choir singing

[Gregory2]

I think it's silly for choir members to be paid for their singing, Orthodox or non-Orthodox, especially if no one is forcing them to do it. In these times, it's wasted money -- money the parish could use for something else like a new building or to support a mission or to give to an orphanage. Where I used to worship in suburban DC, the choir director was paid a nominal sum, but he made sure that people knew he just donated it right back to the Church (thank God). You don't sing in order to make money!

an aside question for you ROCORites: people above are saying that Bishop Gabriel is in the Synodal cathedral in Manhattan. I thought it was Metropolitan Laurus? Isn't he the Metropolitan of ROCOR these days?? Isn't that the ROCOR "First Hierarch's" cathedral? Who is Bishop Gabriel?

[Savva24]

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an aside question for you ROCORites: people above are saying that Bishop Gabriel is in the Synodal cathedral in Manhattan. I thought it was Metropolitan Laurus? Isn't he the Metropolitan of ROCOR these days?? Isn't that the ROCOR "First Hierarch's" cathedral? Who is Bishop Gabriel?

Yes, Metropolitan Laurus is the Metropolitan of the Church Abroad. But he stays, for the most part in Jordanville, in the monastery where he has been abbot for many years. Bishop Gabriel is titled ''Bishop of Manhattan''. The Metropolitan doesn't nessessarily have to stay in the Synodal Cathedral. From what I understand, when metropolitan Vitaly was the first heirarch, he stayed most of his time in Canada (where he remains).

In Christ,

Nicholas (Savva)

[rebecca]

I think you have to give people time to get better. Years ago, when I started singing the bass part, I was mortified if I had to do it alone because I needed someone to tune me. Now, I'm pretty good, can hear my own voice, and am confident doing it alone (I even sing it alone to myself sometimes --- scary stuff )

I agree. We have several people in our parish like that. What I'm more worried about is

1.people who have tried to sing for months and still can't match a pitch with a person of the same part singing it in their ear, and

2.people who come to church very infrequently and "butt into" the choir. They don't come often enough to church (let alone practices) to improve, but they still spontaneously join the choir every once in a while.

As for paying singers, that's bad. Hiring non Orthodox people seems very contrived. You want the sounds and words coming from the choir to reflect what the choir is feeling in its heart. Also, I really don 't like that melodramatic, western, operatic-sounding liturgical music. I usually prefer calm, in tune, simple monastic-type chant, although I like doing some fancier variations for big feasts.