When I first started attending UUFR, I was immediately struck by the musical selections offered during services. It was very refreshing to hear music in a worship service that celebrated subjects like justice, human potential, science, reason, and nature. UUFR was holding two Sunday morning services at the time, each with a different choir. The music director at the time was Bill Yocum, who also accompanied the choirs on piano.
While I was singing the hymns at service, a couple of different choir members approached me and suggested that I join the choir. I was reluctant at first, since I had never sung choral music before in my life. I did not want to sing the hymns the choir sang in my evangelical church where I was brought up. I had come to disbelieve its doctrines.
But I did join the UUFR choir, and as a result the first group I connected to when I joined the congregation was the choir. Everyone in the choir was so kind and supportive of each other. Participation in the choir really did provide a context for personal growth and fulfillment.
At the time I joined in 2003, Bill Adams, who had followed Bill Yocum as director in 2002, had just resigned. One of the choir members was serving as a temporary director, and UUFR hired Yuri Yamamoto as staff pianist. She is a brilliant musician, but had no experience directing choirs. Luckily, Yuri stayed on as pianist and brought some stability to our program. For quite some time, the choir was directed by temporary volunteers and short-term hires, while our Music Committee continued the search for a permanent director.
Finally, in 2004 we hired Dan Smith as choir director. Dan, a multi-talented multi-instrumentalist with very eclectic taste, was a very good fit for our program. In addition to the regular choir, Dan would have a “pop-up” choir once a month, where anyone who wanted could show up before service Sunday morning, rehearse a couple of songs, and then present them in the service.
Many UU congregations at the time were holding vespers services called “Soulful Sundown.” Dan initiated this program at UUFR monthly on Sunday evenings. He recruited musicians, including many of our teens, from the congregation and a couple from outside the congregation. We presented a wide variety of music, including folk, pop, and rock.
Dan had been promoted from choir director to music director, and he advocated for Yuri to be recognized as co-music director. When Dan left in 2006, Yuri continued as both music director and pianist. Yuri led the choir in many ambitious pieces, including the “Sources Cantata” and selections from the “Missa Gaia.” Our ministers gave Yuri a lot of freedom to recruit a mix of local guest musicians and nationally known UU musicians such as Jim Scott and Jeannie Gagne. She recruited Taiko drummers, Hare Krishnas, and a Gullah-Geechee song leader, among others. We collaborated with the One Human Family choir and the St. Ambrose Episcopal Church choir.
In 2017, after almost 15 years of service at UUFR, Yuri resigned, and Scott McKenzie was hired as music director. He served during difficult times, both institutionally and through the Covid pandemic, and the choir lost members. When Scott resigned in 2022, Jean Marie Whaley was hired to replace him. She has built the choir back in size, revived our chime choir and established a small children’s choir called Chalice Choir. She has introduced several participatory call-and-response songs to the congregation and formed a rotating group of choir members and other musicians to offer music on non-choir Sundays. As our current music director, Jean Marie is assisted by staff accompanists Wenchao Koniarczyk and Tetiana Zibrova, as well as many eager and talented volunteers, to promote a successful music program.
