Music at First Parish of Watertown
When you attend a worship service at First Parish, music is one of the reasons you come back! We want music to engage your body, heart, and soul, and it is always performed live in our sanctuary. Hymn-singing and piano music in many styles are part of our weekly ministry.
Services are often enhanced by guest musicians who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Classical, folk, ethnic, world music, some jazz, as well as popular music and music composed by contemporary artists. Those artists are often part of our congregation or friends from the musical community in the Boston area.
The First Parish Choir meets weekly to rehearse, and we sing in a church service once per month. The 2025-2026 rehearsal calendar is here. Again, the music we sing reflects a wide variety of styles to uplift both choir members and the congregation. The choir music we sing reflects the UU monthly themes.
Musicians at First Parish often collaborate on their own, which speaks to the huge amount of talent and interest in the arts that exists in our church community. You need only look across the aisle to see someone who might be happy to create something with you for our annual variety show. This was exactly how our First Parish rock n’ roll band began. Now, the band provides and supports the music at select worship services.
Our music directors welcome input from our community about what they want our music program to be. Please feel free to approach us!
Hand in Hand Hospice Singers serve the wider community in Watertown and beyond. Sponsored by First Parish, this group travels to hospice sites to sing for people who are ill or at the ends of their lives, bringing joy and serenity to their days. They rehearse weekly.
Musically Speaking Blog
Updates and reflections from Charlyn Bethell, Music Director
Musically Speaking – October 2024
Musically speaking, the practice of Deep Listening as the theme for October is just right. There are so many ways to listen. To a large ensemble playing is to hear the many parts that make the piece whole. This is true in our choir as we learn individual parts that match with other, differing musical lines. We can also be still to notice the sounds of nature. Might it be meaningful to turn off technology and notice what is left? Less can be more.
Musically Speaking – September 2024
Welcome back to our church home! It has been, in some ways, a long, hot summer. These days of lower humidity and cooler temps are making me grateful for fall. And fall brings us back together; I am grateful for weekly church services again with Rev. Sophia. For the...
Musically Speaking – June 2024
It is the time of the year when we look backward first in order to look forward. We have embraced such transformational change at First Parish this year! Looking back to a few highlights: We reconsidered the surroundings of our sanctuary, narthex, and conference room...
Musically Speaking – May 2024
What a busy time it is, and what a blessing “busy” is! Our theme is “pluralism” and we are busy in many directions. We are also doing things we have not done before. Let me explain. The First Parish Choir would, this very week, be getting ready for Music Sunday, as...
Musically Speaking – April 2024
I am writing this while in isolation, down with Covid. Maybe my brain is fuzzy, but I am particularly optimistic right now. Our choir sang last week without a conductor, and they sounded great! I cannot tell you how wonderful this feels. They were ready, but who knew...