Some of my neighbors way back in the GA where original wooden seats are located and where the view is grand. Paul Goldfinger photo ©
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor, Blogfinger.net Re-post on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022.
If you have never witnessed an Ocean Grove choir festival, it is an experience. I attended last night, but it was not a first for me. A large crowd was there to hear the huge massed choir of about 1000 voices from 125 different churches, professional soloists, the Hope-Jones organ aired out from top to bottom, a number of skilled conductors, a brass ensemble, and a varied program consisting of Christian music. The only composer I recognized was Franz Josef Haydn who wrote the opening anthem, “The Heavens are Telling.”
But even if you don’t know this music and even if you are not Christian, this musical event is astonishing to see.
The Choir Festival is not a typical concert, because, as a number of speakers explained, this program is about prayer through music. As it says in Psalm 95:1 “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord.” The program, in fact, stresses the words rather than the music. On the cover it says, “Wonderful Words of Life.”
Among the words offered last night was a prayer by the Camp Meeting Association COO JP Gradone who reminded us that living in the northeast was a challenge for those who promote religious principles to guide our lives. He hoped that our country could reconnect with the “values of America’s founders.”
But you can, as I did, attend to enjoy a marvelous musical event, while appreciating its religious significance. I like to sit way in the back, where the moms with infants locate along with others who enjoy the broad expanse of the unique sound and visuals.
The soloists, with their trained voices, project out and can be clearly heard all the way in the back. They included Ronald Naldi, Monica Zigler, Martha Bartz, and Justin Beck. Plus, of course, there are the Director of Music Dr. Jason C Tramm and our own Dr. Gordon Turk presiding over those 11,000 pipes.
Below is a sample of what the Choir Festival sounds like. It is from “How Shall a King Come?” conducted by Dr. Cindy Bell and with soloists Monica Ziglar and Ronald Naldi.