MFA_Program_Season_Booklet_26_27

2026-2027

Sacred Arts at Second MUSIC AND FINE ARTS OF SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

This is a summons — a reorientation of loyalty, habit, relationship, and vocation.

The theologian Stanley Hauerwas has spent his career saying one thing in countless ways: Jesus changes everything. And the community that gathers around Jesus — the church — is not, at its best, an organization that provides religious services to people who have already organized their lives around other loyalties. It is an alternative community.

A different way of being human together in the world.

—Rev. Chris Henry, Senior Pastor

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Invitation

You are invited to experience the glory of music and the arts at Second.

Our Sacred Arts Series concerts feature a variety of musical styles and voices sharing traditional compositions and contemporary arrangements.

Second’s expansive sanctuary offers a setting unlike any other in the city of Indianapolis.

We believe music and art are integral parts of worship. Second has a long-standing tradition of artistic excellence, and our music and fine arts programs are vibrant and active, with ministries for all ages, from four-year-olds through adults.

With our tradition of reformed worship and our commitment to artistic expression, we provide opportunities to learn, grow, and serve in worship, mission, and outreach as we profess and live the message of Jesus Christ’s transforming love.

We invite you into Sacred Arts at Second. Whether you want to sing, play an instrument, create art, or enjoy the gifts of others, there is a place for you in our music and fine arts ministry.

—Dr. Michelle Louer, Director of Music and Fine Arts All performances are free and in the sanctuary, unless otherwise noted.

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Fine Arts EIGHTH DAY OF CREATION

Are you called to create works of art to the glory of God? We invite you to participate in the annual church-wide exhibit, Eighth Day of Creation, from October 4 through November 13. Artists of all ages and abilities are invited to submit visual art by Friday, October 2.

More information at SecondChurch.org/mfa-eighthday-callout.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS & ARTISTS

Exhibits load in on Saturdays, October 3, and November 21, 12-2 PM. If you are available to volunteer, please contact Carol Baker at 317-253-6461 ext. 356 or CBaker@SecondChurch.org.

Be awed and inspired by the rotating fine arts exhibits in McFarland Hall.

Each year, our Fine Arts Advisory Team presents exhibits by local talent and renowned Christian artists.

For opportunities to meet artists and engage with the arts at Second, visit SecondChurch.org/FineArts.

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Music in Worship

Worship is at the heart of all we do. Every Sunday at 10 AM, our sanctuary is filled with the voices of our choirs and the thrilling sound of our 83-rank Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ.

Intimate services in Milner Chapel at 8:15 AM and 11:15 AM are supported by an 18-rank Richards & Fowkes organ and soloists.

Festival Music Sundays take Second’s worship music to the next level with a full orchestra accompanying the Sanctuary Choir and congregation.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR UPCOMING FESTIVAL MUSIC SUNDAYS Sunday, October 25, 2026 • Reformation Sunday Sunday, December 13, 2026 • Christmas Music Sunday Sunday, May 23, 2027 • Hymn Festival Sunday

In the season of Lent, services on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday provide opportunities for contemplation with extended music.

The season culminates on Easter Sunday with choir, organ, brass, and percussion.

Our Children’s Choirs, Handbell Ensemble, and intergenerational Second Chamber Players offer music experiences for all ages.

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What is the Sacred Arts Series?

Rooted in our Reformed tradition, the Sacred Arts Series at Second Presbyterian Church celebrates artistic expression as a vibrant reflection of divine grace. God, the ultimate Creator, invites us into spiritual renewal through sacred beauty. Across music and the visual arts, we seek to participate in meaningful communal reflection, theological engagement, and wonder. We invite you to experience how the arts illuminate scripture, enrich our corporate worship, and nurture a growing faith within our congregation and for our city.

The Sacred Arts Series includes masterworks and newly composed pieces from all musical periods. Our Art Songs Series and new Milner Chapel Chamber Music Series emphasize a more intimate setting, with smaller groupings of vocalists and instrumentalists and an opportunity to engage with the artists more directly. In each note, phrase, and word of text, we seek to understand and communicate the beauty of the Divine— a beauty that this world so desperately needs.

Through the arts, the grinding toil of our lives and its mundaneness can be transformed into joy and elevated to new levels of inspiration. We seek to hear the voice of God. Upon hearing, life is breathed into our souls, continually sustaining, transforming, and renewing. Please join us in the holy work of performing and listening. All are welcome.

