St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York

Saint Thomas Church

Saint Thomas Church in New York City at Fifth Avenue at 53rd Street, built 1914
Denomination	Episcopal
Located	53rd Street and Fifth Avenue New York City
Founded	1823
Rector	The Rev. Andrew C. Mead, OBE, DD
Diocese	Episcopal Diocese of New York Episcopal Diocese of New York The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and...
Website	http://www.saintthomaschurch.org

Saint Thomas Church, located at the corner of 53rd Street

53rd Street (Manhattan)

53rd Street is a midtown cross street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, that contains buildings such as the Citicorp Building. It is 1.83 miles long. The street runs westbound from Sutton Place across most of the island's width, ending at DeWitt Clinton Park at Eleventh Avenue...

and Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...

in the borough of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, New York, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, is an Episcopal parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York

Episcopal Diocese of New York

The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and...

. It is also known as Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue or as Saint Thomas Church in the City of New York and was incorporated on 9 January 1824. The current structure, completed in 1914, is the fourth church built to house this congregation and was designed by the architects Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...

and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in the French High Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

style.

The church is home to the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys a choral

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

comprising men and boys which performs music of the Anglican tradition

Anglican church music

Anglican church music is music that is written for liturgical performance in Anglican church services.Almost all of it is written for choir with or without organ accompaniment...

at worship services and offers a full concert series during the course of the year. The boys of the Saint Thomas Choir (as the men are professional singers) are enrolled at the Saint Thomas Choir School

Saint Thomas Choir School

Saint Thomas Choir School is a church-affiliated boarding choir school in Manhattan, New York. It was founded in 1919 and is supported by the nearby Saint Thomas Church, an Episcopal church continuing the Anglican tradition of all-male choral ensembles...

, the only church-affiliated residential choir school in the United States.

Four buildings, two locations

On 12 October 1823, members of three Episcopal parishes in Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...

, including notably William Backhouse Astor

William Backhouse Astor

William Backhouse Astor may refer to:* William Backhouse Astor, Sr. , businessman and member of the Astor family* William Backhouse Astor, Jr. , businessman and son of the above...

(1792–1875), a wealthy Manhattan landowner, Charles King

Charles King (academic)

Charles King was an American academic, politician and newspaper editor. He succeeded Nathaniel Fish Moore to become the ninth president of Columbia College , holding the role from 7 November 1849 to 1864...

(1789–1867), later president of Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, and jurist William Beach-Lawrence, combined forces to organize a new episcopal church in New York. Saint Thomas Church was incorporated on 9 January 1824. With the cornerstone laid in July 1824 at the corner of Broadway and Houston Street, the first church edifice opened in 1826 and was described as "the best specimen of Gothic in the city." The location was the northern extent of developed settlement in Manhattan

Manhattan

during the early 19th Century. It was designed in a Gothic Revival style by architect Joseph R. Brady (1760–1832) and the Reverend John McVickar
(1787–1868), professor of moral philosophy at Columbia College

Columbia University

(now Columbia University). Though enlarged and remodeled in 1844 to accommodate a growing congregation, this structure was destroyed by fire on 2 March 1851. The church immediately rebuilt at this location, opening in 1852.

The character of the neighborhood at the corner of Broadway and Houston, known as Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...

had "degenerated into anchorage for cheap dance halls and 'concert salloons'" and led to the congregation seeking to relocate to its current location. The parish remained at this location until 1870, while a new church was built (from 1865–1870) at the present location on the corner of Fifty-Third Street

53rd Street (Manhattan)

and Fifth Avenue based upon a design by Richard Upjohn

Richard Upjohn

Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...

(1802–1878) and his son Richard Michell Upjohn (1828–1903) This third structure, at the time located in a neighborhood dominated by the mansions of Manhattan's upper class

Upper class

In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...

, featured a prominent 260 feet (79.2 m) high tower and a bas-relief reredos

Reredos

thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....

by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...

(1848–1907) and mural

Mural

A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...

s by John LaFarge

John LaFarge

John La Farge was an American painter, muralist, stained glass window maker, decorator, and writer.-Biography:...

(1835–1910). It was also noted as the scene of many high society

Upper class

weddings and funerals, including that of Consuelo Vanderbilt

Consuelo Vanderbilt

Consuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...

(1877–1964) to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough

Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough

Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough KG, PC , styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative politician...

