Music

Chancel Choir

The Chancel Choir sings weekly at the 10:00am worship service from September through May. Comprised of both professional and amateur musicians, the Chancel Choir is open to anyone of high school age and above. On any given Sunday, you might find the choir singing a classical anthem, a spiritual, a gospel song, or a newly commissioned anthem. Rehearsals are on Wednesday from 7:00-9:00pm in the sanctuary.

FPC Ringers

Directed by Andrew Herbruck, these new and experienced bell ringer volunteers prepare anthems with our 6 octave set of Malmark and Schulmerich Handbells and 5 octave set of Malmark Handchimes. FPC Ringers play at the 10:00am worship service once a month from September through May.

Children experience choir every week as a part of Sunday School.

At 10:00am Worship, children begin in the Sanctuary and then go to classrooms after Time with the Younger Church (approximately 15 minutes into worship). At 10:50am, both CrossWalks and Worship Wonder classes will transition to our music program. CrossWalks children will go to the New Song Studio and have Children’s Choir from 10:50-11:20am led by Charlotte Marjorie.  The children in Worship Wonder will go to Room 218 and have  Music Makers from 10:50-11:20am led by Jessica Sinta.

CONCERTS AT FIRST

Concerts at First offers a variety of programming from chamber and large ensembles to soloists to community sings. Please check out our Concert Brochure Below.

Pipe Organ

We are justifiably proud of the pipe organ in our sanctuary. Installed in 2009, our Nichols and Simpson organ is regarded as one of the finest Metro Detroit. It has been played by many of the world's great organists including: Chelsea Chen, Christopher Houlihan, James Kibbie, Olivier Latry, Nathan Laube, Thomas Ospital, Cherry Rhodes, and Jean-Baptiste Robin. The Nichols & Simpson organ for First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Michigan replaces a Casavant organ that was built in 1953. The three-manual Casavant instrument was installed in one chamber on the side of the chancel. The Nichols & Simpson organ has 50 stops and 64 ranks of pipes, of which 12 stops or portions thereof are incorporated into the new organ from the Casavant. The church interior was completely redesigned architecturally by Constantine George Pappas Architects of Troy Michigan and acoustically by Riedel and Associates of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The chancel width was opened up, and most of the organ is across the front of the chancel fronted by new casework designed by Frank Friemel. The new four-manual console is constructed of American Cherry and features manual keys with coverings of bone and rosewood. The drawknobs are of rosewood with bone faces inset for engraving. The tilting tablets are of bone. The five expression shoes are solid rosewood. The wind pressures for the organ range from 4″ for the Great division to 6″ for the Solo division, with the separately enclosed Tuba stop on a wind pressure of 15″.