Liturgical Folk: Justin Brooks & Family Tour

Jonathan Ryan

www.jonathan-ryan.org

Jonathan Ryan began serving at Saint Michael and All Angels in September, 2017. At Saint Michael, he directs the Saint Michael Choir, oversees the founding and growth of a new boys and girls chorister program based on the Royal School of Church Music, established the professional Compline Choir, heads the Saint Michael Presents concert series, and oversees music for all traditional worship services.

Jonathan came to Saint Michael from one of the largest music programs in the national Episcopal Church at Christ Church in Greenwich CT. Among Christ Church’s nine choirs, he directed the adult choir in Choral Masses, Evensongs, Requiems, and concerts, regularly worked with the Choir of Men & Boys and Girls Choir, directed the Royal School of Church Music-based ribbon training program for choristers, oversaw the Choir Assistant program for youth to serve in assisting roles in the program, and assisted in choir tours and summer choir camps. He has previously held positions at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest IL, St. John Cantius Church in Chicago IL, St. Anne Church in Rochester NY, and served as Visiting Artist at St. James Cathedral in Chicago. Additionally, Jonathan has commissioned and conducted new choral works by composers such as multi-award winning American composer Zachary Wadsworth and renowned British composers Philip Moore and Colin Mawby.

Jonathan enjoys an international reputation as one of the premiere young American organists. Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for his strong communicative skills in numerous styles, he holds exceptional distinction of six First Prize awards in major international and national organ competitions, most notably the 2009 Jordan II International Organ Competition. His solo concertizing has taken him to celebrated festivals, venues, and conventions throughout the United States and Europe, including St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (UK), the Nicolaikirche in Leipzig (Germany), the Cathédrale St-André in Bordeaux (France), international organ festivals in Zürich (Switzerland) and Hamburg (Germany), and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists and Organ Historical Society. His recent performance projects include recitals of J.S. Bach’s monumental Clavier-Übung III in a tour on historically-based organs throughout the United States.

His released recordings include two solo organ recordings, the most recent of which, entitled Influences on the independent boutique label Acis, received the rare honor of nomination consideration for the 2017 GRAMMY awards. Jonathan’s solo recordings include commissions and recording premieres. He is also featured on multiple choral recordings from St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, IL.

Born into a musical family in Charlotte, NC, Jonathan first began playing the organ at age eight, and grew up singing as a treble boy chorister. He discovered a love for Anglican liturgy and music in high school, and previously lived in Texas while an undergraduate student at Baylor University. Jonathan then went on to earn degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His primary teachers include Joyce Jones, Todd Wilson, David Higgs, William Porter, and William Weinert. He also holds the Fellow (FAGO) and Choirmaster (ChM) professional certifications from the American Guild of Organists, for which he earned the 2006 Choirmaster Prize for the highest score nationally in the Choirmaster exam. He currently serves on the National Committee for Professional Certification for the American Guild of Organists.

Justin Brooks

www.justinphilipbrooks.com

For the past decade, Saint Michael Director of Contemporary Music, Justin Brooks, and his wife Tiffany have followed a calling to lead music and write liturgical songs for the Church that reflect the seasons of life, worship, and needs of their local congregations. This often manifests itself as the composition of sacred songs, settings of scripture, and reinterpreting traditional hymns and service music with faithful, yet new arrangements.

Excerpted from the September / October 2018 issue of Archangel. Read the full article here!

Dr. Margaret (Meg) Harper

Organist Margaret "Meg" Harper has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Croatian newspaper Glas Slavonije writes, “The freezing cold of a January evening dominated the cathedral in Djakovo, but it could not diminish the richness and warmth of sound brought out of the cathedral organ by Margaret Harper.” Margaret has performed solo recitals at such prestigious venues as Harvard University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (NYC), and St. Paul Cathedral (Pittsburgh).