(1871–1934), the first cousin of Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

(1874–1965). This structure was destroyed by fire in 1905, leaving only its trademark tower remaining.

The fourth and current church, designed in 1906, was built from 1911 to 1913 under a design by Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram

(1863–1942) and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue

Bertram Goodhue

Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue was a American architect celebrated for his work in neo-gothic design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for the Merrymount Press.-Early career:...

(1869–1924) of the architectural firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, and featuring an elaborate reredos

Reredos

Lee Lawrie

Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...

(1877–1963). It was consecrated on 25 April 1916. The design by Cram and Goodhue won an architectural competition to build the new Saint Thomas Church, winning over entries by George Browne Post (1837–1913) and Robert W. Gibson

Robert W. Gibson

Robert W. Gibson, AIA, was an English-born American ecclesiastical architect active in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century New York City and New York State. He designed several large Manhattan churches and a number of prominent residences and institutional buildings.Gibson studied...

.

Cram and Goodhue are also noted for having designed Saint Bartholomew's Church

Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York

St. Bartholomew's Church, commonly called St. Bart's, is a historic Episcopal parish founded in January 1835, and located on the east side of Park Avenue between 50th and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Former structures:...

on Park Avenue

Park Avenue (Manhattan)

Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....

and East 50th Street

50th Street (Manhattan)

50th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street runs eastbound from 12th Avenue, across the full width of the island, ending at Beekman Place and carries the M50 bus line, which returns on 49th Street...

, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York...

on Amsterdam Avenue and West 110th Street

110th Street (Manhattan)

110th Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is commonly known as the boundary between Harlem and Central Park, along which it is known as Central Park North. In the west, it is also known as Cathedral Parkway....

, the chapel and a large portion of the campus at the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

in West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

, the Princeton University Chapel at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

and the Rockefeller Chapel

Rockefeller Chapel

Rockefeller Chapel is, by order, the tallest building on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. It was meant by patron John D...

at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

September 11th ministry

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, Saint Thomas Church reached out to the British expatriate community

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

in recognition of its Anglican heritage. This culminated in an interfaith service held at the church on 20 September 2001. The service was addressed by Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

and broadcast live in its entirety throughout the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. On 28 October 2002, the rector of Saint Thomas Church, the Reverend Andrew C. Mead, was made an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

. The honor was conferred at a ceremony at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.

Rectors

	Rector	Years as Rector
1.	Cornelius Roosevelt Duffie	1824–1827
2.	George Upfold George Upfold George Upfold was the first Episcopal Bishop of Indiana after the diocese's division from the Missionary Diocese of the Northwest...	1827–1831
3.	Francis Lister Hawks	1831–1843
4.	Henry John Whitehouse Henry John Whitehouse Henry John Whitehouse was the second Episcopal bishop of Illinois.-Early life:Whitehouse was born in New York City, the son of John Whitehouse and Eliza Norman. He graduated from Columbia University in 1821, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1824. Whitehouse was ordained deacon in...	1844–1851
5.	???	1851–1857
6.	William Ferdinand Morgan	1857–1888
7.	?	1888–????
8.	John Wesley Brown	????–1901
9.	Ernest Milmore Stires	1901–1925
10.	Roelif Hasbrouck Brooks	1926–1954
11.	Frederick Myers Morris	1954–1972
12.	John Gerald Barton Andrew	1972–1996
13.	Andrew Craig Mead	1996–present

Architecture

The present church, a designated New York landmark, was built from 1911 to 1913, designed by a partnership of Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram

, who also designed the Princeton University

Princeton University

chapel, and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who designed nearby St. Bartholomew's church. Lee Lawrie

Lee Lawrie

Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...

designed the many sculptures and decorations, most notably the 60 figures of the magnificent reredos

Reredos

, which is 80 feet (24.4 m) high. First designs date from 1906, the church opened for services in 1913. Its magnificence is the happy result of a dramatic, impulsive act of compassion: The 1906 San Francisco earthquake

1906 San Francisco earthquake

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...

had so shocked the rector, Rev. Ernest Stires, that he rushed the accumulated balance in his parish's building fund to aid the stricken city. Throughout New York and beyond, an impressed public responded in kind to his generosity with unsolicited gifts that more than replenished the fund.

This masterpiece of a city church, with bold massing and a strong profile, has plain ashlar limestone exterior surfaces and sandstone interior surfaces in French High Gothic style, embellished with dense French Flamboyant Gothic detail in the window tracery, in the small arches of the triforium, and in the rich stonework of the reredos, where Bertram Goodhue's original genius in decoration, and sculpture designed, by Lee Lawrie

Lee Lawrie

Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...

