Stewart Peebles is First Presbyterian Church’s new director of music ministries.
Photo by Jessica Garcia.
Carson City’s First Presbyterian Church has never performed a cantata, but a choir of at least 30 will take the stage this Christmas under the guidance of its new director of music ministries Stewart Peebles.
Already in an effort to preserve its historical and architectural imprint in the city as the oldest church in Nevada, FPC wants to encourage members with a passion for music to join its choir under Peebles’ leadership. Peebles was contacted by phone to interview for the position, and he said he was interested.
“It wasn’t too difficult,” he said. “They haven’t had a choir program since COVID happened. It was almost like starting over. They normally don’t have choir in the summertime, but I said they need to have choir in the summer to get back into shape.”
The pandemic changed the traditional means of worship in the past few years, with some churches changing or adding service times or others livestreaming or recording services for those who preferred watching from home or through mobile apps. Music programs frequently were trimmed or eliminated altogether, with First Presbyterian among those to see its choir temporarily relinquished. Now, the congregation has hired Peebles to build up its program again.
“I’m getting them to really focus on singing and I was really proud of them,” he said of their first efforts through the summer. “They really work hard. I think if you like something, you do well with it.”
The choir will alternate singing with the praise team on Sundays as both groups prepare for the cantata, called “Let There Be Christmas,” which focuses on a message of faith, hope and unity, Peebles said. The Joseph Martin production will be approximately 47 minutes and is a blend of contemporary music and traditional Christmas hymns simple enough for anyone at all levels of music to learn. The praise team rehearses Wednesday nights, and the choir practices Thursday nights, with an occasional overlap for both groups to join together and for FPC and TLC groups to do the same.
Peebles, an enthusiast of collaborative efforts, said the show will combine efforts with Trinity Lutheran Church in Gardnerville. Narrations will be provided by Pastor Bob Davis of FPC and Pastor John Scheuermann of TLC in between movements, he said. After the Christmas presentation is finished, FPC’s choir will begin learning a new cantata for Lent.
He said it’s important to establish the music ministry with the mix of the praise team and choir to help members gain confidence in their own abilities and their worship ministry.
“Anybody can apply to be on the praise team,” he said.
Everyone is invited to join the choir as well.
“This last year, when the choir disbanded, it never came back whereas the praise team could pick up and they would do things on YouTube,” he said.
Some of this long reluctance might be due to church or school music programs having a difficult time finding leaders with the training or patience to work at the pay being offered. Few full-time positions are available to choir directors anymore in the post-COVID era or they are already committed to something else, he said.
Peebles, who retired as Carson High School’s choir teacher, formerly directed seven choirs at the school. His classes varied from about 40 to 110 students per class. He arranged one musical per year and had his students participate in state musicals and he was chairman. He often also taught private lessons at night as time allowed.
Of his memorable achievements with Carson High’s program, Peebles said he remains especially gratified that he took the program from nine students when he first moved to Carson in 1985 to a fully developed curriculum. It became a program attracting the interest and talent of several hundred students per year and sent choirs to national competitions. Carson’s choirs also became among the top 5% in the nation, and Peebles had 24 students who went on to roles or careers in Broadway. Also, two of his students currently work as Carson City teachers today: Christina Bourne, a music teacher at Mark Twain Elementary School, and Briana Valley, a music teacher at Carson Middle School.
“It was something to be proud of to be in the program for the kids, and it gave a different aspect to support or be in the arts,” Peebles said. “Part of it was they felt like they weren’t being ostracized for being in the program.”
But eventually, he decided to leave CHS in 2006 before he became dissatisfied in his position. He earned his securities license and worked in Thrivent Financial before fully retiring about six years ago before applying for the FPC director position this past May.
“You go out when you’re on top,” he said. “I could have stayed in the (CHS) job another five or six years, but I wouldn’t have been happy, and neither would have the students.”
The ministry at First Presbyterian now is another chance to help others enjoy music and find their confidence, he said, and even though it’s closer to full-time work than the church staff members initially thought, he enjoys his work and hopes the community will come see the cantata on Dec. 18.
“It has a good storyline behind it,” he said.