Before coming to Saint Michael and All Angels, Margaret served as the Director of Music and Liturgy at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH, the largest Episcopal church in that state. In her time at St. John’s, Margaret oversaw a dramatic expansion of all aspects of the church’s music program. Under her direction, the church developed The Choir School at St. John’s, an after-school RSCM-based music program aimed at low-income youth. In its first three years, the Choir School has received several significant accolades, including the opportunity to premiere a newly commissioned work at the prestigious Newburyport Chamber Music Festival and an invitation to serve in residency at Bristol Cathedral in England.

In addition, Margaret has also served as Artist Faculty in Organ at the University of Southern Maine, on the faculty and board of the Young Organist Collaborative, and as a secondary instructor of organ at the Eastman School of Music. She has presented papers at national and regional conferences of organizations including the American Bach Society and the American Guild of Organists.

Margaret holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her primary teachers include William Porter, David Higgs, Michel Bouvard, Edoardo Bellotti, and Edward Zimmerman. She is active in the Association of Anglican Musicians and served on the planning committee for that organization's 2019 conference in Boston. She has served in many leadership roles for the American Guild of Organists, most recently as District Convener for NH, ME, and VT.

Philip Fillion

Philip Fillion joined the Saint Michael Music staff as the Assistant Director of Music and Organist in August of 2020.

Philip comes to Saint Michael from St. Mary’s Church in Auburn, NY where he has served as Director of Music and Organist for 3 years. During his time at St. Mary’s, the adult choir’s size doubled, and served as choir director to youth in the Schola Cantorum of the church’s associated school, the Tyburn Academy. Previously, during his student days, he has served as Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, as interim organist/choirmaster at Grace Church in Newark, NJ, and as Organist at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, IL.

A native of Rochester, NY, Philip grew up singing as a boy chorister, and first developed his love for church music from that singing experience. Having studied music at the Eastman Community Music School, he then earned a BM in organ performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and a MM in organ and sacred music from Westminster Choir College.

Philip is married to Melody and they have a daughter, Mirabel.

Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones joined the Saint Michael staff as Assistant for Music in March 2021. She brings a lifetime passion for sacred music to her new role at Saint Michael. She was born and raised in Dallas, singing in choirs at Lake Highlands High School and Wilshire Baptist Church. Rachel attended Texas Christian University where she earned a degree in Church Music. After graduating, she returned to Dallas and joined Highland Park Presbyterian Church for two years as Music Program Assistant. After a short stint as an administrator, she found her way back to music full-time. For the last four years, she has been a staff singer at Church of the Incarnation (Episcopal), while operating her own business teaching private voice and piano lessons. You can also find her singing with Dallas' finest professional concert choirs, including the Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas Chamber Choir, Highland Park Chorale, Incarnatus, and occasionally the Dallas Bach Society and Orchestra of New Spain. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, playing board games, calligraphy, and playing with her new puggle puppy, Bonnie.

Monica Awbrey

Monica Awbrey began serving as Assistant Choirmaster in summer of 2019. She combines her part-time role at Saint Michael with The Episcopal School of Dallas where she has been a music specialist since 2008. At Saint Michael, she directs the Cherub Choir, and assists in other parts of our music ministry, including the older choristers and adult choir. Her roles at ESD include directing the middle school choir and serving as the early children music specialist and Coordinator of Sacred for daily chapel at school.

She began teaching young musicians in 1994 at First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio. She later taught both the Weesong and Gladsong primary choirs at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. Prior to her work at ESD, she was the Interim Choirmaster at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, and choir director at Rowlett, Allen, and Taft High Schools in San Antonio and Jordan Middle School in San Antonio. Her love of Anglican music was strengthened from 1999 - 2006 when she was sang with the Church of the Incarnation in residence in Wells, Lincoln, and Litchfield Cathedrals, and Westminster Abbey in England.

In addition to her leadership with children’s music, Monica is the director of Cathedral Arts Chorus at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral. Working with singers of all ages, you can also find her directing the high school women’s ensemble with Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas. She also serves as a clinician for workshops and festivals throughout the state, including serving as the Primary Voices clinician for Chorister’s Guild. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Choral Music from Trinity University in San Antonio.