Advent Chorale | Voices of Praise Choir | Summer Choir | Solo Opportunities
Music Mondays | Our Co-Directors of Music | More music events...

Advent Chorale
Music has historically been an important part of the Lutheran tradition and Advent is no exception. The Advent Chorale, one of the church's all-volunteer choirs, leads the congregation in worship on weekly basis. The Chorale's repertoire embraces the full range of the church's musical tradition, from the early medieval period, through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic movements, up to and including the American Spiritual and modern and contemporary composers.

If you enjoy singing music in parts, we'd love to have you jump in as a soprano, alto, tenor or bass. Advent Chorale is a great way to sing beautiful music, enjoy fellowship with the other singers and musicians, and inspire the congregation at our weekly worship. Wednesday rehearsals are at 7:30 pm, and Sunday mornings before the morning services.

Contact Aaron Wunsch, Advent's Director of Music, if you are interested: awunsch@gmail.com.
Voices of Praise

Advent's Voices of Praise Choir ("VOP") brings modern and contemporary Christian repertoire to Advent's worship services. We are a diverse group of enthusiastic singers of all ages who are united by our love for sharing the gospel message with inspired and uplifting song. We take time during rehearsal to share devotions and support each other in prayer. You don't need to be able to read music to join us and participate regularly in Advent's Sunday worship services. Just bring your joy of singing and fellowship!

Voices of Praise is open to all ages and rehearses on Thursday evenings. If you would like to join us, please contact Emily Ballentine at emilyballentine@gmail.com.
Summer Choir

While Voices of Praise and the Advent Chorale are resting during July and August, that doesn't mean our music comes to a halt! Please join us every Sunday in July and August at 10:15am for the summer pick-up choir. Led by either Emily, Jordan, or Aaron, we will learn an easy anthem at 10:15 to sing during the 11am service. Please see Emily, Jordan, or Aaron if you have questions, and we hope to see (and hear) you all summer long!
Solo Opportunities

Our location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan means that many members of Advent are performing arts professionals; many others are aspiring or retired artists who are actively performing. These artists, both singers and instrumentalists, perform regularly in church services, in vocal and orchestral solos, duets and ensembles. Whether you are an accomplished professional or a gifted amateur, Advent Lutheran has a place for you. If you are interested in sharing your musical gifts, please contact Aaron Wunsch (awunsch@gmail.com), Emily Ballentine (emilyballentine@gmail.com) or Jordan Clawson (jordanclawson@gmail.com), Advent's Co-Directors of Music.
Music Mondays Free Concert Series

Come hear beautiful music in a beautiful space! Music Mondays are free concerts on the third Monday of every month at 7:30 pm. Music Mondays brings a wide variety of artists and musical genres to our Upper West Side neighborhood. Offered by the congregations of Advent Lutheran Church and Broadway United Church of Christ, which share the beautiful building at 2504 Broadway at 93rd Street, all concerts are free and open to the public.

Donations are gratefully accepted and support the costs of the concert series.

Visit our Advent Music Mondays page for more information.

