Music Ministry
Welcome to The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton Music!
Music ministry is a vibrant and integral part of our worship and caring ministry to each other and to the world.
Our church is committed to a music ministry which is diverse and volunteer-rich. We celebrate the gifts of the community including our volunteer choir and the many members and friends who make music for us each week.
While COVID-19 prevents us from making music together in person at the moment, we continue to make music virtually and look forward to the time when we can be together again.
Join us in Music Ministry
There are so many ways to share musical gifts at First Unitarian including our Sunday choir, Spirit Singers, music Sundays, Fall Festivals, workshops and fundraising community events. We encourage people of all ages and abilities to get involved with music ministry.
Choir and Spirit Singers
CLICK HERE for information about our choirs.
- Sunday Choir
- Spirit Song Threshold Singers
Music for Its Own Sake
Twice a year we have music-focused services, Music for Its Own Sake, which allow congregants an opportunity to share their gift of music, instrumental or singing.
Fall Festival
This is our yearly congregational fundraiser and boy, do we have fun putting on shows. Past shows include Shine!, an old-time radio show, music through the last 125 years, and our wonderful UUs Got Talent!
Workshops
We love to offer workshops to enhance our music ministry. From soundscape, drumming to choral singing and oral traditions, we have hosted gifted and inspirational musicians including:
CUC AUUMM
We are active members of the larger Unitarian Universalist music community both in Canada and the US. We are members of the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries since 2007, and Rachel and Cindy, as well as other members of the music committee, attend the yearly conference. This has provided us the ability to deepen our music ministry, through choral selections or new ways to incorporate music into worship.
Staff
Rachel Derry, Music Director and Pianist/Accompanist
Rachel is the Music Director at the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton. She has her ARCT degree in piano performance as well as a BFA from York University in theatre performance. She has spent her life making music as a pianist, accompanist, teacher, vocalist, as a soloist or part of an ensemble. Rachel is also a singer/songwriter with her own band, Rachel and Her Kind. When she is not singing, Rachel is a social worker, working with children and families.
Cindy Carey, Choir Director
Cindy (Hons. B.A. Music/Theatre; B. Ed.) is a performing arts educator, director, composer and musician. A spiritual seeker since birth, Cindy found a home at Hamilton First in the mid 1990s and has been directing the UU choir for over 20 years. Cindy also works as a community theatre musical director and a chant leader for a local nada yoga program. Cindy is a firm believer in the healing power of music, particularly group singing. Since church has gone zoom, Cindy spends much of her time creating music videos for Sunday morning services.
Music Team
Our Music Team meets approximately once a month. The team’s work includes planning music for worship, budget planning, workshop planning and executing and our favourite activity, singing!
2022 members include: Beverly Horton (Lead), Joanne Dear, Ian Challenger, Bruce Jones, Mary Ann Forbes, Cindy Carey and Rachel Derry.