, are inspired by the altar screen at Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...

in England.

St. Thomas church is characterized by a high main arcade and an open triforium, and clerestory. Making the most of a restricted rectangular urban corner site with no space for transepts, St. Thomas has the scale of a large parish church (which it is), and, except for its foreshortened length, the proportions of major European and English cathedrals, with nave vaults 95 feet (29 m) high.

The church, like New York's Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York...

, the largest Gothic church in the world, whose nave and west facade were designed by Cram, is built of stone on stone, without any steel reinforcing. The ribs of the vault are load-bearing structure. Cram's approach to a structurally authentic and a scholarly, but not imitative Gothic style, emphasized originality through logical development of the historical Gothic styles, tempered by creative scholarship and employing the use of modern machinery in the execution of stonecutting and dressing. In a letter of 1925 Cram said that he considered a rigorous modern Gothic to be "a logical continuation of the great Christian culture of the past, but also a vital contribution to modern life."

Cram excelled at planning buildings and at the general massing of forms, while Goodhue had an inventive eye for appropriate decorative detail. Often each worked on separate buildings, depending on the advice and approval of the other. Sometimes they worked together on major projects, as at Saint Thomas, their final collaboration.

Worship

The style of worship at Saint Thomas Church has varied greatly over the history of the parish. Beginning with the rectorship of John Andrew in 1972, however, it has followed the Anglo-Catholic or High Church

High church

The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...

tradition within the Episcopal Church that developed out of the Oxford Movement

Oxford Movement

The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...

. Sunday services vary between Low Mass

Low Mass

Low Mass is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him...

, Missa Cantata

Missa Cantata

Missa Cantata is a form of Tridentine Mass defined officially in 1960 as a sung Mass celebrated without sacred ministers, i.e., deacon and subdeacon.Other names in pre-1960 sources:...

, and Evensong

Evening Prayer (Anglican)

Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...

, and Solemn Mass

Solemn Mass

Solemn Mass , sometimes also referred to as Solemn High Mass or simply High Mass, is, when used not merely as a description, the full ceremonial form of the Tridentine Mass, celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of...

on Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

and Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

. Incense

Incense

Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...

is used in many Sunday and festival services, as well as Anglican choral music

Anglican chant

Anglican chant is a way to sing un-metrical texts, such as prose translations of the psalms, canticles, and other, similar biblical texts by matching the natural speech-rhythm of the words in each verse to a short piece of metrical music. It may be fairly described as "harmonized recitative"...

Choir of Men and Boys

Music has been an important component of worship and liturgy at Saint Thomas Church. The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is currently directed by John Scott

John Scott (organist)

John Gavin Scott LVO is an English-born organist and choirmaster. He directed the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral in London from 1990 to 2004. He now directs the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City...

, the organist and master of choristers. It follows in the Anglican tradition of the all-male choral ensemble. The choir's primary function is to provide music for five services each week, as well as an annual concert series sponsored by the Church. In addition, the choir has toured throughout the United States and Europe, with performances at Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

, St. Paul's Cathedral, London, King’s College, Cambridge and the Aldeburgh Festival

Aldeburgh Festival

The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...

. In 2004, the choir toured Italy and received a Papal audience at the Vatican

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

.

In 2005, the choir toured in the southern United States, with a benefit concert in New Orleans. Upon returning to New York, they performed in Saint Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

. Other appearances have included performances at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

, the Cleveland Orchestra

Cleveland Orchestra

The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...

, and alongside artists such as Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman

Jessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...

and Placido Domingo

Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...

. In addition, the choir gave the world-premiere performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem, which was subsequently televised internationally by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. The choir was also featured in a recording of Carly Simon

Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...

's "Let the River Run".

The boy choristers reside at Saint Thomas Choir School

Saint Thomas Choir School

, the only church-affiliated boarding choir school in the United States. In 2007, there were three tours to Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, Baton Rouge along with other domestic cities, and a tour to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

in the early summer.

The Choir typically records and releases one CD a year.