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Music & Fine Arts Funding

The comprehensive Music & Fine Arts Ministry at Second Presbyterian Church, which includes four choirs, two instrumental ensembles, and a year-round arts gallery among its many offerings, is supported jointly through the annual budget of the church and the generous gifts of individual donors.

DONATIONS MAY BE DESIGNATED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: • The Music Fund is accessible in full for any need of the Music and Fine Arts Department.

• The Music & Fine Arts Endowment Fund supports performance events of the Sacred Arts at Second Series.

• The Kevin Trager Sanctuary Choir Section Leader Endowment Fund provides support for a professional double quartet to supplement the Sanctuary Choir of Second Presbyterian Church.

• The Dorothy Mengering Fund for Music supports the development of a choral scholar program for college students who desire to provide music leadership in the church.

• The Organ Fund is for major repairs and maintenance of the Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ in the sanctuary.

• The Sheri L. Ridge Bequest supports the development of programming that unites faith, arts, education, and cultural engagement.

• The Fine Arts Acquisition Fund provides for the purchase of original artwork.

Donations can be given in person or online at Secondchurch.org/MFA

Your Gift Makes a Difference 7

Milner Chapel Chamber Music Series: FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN: SOLO CANTATAS OF J.S. BACH Sunday, September 27 • 4 PM Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55 Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170 Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4 Depicting the human heart’s struggle in times of darkness, despair, and guilt, solo arias for alto (BWV 170) and tenor (BWV 55) culminate in a brilliant celebration of joy in Bach’s Easter cantata for four voices (BWV 4).

Mitzi Westra Alto

Blake Beckemeyer Tenor

Caleb Crawford Soprano

Preston Rogers Bass

TOGETHER TOWARDS HEALING Performance in partnership with CenterPoint Counseling. Compassionate counseling on the northside of Indianapolis and nearby areas.

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Art Song Series:

BEYOND THE CANON: ART SONGS AROUND THE GLOBE Sunday, October 11 • 11:35 AM Join our Sanctuary Choir Section Leaders for a musical trip around the globe! Beyond the Canon: Art Songs Around the Globe explores art songs in languages that are not part of the Western canon. English, Italian, French, and German have come to be the standard languages for classical art song and opera. Though beautiful, they do not tell the complete story of song. We are excited to share these pieces from other lands and tongues, and through the pens of lesser known and underrepresented composers.

“O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord; bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.”

Psalm 96: 1-3 (NRSV)

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Sacred Arts Series:

VIRTUOSO VIOLINS: 3 CONCERTOS OF J.S. BACH Sunday, October 25 • 4 PM Philip Palermo and Kevin Lin perform three of J.S. Bach’s brilliant masterworks for violin and orchestra: Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042 Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Likely composed during his years in Cöthen, these concertos may well have premiered at Zimmermann’s Coffeehouse in Leipzig with Bach conducting the Collegium Musicum.

A German pastry and coffee reception following the concert in the parlor offers an opportunity to meet the soloists.

Philip Palermo Concertmaster Emeritus, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Kevin Lin Concertmaster, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Performance in support of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. Strokes are the fourth leading cause of death and leading cause of disability in the United States.

For more information or to donate, visit www.stroke.org/en or www.heart.org/en.

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Sacred Arts Series;

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN: TRIOS FOR PIANO, VIOLIN, & CELLO Sunday, November 22 • 4 PM Three of Indianapolis’ most celebrated chamber musicians—violinist Kevin Lin, cellist Austin Huntington, and pianist Clare Longendyke—come together for an afternoon of piano trios.

Beloved masterpieces by Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms frame French composer Camille Pépin’s evocative The Road Not Taken, inviting audiences to experience both the enduring tradition and the vibrant present of the piano trio repertoire.

Together, these works showcase the expressive range of the piano trio brought to life by three artists whose collaboration creates an engaging and highly virtuosic performance.

Kevin Lin Concertmaster, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Clare Longendyke Solo Pianist & Chamber Musician

Austin Huntington Principal Cellist, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

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December 2026

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASON

Experience the magic and mystery of the Advent and Christmas season at Second Presbyterian Church. Worship service at 10 AM. Sunday, November 29 | Advent 1 The Sanctuary Choir invokes Advent season with music of Hope.

