“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.”
Welcome to the St. John Westminster Music Department!
St. John is home to a varied music program that is dedicated to offering quality music designed solely to enhance the worship of the Catholic faithful. Virtually all musicians participating in these programs are volunteers drawn from the parish who generously share their time, talents and treasure with their parish.
At present, the groups providing music at our liturgies include:
• St. John Adult Choir
• St. John Coro (Spanish)
• St. John Coro de Ninos (Spanish)
• Sunday 9am Mass Contemporary Music Group
• Sunday 6pm Mass Contemporary Music Group
• Children’s Handbell Ensemble (Children/teens grades 9-12)
If you are interested in joining any of these groups, please contact Michael Gaffney, Director of Music at mgaffney@archbishopcurley.org and he will be happy to provide detailed information and answer any questions regarding membership in these groups.
The Organ at St. John
St. John is blessed with a magnificent pipe organ which, appropriately, has grown with the parish. The original organ, which was built in 1930 by the M.P. Moeller Organ Company, was installed in the original St. John Church on Main Street in downtown Westminster. M.P. Moeller is the largest pipe organ manufacturer in the world and was based in Hagerstown, Maryland. Moeller has built organs for such distinguished venues as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Cadet Chapels at the U.S Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
The original St. John’s Moeller organ was designed by renowned American organist Virgil Fox. It consisted of 24 ranks (or rows) of pipes, each rank producing a different sound and contain approximately 1,600 pipes. The pipes range in height from the size of a pencil to over 18 feet. Most of these pipes remain in the organ today. Many parishioners enjoy knowing that the same pipes that played for their parents’ or grandparents’ weddings, funerals, or baptisms are the same pipes they hear at Mass every weekend!
In 1972, St. John moved to its present campus on the north side of Westminster and the 1930 Moeller organ moved with it. The instrument was enlarged and rebuilt by the Moeller company before being installed in the new church, now known as the Portico, our parish hall. There, the instrument continued to serve until 2003.
In 2003, the current St. John church was constructed. With a far larger worship space, the organ needed again to be enlarged and, after years of constant use, rebuilt. Since the Moeller company had ceased operations in 1992, the church entrusted the Peregallo Organ Company of Paterson, N.J. with this project. The organ presently resides in St. John Church and provides music for hundreds of Masses and services each year.
Currently, the organ consists of 39 ranks of pipes, played from a three-manual and pedal console. The pipes are arranged in lofty chambers on either side of the church sanctuary. While the pipes are not visible from the pews, they are thankfully all audible!