Organs

Musical offerings at Saint Thomas Church are enhanced through three organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

s. The Arents Memorial Chancel Organ was initially built as the "Opus 205" of the Ernest M. Skinner Company

Ernest M. Skinner

Ernest M. Skinner was one of the most successful American organ builders of the early 20th century.-Early years:...

of Boston, Massachusetts in 1913. This organ, which was revised in 1945, boasted 4 manuals and 77 ranks. In 1956, the organ was rebuilt, as "Opus 205-A", by the Aeolian-Skinner Company

Aeolian-Skinner

Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...

by G. Donald Harrison (d. 1956), who died before the work was completed. This rebuilding expanded the organ to comprise 172 ranks. With damage to the reredos

Reredos

and the organ due to construction of the Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...

, the church's immediate neighbor on West 53rd Street, Gilbert F. Adams of Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

was contracted in 1969 to repair and rebuilt the organ. This revision decreased the number of ranks to 156. Further revisions were completed in the early 1980s by Mann & Trupiano. With the exception of the Trompette-en-Chamade, located under the Rose Window above the narthex, the entire instrument of the Great Organ is located in the church's chancel. In its present form, the Great Organ features an Electro-pneumatic and electric-slider stop and chest action, a Solid-State combination action, 4 manuals, 158 ranks and 9,050 pipes.

The Loening-Hancock Gallery Organ was built as "Opus 27" of 'Taylor & Boody Organbuilders, Inc.' of Staunton, Virginia

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

in 1996 to honor Dr. Gerre Hancock

Gerre Hancock

Gerre Edward Hancock is an American organist, improviser, and composer. Hancock is currently Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at the University of Texas, Austin.Dr...

for 25 years of service to Saint Thomas Church. Located in the Gallery beneath the church's Rose Window, this organ features a mechanical key and stop action, 2 manuals, 25 stops, and 32 ranks. Its case sports
fumed white oak with pipe shades gilded in 23-karat gold. Its predecessor, the Loening Memorial Organ, dedicated in memory of Hermine Rubino Leoning, was built by Gilbert F. Adams in 1969 and featured 4 manuals, 59 stops, and 90 ranks.

The Martha J. Dodge Positiv Organ was built and installed in December 2001 by 'Taylor & Boody Organbuilders, Inc.' of Staunton, Virginia

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....

. This organ consists of 5 ranks, and is used as a continuo organ.

New Chancel Organ

On October 3, 2008, Saint Thomas Church announced the Vestry's decision to replace the aging Arents Memorial Chancel Organ with a new instrument. As part of a substantial renovation effort to the church, a new instrument from Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, Iowa, will be installed to replace the current instrument. Plans call for the retention of the especially ornate 1913 organ case-front and console cabinetry, and the elimination of visible pipework added above the choir stall canopies in the 1956 rebuild, to better respect the church's well-developed neo-Gothic design aesthetic.

Organists

George William Warren, 1870–1902
Will C. MacFarlane
T. Tertius Noble
T. Tertius Noble
Thomas Tertius Noble was an English-born organist and composer, resident in the United States for the latter part of his career...

, 1913–1943
T. Frederick Candlyn
T. Frederick Candlyn
Thomas Frederick Handel Candlyn was an English-born organist, composer and choirmaster who spent most of his professional career at two Episcopal Church congregations in New York....

, 1943–1954
William Self
William Self (organist)
William Shuford Self was an American organist and choirmaster.William Self was born April 22, 1906 in Lenoir, North Carolina. He studied at The Peabody Institute and New England Conservatory, where he received the Diploma and Soloist Diploma...

, 1954–1971
Gerre Hancock
Gerre Hancock
Gerre Edward Hancock is an American organist, improviser, and composer. Hancock is currently Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at the University of Texas, Austin.Dr...

, 1971–2004
John Scott
John Scott (organist)
John Gavin Scott LVO is an English-born organist and choirmaster. He directed the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral in London from 1990 to 2004. He now directs the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City...

, 2004–present

Stained glass

The stained glass windows in St. Thomas were designed by the great English stained glass artist, James Humphries Hogan (1883–1948), who worked for Powell & Sons (Whitefriars), Ltd., of London, from the age of 14 until his death. The windows in this church are considered by many stained glass experts to be some of the finest designs Hogan ever created. In 2007, conservation began in earnest on the Powell & Sons windows. It will require three years and $20 million to restore the 9 million pieces of glass. The largest windows will each require 4,500 man hours, the labor of one artisan for two and a half years.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Four buildings, two locations

September 11th ministry

Rectors

Architecture

Worship

Choir of Men and Boys

Organs

New Chancel Organ

Organists

Stained glass

See also

Further reading

External links