Music at King's Chapel

Heinrich Christensen, Director of Music 
Elizabeth Thomson, Chair, Music Committee

The musical tradition of King's Chapel dates back to 1713 when the church became the first in New England to acquire an organ. The current C.B. Fisk instrument, King's Chapel's sixth organ, was installed in 1964.

Among the important musical events in the life of the young nation that took place at King's Chapel was the first "musical festival" in New England, held here on January 10, 1786. It took the form of a lengthy concert during the Morning Prayer service, including excerpts from Handel's Messiah. The newly founded Handel & Haydn Society gave its first public performance at King's Chapel on Christmas Day, 1815, and remains the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States. 

The present music program at King's Chapel consists of service music, a Sunday concert series, and a Tuesday recital series. The King's Chapel Concert Series is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium. 

The King's Chapel Choir, consisting of seventeen professional singers under the direction of Heinrich Christensen, sings at Morning Prayer on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and major holiday services from September through May. During the summer months, individual choir members function as soloists and cantors for Sunday services.