Excellence in music has always been a vital ministry of St. Richard’s. St. Richard’s maintains an Episcopal tradition of sacred classical music, encompassing musical literature from chant to contemporary composers.

Adult Choir

St. Richards adult choir is comprised of volunteer and scholarship singers. Rehearsals are held Thursday nights at 7:30 and Sunday mornings at 9:45.  New members are welcome. Contact our choirmaster Geoffrey S. Shoffstall for an audition.

Bell Choir

St. Richard’s English Handbell Choir rehearses Thursday evenings at 6:30.  Our handbell choir rings three octaves of English handbells made by Schulmerich.  The bell choir plays for services throughout the year and for special occasions.  Interested ringers are encouraged to contact Mr. Shoffstall.

Jazz Mass

One of the most successful features of music at St. Richard’s is the Dixieland Jazz Mass.  After searching for a new contemporary mass setting, other than the frequently-used folk mass settings, a decision was made to attempt to locate a jazz mass setting that would be appropriate and enjoyable.  After a nationwide search failed to produce results, we were referred to a noted New Orleans jazz composer, Jim Campbell.  Mr. Campbell was commissioned by St. Richard’s to compose a setting for the mass in a Dixieland Jazz idiom. The resulting Dixieland Jazz Mass is copyrighted, and the copyright is held by St. Richard’s.

The first premier celebration of the mass, using this setting, was conducted by the composer.  Music for this mass is played by a professional jazz ensemble.  The use of this mass setting has been tremendously well received by overflow crowds of parishioners and guests. 

Musical Instruments at St. Richard's

Organ

St. Richard’s has one of the premier tracker pipe organs in Central Florida – Opus 52 by Visser-Rowland.  It is a suspended action instrument.  Suspended action preceded the lever action and square lever action instruments, making the design of this organ historically significant.  The connection from the keyboard to pipe is direct (there is no lever in between); thus the touch is responsive and immediate.  This instrument is basically made of wood – oak, maple, suparpine, poplar, padauk, and pearwood.  The pipes are constructed of tin, lead, copper, nickel, and antimony.  There are fourteen stops with one duplex, and seventeen ranks, or sets of pipes, comprising a total of 890 pipes.

Harpsichord

The harpsichord in the church is a Flemish single manual instrument, constructed for the church by Glenn Giuttari from Zuckermann parts.