Music at St. Martin’s

Image: The Music Window, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Providence, RI
Photos: David Brookhart

At St. Martin’s, music sets the drum beat, so to speak, of our worship, helping to regulate the flow of the liturgy. We envision music as an instrument of Christian formation and spiritual growth as well as community outreach. We believe in the power of traditional sacred music to speak to the longings of many who seek to find their spiritual path. And because that path leads amidst the challenges of contemporary life, we constantly pursue new and creative directions for our music ministry.

Adult Choir

Join the rich tradition of Anglican church music.

Kids Choir

Learn beautiful music and make new friends!

Evensong

The crowning glory of Anglican church music.

The Adult Choir at St. Martin’s includes church members of wide-ranging experience and ability, expertly led by four professional singers, one for each voice part, under the direction of Dr. Gabe Alfieri, himself a professional singer, voice teacher, and musicologist. Our goal is to match high-quality music to the strengths of the group within the venerable and ongoing tradition of Anglican church music. No audition required; all you need is a love of music and the desire to sing! We generally rehearse Thursdays 7:30-9 pm. For more information, contact Gabe Alfieri at galfieri@stmartinsprov.org.

Our Kids Choir aims to give young musicians the experience of making music and having fun while developing their singing voices, learning to work as an ensemble, and performing with the Adult Choir five times per church year.

The choir is open to all children. We hold our music in trust as a resource to support not only parish worship but also the musical education of young people in the wider community. Thus, it is not necessary to be an Episcopalian, or even a Christian, to join the group, and no audition is required. We generally rehearse Thursdays 6:15-7:00 pm. For more information, contact the director, Dr. Gabe Alfieri, at galfieri@stmartinsprov.org.

Evensong is the Anglican equivalent of Sung Vespers and epitomizes the glory of our musical tradition. As the office for early evening, its prayers and cadences reflect the biorhythms of twilight, when the sun’s rays are fading and the lamps are lit for night.

At St. Martin’s we are committed to the reintroduction of Evensong on the second Sunday of each month, October through June, at 4:30 pm. The service is generally sung a cappella by our quartet of professional singers, except for two special services per church year, where the full choir, organ, and occasional guest instrumentalists are added.

Before accepting the position of Direct of Choirs at St. Martin’s, Gabe Alfieri, PhD, was the choir’s bass soloist for many years. He is an active professional vocalist as well as a teacher and music scholar. Currently on the faculty at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, he taught previously at the New England Conservatory, Providence College, and elsewhere, in both the studio and classroom, as well as directing. He holds a Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in voice performance (Rhode Island College), two Master’s degrees with academic honors, in voice/pedagogy and musicology (New England Conservatory), and a Ph.D. in musicology (Boston University). As an active music scholar, professional singer, and master voice teacher, Gabe bring to his work at St. Martin’s a combination of skills rare among church choir directors.

Steven Young, DMA, AAGO, serves as a Professor of Music at Bridgewater State University where he teaches courses in Music Theory and conducts the University’s choral ensembles. His research interests focus on French organists of the late Romantic era, and he has published articles about Charles Quef, Pierre Kunc, and Aloys Claussmann. He has also written the liner notes for a series of recording of the music of Louis Vierne performed by Christine Kamp on the Festivo label. As a performer, he has given concerts throughout the US and in Europe, and has recorded several of the organ works of the Boston-based composer Henry M. Dunham for the AFKA label. He lives in Taunton, MA, where he enjoys cooking, gardening, and reading in his spare time.