  • October 15 - The Claremont Trio
    Emily Bruskin, violin; Julia Bruskin, cello; Donna Kwong, piano
    www.claremonttrio.com
    The award-winning Claremont Trio is "positively spellbinding" (Palm Beach Daily News). Last season the New York Times declared their performance on the Prism Concert Series a “highlight,” and this season their busy performance schedule includes the Mostly Mozart and Saratoga Music Festivals and tours of the Midwest and Hawaii. The ’07-‘08 Music Mondays season starts up with their exciting performance—join them immediately afterwards for a special opening night reception!
    November 19 - The Ikarus Chamber Players
    The versatile American,Canadian, and British members of Ikarus are internationally acclaimed soloists and chamber musicians who have performed at many of the world's most prestigious concert halls and festivals as well as with folk, indie, and jazz bands. Their Music Mondays concert brings together wind, brass, and string instruments for a varied program of old and new masterworks.
    December 17 - Argento Ensemble
    Applauded by the New York Times for their "dynamic and charged" playing, the Argento Chamber Ensemble has established a reputation for delivering unforgettable performances of new music from every part of the world. Argento tours widely, with past performances in Ireland, Turkey, and China. Their first recording, released in the fall of 2007 on the AEON label, received worldwide critical acclaim.
    January 7 - ECCO
    Music Mondays is thrilled to welcome back ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), whose previous concert on the series drew standing ovations. A hot ticket, ECCO performed at the Kennedy Center in 2006; the Washington Post declared: “The youthful vigor of the group created a kind of heat that took the music-making to a higher or deeper place.” You have to hear them to believe it!
    February 18 - So Percussion
    Josh Quillen, percussion; Adam Sliwinski, percussion; Jason Treuting, percussion; Lawson White, percussion
    www.sopercussion.com
    Called "astonishing and entrancing" by Billboard, and "brilliant" by the New York Times, members of So Percussion will play a special program exploring the music and influence of mind-bender John Cage. With a following comprised of "both kinds of blue hair... elderly matron here, arty punk there" (as the Boston Globe described it), the members of So Percussion make a rare and wonderful breed of music that both compels instantly and offers vast rewards for engaged listening.
    March 10 - The Jupiter String Quartet
    Nelson Lee, violin; Meg Freivogel, violin; Liz Freivogel, viola; Daniel McDonough, cello
    www.jupiterquartet.com
    Lauded for their “energetic firmness and fine nuance” by the New York Times, the Boston-based Jupiter Quartet has quickly defined itself as one of the finest, most exuberant quartets in the country. This season they begin a prestigious three-year residency at the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two, and they will perform a tour of the Netherlands this spring amidst a busy season of concerts across the nation.

    April 14 - Trio Cavatina
    Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano; Harumi Rhodes, violin; Priscilla Lee, cello
    The three consummate chamber musicians of Trio Cavatina showed great promise during their first performing season last year, which included appearances at the New School and in Merkin Concert Hall. Other engagements this season will take the trio to Maine, Vermont, and Vilnius, Lithuania.
    May 12 - The Young Eight
    Mariana Green-Hill, violin; Monica Davis, violin; Chala Yancy, violin; Quinton I. Morris, violin; Amber Archibald, viola; Dawn Michelle Smith, viola; Caleb Jones, cello; Tahira Whittington, cello
    www.theyoungeight.com
    The Young Eight, a group of eight accomplished African American string players, has established itself as one of the next generation's most dynamic and energetic chamber ensembles. Their busy touring schedule includes performances in New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Austin, yet they also find time for a series of residency programs, seminars and workshops geared towards exposing children and communities around the country to classical music.
    June 16 - Baroque Orchestra of North Jersey
    The final season concert represents a truly special event. On Monday, June 16, 2008, Music Mondays will present the modern-day premiere of the complete version of Alessandro Scarlatti's 1693 oratorio La Giuditta (Judith), edited by Maestro Robert W. Butts from the original manuscript in the collection of the National Park Service in Morristown, NJ, and performed by the ensemble and soloists of BONJ.

Music Mondays Artistic Director and pianist, Aaron Wunsch, appears regularly on concert stages throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. Praised for his bold interpretive skills and communicative sensitivity, he is equally at home in music from every era—his performances include his own transcriptions of Renaissance composer Palestrina, Baroque music on the harpsichord, and world premieres of contemporary music. Recent performances include the Salle Cortot in Paris, Royal Albert Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and a ten-city solo recital tour of China that garnered critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience responses. Also lauded for his “masterful” chamber music performances (Hartford Courant), he has appeared at the Norfolk, Bowdoin, Sarasota, Great Lakes, and Yellow Barn chamber music festivals, collaborating in performance with renowned artists including Peter Frankl, Lynn Harrell, Andrew Jennings, and the New York Woodwind Quintet. A native of Wisconsin, he received his Bachelor’s degree cum laude from Yale University before studying abroad as a Fulbright Scholar at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at The Juilliard School, where he is also completing his doctorate.