Sunday, December 6 | Advent 2 The Children’s Choirs and Second Chamber Players share music of Peace.

Friday, December 11 - Sunday, December 13 Join the Indianapolis Children’s Choir for their annual “Angels Sing” and “Sounds of the Season” concerts. See www.icchoir.org for tickets and information.

Sunday, December 13 | Advent 3 It’s Christmas Music Sunday at Second! Join our Sanctuary Choir and Festival Orchestra for joyful music of the season. Share your voice in singing favorite carols and hymns.

Sunday, December 20 | Advent 4 The Handbell Ensemble celebrates Love come down to earth.

Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve Candlelight Lessons & Carols Services 4 PM: Children’s Choirs lead music in a service geared for families with young children.

7 PM & 9 PM: A Festive service led by the Sanctuary Choir, brass, organ, and percussion.

11 PM: An intimate service with Communion led by the Sanctuary Choir Section Leaders, harp, strings, and organ.

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Art Song Series:

CELEBRATING BLACK COMPOSERS Sunday, February 21 • 11:35 AM Our Section Leaders honor and celebrate Black composers in a Concert that will inspire and uplift. Pictured here are six prominent Black composers that made an impact on today’s canon.

Florence Price

Margaret Bonds

Undine Smith Moore

Since 1976, the United States has celebrated Black History Month each February. Gerald Ford, in this same year, asked for our country to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

This month-long celebration has now extended to the countries of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Jamaica. Through performances of works from this underrepresented group, we bring their voices to the forefront. With God’s help, the language of music unites every race, creed, and tongue.

Harry Thacker Burleigh

Adolphus Hailstork

H. Leslie Adams 13

Sacred Arts Series:

ORGAN MUSIC OF PRAYER AND REDEMPTION Sunday, February 28 • 3 PM Dr. John Allegar, Second’s Organist and Assistant Director of Music and Fine Arts, presents Salva Nos (Save Us), a compelling program exploring themes of prayer, redemption, and spiritual hope through music. This program features masterworks by J.S. Bach, César Franck, Raffaele Manari, and includes Franz Liszt’s epic tone poem on Ad nos, ad salutarem undam.

Performed on the historic Aeolian-Skinner organ at Second Presbyterian Church, the program showcases the instrument’s expressive power and tonal beauty. Experience an afternoon of personal and corporate supplication and thanksgiving through the power of music in this Lenten season.

Dr. John Allegar, Organist and Assistant Director of Music and Fine Arts 14

Sacred Arts Series: MUSIC OF HOPE AND HEALING Sunday, April 18 • 4 PM Sanctuary Choir, Soloists, and Festival Orchestra present: Robert Cohen’s Alzheimer’s Stories (2009) Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives, op. 85 (1802) While composed over 200 years apart, the narratives and experiences of the composer give voice to the fullness of what it means to be human and celebrate the powerful role of music in healing, memory, and the beauty of life!

Dr. Michelle Louer Director of Music and Fine Arts

“Love and music are the last things to go.”

ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP AT SECOND

2nd & 3rd Wednesdays, 1:30–3 PM • Room 356 This support group is a welcoming space for caregivers of those affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia. Open to both church members and the community, the group offers mutual support, shared resources, and a sense of companionship on this journey. For more details, visit SecondChurch.org/Alzheimers.

For more information on support, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website at www.alz.org.

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Sacred Arts Series: THE JOY OF RINGING TOGETHER Sunday, April 25 • 3 PM Hear handbells ring in ways you did not know were possible! This lively concert of sacred and secular music, with over 100 handbells features the combined ensembles of Second Presbyterian, St. Luke’s United Methodist, and Circle City Ringers. Conductors Rebecca Holt and Mike Keller lead this 7th annual Eastertide tradition at Second.

Rebecca Holt has been directing the Second Presbyterian Church Handbell Ensemble since 2011 and the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Wesleyan Ringers since 2018. After serving as a substitute for many years with the Circle City Ringers, she officially became a member of the ensemble in 2019. Rebecca received a master’s degree from Butler University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, both in choral music education.

Mike Keller has been the director of the Circle City Ringers since the ensemble formed in 2004.

