Calvary’s high-quality music program offers an opportunity for active participation by members of the parish of all ages. The focus of the music program is to enhance the parishioners’ experience of the presence of God through the majesty and mystery of the Anglican Church Music tradition.
The adult choir is a non-professional ensemble consisting of members of Calvary along with four post-secondary music students who are paid as Choral Scholars. The role of the Choral Scholars, who are principally drawn from the University of California Santa Cruz, is to enhance the work of the volunteer members of the choir; in turn, they gain professional experience as working musicians and learn the rich heritage of the Anglican repertoire.
Typically, the choir leads the congregation in singing hymns and service music and chanting the psalm appointed for the day in addition to presenting an offertory anthem. During the year the adult choir also sings two or three Evensong services, several Special Choral Eucharist services, an annual Lessons and Carols service, and extra services around the Easter and Christmas seasons. The music ministry at Calvary is supported by our Schoenstein pipe organ (Opus 84, 1981) installed at Calvary in 2018 as well as a 6-foot Steinway grand piano.
Adults and children interested in participating in Calvary’s choir should see Murray Walker after church or email him at mwalker@calvarysantacruz.org.
MURRAY C. WALKER has been the Director of Music and Choirmaster at Calvary Episcopal Church, Santa Cruz since 1996. A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Mr. Walker holds music degrees in choral conducting from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and California State University, Long Beach. He is retired from a forty-year career as a music educator, most recently at the York School in Monterey. His singing career has included the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the choirs of (the former) St. Paul’s Cathedral of Los Angeles, Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal and Norwich Cathedral in England. He served as conductor of the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony from 1988-1993. mwalker@calvarysantacruz.org
KATE SAPHIR, Organist has a special heart for chamber music, which has been a part of her family for generations, and a love of serving as church musician as she has done throughout her entire adult life. She is a pianist (BM in Piano Performance at San Francisco Conservatory), organist (Colleague of the American Guild of Organists), published composer (Episcopal Church Publishing), producer, and performer. Her Musical Soulmates program features a trio of musical projects: Performer’s Collective, Suzuki Piano Studio, and Harmony Youth Choir which showcase a kaleidoscopic range of music. Through Musical Soulmates Kate cultivates joy, healing, and connection through both process and performance of music. ksaphir@calvarysantacruz.org
2022-2023 CHORAL SCHOLARS
SOPRANO – LYDIA BARRETTis in the PhD program at the University of California Santa Cruz in cross-cultural musicology. Originally from South Carolina, Lydia studied vocal performance and music history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before taking a break from music and joining the US Peach Corps to teach English for two years on the Borgou region of northern Benin – where there was, of course, plenty of music! Lydia’s research interests include gender dynamics in trans-Saharan musical communities, nationalism and identity in the African postcolony, and the best way to replace eggs in baking.
ALTO – JENNIFER PARK, mezzo-soprano, is a third-year music student at UC Santa Cruz and plans to graduate with her Bachelor’s of Music this spring. Throughout her time as a musician, she has performed and toured with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, played major roles as a part of the UC Santa Cruz Opera program, and cantored in multiple churches in the Bay Area.
TENOR – CHRISTIAN BERNAL is a recent UCSC graduate in Music and Economics. Christian continues to sing locally at UCSC, Temple Beth El, and Calvary Episcopal Church, in addition to working as a financial analyst at Encompass Community Services. After five years of voice training with UCSC’s Dr. Emily Sinclair, this Leggiero Tenor now studies with San Francisco tenor, Jonathan Smucker.
BASS – CONOR WARSHAWSKY. I am a UCSC Bachelor of Music Student focusing on Classical Voice training. I have been working as a Choral Scholar since January of 2021 and have loved the opportunity to get to sing for my community! I look forward to continuing to further my vocal training in both Calvary’s choir and UCSC’s Opera program.