Founder and Music Mondays Artistic Advisor, Paul Hostetter, is the Director of Orchestral Studies at Montclair State University, Music Director of the High Mountain Symphony and the New Jersey Youth Symphony, and Artistic Director for the Winter Sun Music Festival (St. Petersburg, FL). Mr. Hostetter has appeared as guest conductor with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, the New York City Opera, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Prism Chamber Orchestra, the Genesis Opera Company, the Daylesford Sinfonia (Bermuda), and the Colonial Symphony. On Broadway, he was the Associate Conductor for Leonard Bernstein's Candide where he led over forty performances. As a recording artist he has collaborated with Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, and Joe Lovano with strings from the Orchestra of St. Luke's in a recording for Telarc as well as with Heidi Grant Murphy and members of Aureole and the Metropolitan Opera for Koch. He has also recorded for the CRI, Zadick, Mode, Albany, and Milkin Archive labels. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor on the faculty of Montclair State University

Our Co-Directors of Music
Aaron Wunsch
Pianist Aaron Wunsch appears regularly on concert stages throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Far East. Praised for his bold interpretive skills and communicative sensitivity, he is equally at home in music from every era-his performances include his own transcriptions of Renaissance composer Palestrina, Baroque music on the harpsichord, and world premieres of contemporary music. Recent performances include the Salle Cortot in Paris, Royal Albert Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and a ten-city solo recital tour of China that garnered critical acclaim and enthusiastic audience responses. Also lauded for his "masterful" chamber music performances (Hartford Courant), he has appeared at the Norfolk, Bowdoin, Sarasota, Great Lakes, and Yellow Barn chamber music festivals, collaborating in performance with renowned artists including Peter Frankl, Lynn Harrell, Andrew Jennings, and the New York Woodwind Quintet. A native of Wisconsin, he received his Bachelor's degree cum laude from Yale University before studying abroad as a Fulbright Scholar at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at The Juilliard School, where he is also completing his doctorate.

Emily Ballentine
Emily Ballentine holds a degree in piano performance suma cum laude with honors from James Madison University in Virginia. Before moving to New York, she was employed by the Delaware Symphony Orchestra as music librarian and education and operations associate. She is currently the artist services and contract administrator with Colbert Artist Management in Manhattan. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Education at Teachers College - Columbia University.

Jordan Clawson
Jordan Clawson is a pianist and vocalist living in Manhattan. A Jazz Studies graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Jordan performs jazz, pop and original music and also teaches lessons, arranges, and works with various music programs in the city including the Bronx Arts Ensemble and Little Maestros. Jordan is very excited to be working with the Common Ground planning team, the musicians, and everyone part of the CG family. Please join us for a service and experience a wonderfully unique worship setting. If you'd like to participate in the music-making during the service feel free to email Jordan at jordanclawson@gmail.com anytime- we'd be glad to have you!

More Music Events
Tiffany Window Benefit Recital
Featuring Rebecca MacLean
Saturday, May 17, 3pm
Advent Lutheran Church
Broadway at 93rd Street
Cost: $10 Suggested Donation to Benefit the Tiffany Window Campaign

Mezzo-soprano Rebecca MacLean from the Advent Chorale, tenor Avid Williams, and bass-baritone W. Allen Wrede will star in a concert production of Camille Saint Saens’ sumptuous opera “Samson et Dalila”. They will be accompanied by Judith Schaaf at the piano. This is one of the best known and most romantic stories from the Old Testament and one of the world’s greatest operas.

This opera in concert is part of the Tiffany Window Benefit Recital Series. All proceeds will go to restore our magnificent, historic Tiffany windows. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door.

Stay tuned to this spot for information on future recitals in this series.