the Cathedral Choir

We are committed to making a “joyful noise unto the Lord” at Church of the Holy Communion Cathedral.  The choir sings on Sundays and throughout the year for special worship services. Our Music Director and Organist Candace Bawcombe holds a master’s degree in music from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Abbey Simon and Herbert Stessin. Candace was 11 years old when she was accepted into the piano studio of concert pianist Lili Kraus. Ms. Kraus, who studied with Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, and Artur Schnabel, mentored her for 14 years. Candace is also an Assistant Professor of Organ & Harpsichord at The University of Texas at Arlington. If you are interested in joining the choir and music program at the Cathedral, CONTACT the Church Office.

Holy Communion Youth Choir (2nd to 8th grade)

We believe that music is a part of our Christian heritage which we must pass on to our children. Part of our educational program at Church of the Holy Communion Cathedral is devoted to sacred music. The children in our youth choir from 2nd through 8th grades participate in a sacred music program (under the direction of Candace Bawcombe) where they learn to sing the faith through musical settings of the Lord's Prayer, the Nicene Creed, and the Ten Commandments, as well as the great hymns of the ages. The youth choir sings twice a month during our Sunday morning services and on Christmas Eve. For more information about our Cathedral or Youth Choirs contact Music Director and Organist Candace Bawcomebe.

Our Organ

With more than 1,100 pipes distributed among 19 ranks, the CHCC pipe organ is an instrument which magnifies the worship of God. The organ’s design evolved through consultations between the CHCC Organ Committee and Dan Garland. The craftsmen at Garland Pipe Organs, Inc. played an integral role in the construction, installation, voicing, and tuning of the instrument. The organ draws inspiration from the English and American traditions of organ building, which emphasize the instrument’s role in enhancing congregational singing and choral accompaniment.

Three manual keyboards and pedal keyboard mounted in a moveable console of oak and walnut control the instrument, which consists of four divisions (Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal). The organ’s pipework is mounted above and behind the choir loft in a separate temperature/humidity-controlled chamber, with the facade consisting of gold-covered Principal pipes from the Pedal division of the organ.

A particular advantage of the organ is that its creators were also consulted in the design of the new sanctuary; thus, the organ and the worship space have been molded to one another in a unique symbiosis. For instance, the organ chamber was designed to accommodate the addition of new ranks in the future. Even more fortuitously, the organ builder’s involvement in the design of the space has allowed for tailoring the organ to the acoustics of the church. As a consequence, the organ speaks in the space with boldness and clarity and is sure to ornament the worship of God in this church for generations to come.