Choir: Why?

Why do we have a choir?

Why do we have a choir? Is the church choir still necessary or is it just a Methodist tradition that we feel obliged to keep? 

There is no doubt that music is a gift from God. All other musical instruments are man-made, but only the human voice is God-made. The human voice has the ability to produce beautiful sounds that no other instrument could hope to imitate/recreate. Numerous scriptures remind us to sing praises to our Lord. Thus, music, especially singing, plays a crucial role during our worship. 

When King David brought the ark of the covenant back into the city of David, he appointed some Levites as “musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals” (1 Chronicles 15:6). In fact, “Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skilful at it” (1 Chronicles 15:22). 

1 Chronicles 16:7-36 may have been directed at musicians, but nevertheless it could well be a good guide for singers too. As such, the church choir is responsible for leading the congregation, through singing, to praise God, to proclaim His name and salvation, to declare His glory, to pray to Him, to seek Him, to give thanks, to remember His miracles, and to worship Him. In order to do this, the choir must be “skillful” like Kenaniah. To be skillful, the choir must come together regularly to practise and to rehearse. 

Recently, in order to brush up on our skills and instruments (our voices), the English combined choir had its very first one-day training cum retreat. We received vocal training, learning how to best utilise our instruments. We also focused on music theory, sight singing, and ear training with solfege. Most importantly, we were all reminded of what true worship is (a ‘sincere proclama-tion of and response to God’s goodness and glory, coming from the heart) and that there cannot be doxology without theology (for how can we sing about God if we don’t know who He is?) 

Unfortunately, many churches have decided to dismiss their choirs because the role of the choir has been replaced by the praise team and thus, the choirs are “redundant”. However, in actual fact, the two should come together. The choir can support the praise teams by bringing harmony, diversity, and richness to enhance the music worship experience of the whole congregation. The choir is not only a ministry but also a great platform for fellowship and support. So, we invite all who are interested to come and join us! 

By Winnie Wong & Eliza Chin 
English Combined Choir