services at the coffee hour and parishioners have attended the students’ on-campus performances, such as senior recitals and ensemble performances. 

Our choral scholars invigorate and challenge our volunteer core and make it possible for our choir to perform the choral repertoire of the Anglican tradition on a weekly basis. Since the program’s initiation, the church has welcomed several new members—many of whom mention the quality of Trinity’s music program as a key factor in their discernment process.

The benefit to our students is tremendous. Musically, this program affords students an opportunity to complement what they learn in the classroom with a real life professional experience. These opportunities enable our choral scholars to develop the professional skill sets that they will need post-graduation. Beyond music-making, our choral scholars report that they see Trinity as a welcoming spiritual home.

Donations are always welcome to the Choral Scholar Program!

Kawaii Piano donated by Susan Anderson

A Remembrance of Trinity Episcopal Boy's Choir by Robert B. Hamilton, Jr.