Old First is thrilled to be entering its eighth annual Summer Respite Shelter! For the past seven summers, for five nights a week, we’ve provided twelve men with a hot meal and a comfortable bed, partnering with other congregations and local service agency CAMBA. Each year, hundreds of volunteers, friends, and neighbors from Old First, Park Slope, and local partner congregations come together to host them. This […]
William Gardiner Hammond was a composer as well as organist and choirmaster at Old First (1903-1912). He formed one of the early musical groups to hold concerts in our Carroll Street building, the Hammond Choral Society. Performances such as these were the forerunners of what Arts at Old First has become today. As a young man, William accompanied singer Lillian Nordica, America’s first home-grown diva. She […]
We are pleased to share a message from our Old First organist and Baroquelyn founder and director, Aleeza Meir: I’m very excited to give you the heads up about a big new endeavor I’m starting: As you may know, I’ve recently formed a music ensemble called Baroquelyn. Our first concert in November was a big success, and I’m about to do a second concert this Sunday. […]
After the departure of Old First’s second organist, Cuban patriot and revolutionary Rafael Navarro, Old First employed Henry E. H. Benedict for eight years. Benedict’s story also ended as front page news. This is the fourth part of an ongoing series. The third organist at Old First was Henry E. H. Benedict. Born in Canada in 1859, he was named Henry (or Harry) Emerson Benedict, […]
Baroquelyn’s first concert, in November, was performed in Old First Reformed Church’s Upper Hall and drew a full and enthusiastic house. The next, also at Old First, is coming up on Sunday May 6 at 2:30pm. The upcoming program includes a newly arranged Handel sonata, a Telemann concerto for recorder and viola da gamba, some Handel arias, and to finish with a flourish, Bach’s 5th Brandenburg concerto. […]
The aftereffects of a hurricane can linger for months or even years. After a pair of Category 5 hurricanes attacked the U.S. Virgin Islands six months ago, our sister congregations on the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix began a long and difficult journey to recovery and normalization. The journey is still in progress. Even after all this time has passed, much work still […]
Last month we posted (here and here) about the history of our annual Bluegrass Good Friday service – how it evolved and why we love bluegrass on Good Friday. Here is a one of the highlights from that service: Jen Larson’s original song “The Garden of Gethsemane”, composed for this very service back in 2013. Jen lives in Nashville now where she works as an […]
The Stone House Singers, under the direction of Thomas W. Jones, will present a concert at Old First on Sunday, April 22 at 3 p.m. The concert will include motets by the contemporary composers Morton Lauridsen and and Avro Part, spirituals, music by Brooklyn composers, a bit of Brooklyn attitude from Broadway and more. Old First members Kent Adams, Burkhard Bolger, Linda Larson, and Jennifer […]
A true man of the world, Navarro navigated the music scene as conductor, organist, composer, director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music – all while still serving his country of origin. This is the third part of an ongoing series. Rafael Navarro: Musician and Revolutionary First Reformed stepped up its game with the hiring of Rafael Navarro in May of 1893. A news item at […]
The Seed is the Word: Old First Arts and Yoga Week for Kids The Old First Summer Arts Week was founded in 2004 with generous grants from the Reformed Church Regional Synod and Brooklyn Classis by dancer Jenny Burrill and artist Cecilia Whittaker-Doe. Continuing support has enabled this uniquely inspired arts week to be offered (mostly) free of charge to the community at large. More recently, a […]