Brief History of Music at First and Franklin

Written by Katherine Klier
Edited by Jason Kissel

Beautiful church music movingly presented by organ and choir has always been significant in worship at The First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church.  A variety of musical periods and styles are represented in the anthems, organ selections and congregational hymns chosen to carry the message of each service.  The Sanctuary Choir, notable for its excellent quality of tone, is open to all people who love to sing.  Comprised of both volunteer and paid singers, this outstanding ensemble leads in weekly worship September through June, and sings for special services and concerts throughout the liturgical year. 

Under such past directors as James Winship Lewis and James Valliant, the merged church continued the tradition begun earlier at The First Presbyterian Church of performing oratorios and other large choral works.  The congregation has been blessed by its proximity to the Peabody Conservatory, for singers and instrumentalists studying at the school have long enriched the church’s musical life.  Jason Kissel, a doctoral candidate at Peabody, is today the church’s gifted Director of Music and Organist.

Under Mr. Kissel’s leadership, First and Franklin’s music ministry has grown to encompass a children’s component and the Music Under the Spire concert series.

The present three-manual and pedal pipe organ, built and installed in 1961 by Austin Organs, Inc. of Hartford, Connecticut, is the fourth pipe organ to serve the church, with previous instruments by prestigious American organ builders Hilborne Roosevelt and Ernest M. Skinner.  Reid Chapel houses a small Neo-Baroque pipe organ built and installed in 1940 by the M.P. Möller firm of Hagerstown, Maryland.  The church sanctuary also houses a two-manual Hubbard harpsichord.

For more information or to become involved in the music ministry at First and Franklin, please contact Jason Kissel at 410-728-5545, ext. 17.