Mike is a graduate of Indiana State University, where he was selected Drum Major of the ISU Sycamore Marching Band. Originally from Peru, Indiana, Mike also serves as a co-director of the Peru Circus Festival Band. He is recognized for his conviction that “making music should be fun” and enjoys serving as a guest conductor and clinician to other ensembles.

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Art Song Series:

“ANYTHING GOES” CABARET WITH DESSERT BUFFET Thursday, May 27 • 7PM Our gifted section leaders share music for the opera and musical theatre stage. From fanciful to witty, romantic to capricious, you will be delighted and entertained. After the performance, join us for a (free) dessert buffet!

Do you share a favorite dessert with one of our section leaders?

Caitlin Stewart Soprano I

Ice Cream

Kristin Shaffer Soprano II Brownies

Caleb Crawford Alto I

Coconut Cream Pie

Mitzi Westra Alto II

Key Lime Pie

Robbie Erickson Tenor

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Trevor Fanning Tenor Texas Sheetcake

Preston Rogers Bass

Flourless Chocolate Cake

William Dopp Baritone/Bass Wedding Cake

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Vocal Ensembles SANCTUARY CHOIR (High School - Adult)

Our principal vocal ensemble provides musical leadership for Sunday worship services, September through May. Anyone with a love of singing is invited to participate. No audition is required, but some music reading ability is recommended.

Director: Dr. Michelle Louer Rehearsals: Thursday • 7-9 PM

Choir Room

CHERUB CHOIR (Age 4 – Grade 1)

With a playful approach to music learning, children reach their potential in singing, vocabulary development, and motor skills while developing an understanding of church music and worship participation. Children discover worship as a place where people express love for God and experience the Bible, its stories, and people as a part of their everyday lives.

Director: Carol Baker Rehearsals: Sunday during 10 AM worship • Room 309

CAROL CHOIR (Grades 2 – 8)

Carol Choir singers have fun building on their Cherub Choir experience while developing skills in music literacy, vocal technique, and ensemble while learning the joy of worship leadership.

Director: Jillian Corman Rehearsals: Sunday during 10 AM worship Room 355

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Instrumental Ensembles

SECOND CHAMBER PLAYERS (All Ages)

This intergenerational ensemble features congregation members and friends playing a variety of instruments to create beautiful music, enjoy fellowship, and use their gifts and talents to glorify God. All youth and adults who have completed at least three years of study on wind, brass, string, or percussion instruments are encouraged to join this ensemble.

Director: Jillian Corman Rehearsals: Wednesday • 8-9 PM • Choir Room

HANDBELL ENSEMBLE (Grade 9 – Adult)

The Handbell Ensemble plays in worship approximately once a month from September through May. Moderate music-reading ability is necessary, and a sense of rhythm and coordination is important. No audition is required. Regular attendance at rehearsals is crucial and fosters a sense of group spirit and mutual support.

Director: Rebecca Holt Rehearsals: Saturday • 9-10:30 AM • Room 356

How to Get Involved

At Second Presbyterian, we believe music and art are essential to worship and spiritual growth. Led by Dr. Michelle L. Louer, our Music & Fine Arts Ministry is dynamic and engaging, offering opportunities for all ages—from preschoolers to adults.

Whether you’re a seasoned musician, an aspiring artist, or someone who simply loves the arts, there’s a place for you here.

For information about our ensembles, contact MFA@secondchurch.org.

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2026-2027 Highlights

2026

Saturday, September 12

Penrod Arts Fair

Sunday, September 27

From Earth to Heaven: Solo Cantatas of J.S. Bach

Sunday, October 11

Beyond the Canon: Art Songs Around the Globe

Sunday, October 25

Reformation Festival Sunday at 10 AM

Sunday, November 22

The Road Not Taken: Trios for Piano, Violin, and Cello

Sunday, December 13

Christmas Music Sunday 9 & 11 AM

Virtuoso Violins: Three Concertos of J.S. Bach at 4 PM

2027 Sunday, February 21

Celebration of Black Composers

Sunday, February 28

Organ Concert: Music of Prayer and Redemption

Sunday, April 18

Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra: Music of Hope and Healing

Sunday, April 25

The Joy of Ringing Together

Sunday, May 23

Hymn Festival Sunday

Thursday, May 27

“Anything Goes” Cabaret with Dessert Buffet

7700 N. MERIDIAN STREET | INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46260 | (317) 253-6461 SECONDCHURCH.ORG