Unitarian Universalist Society of Grafton and Upton

Music

Choir and Bell Choir

We pride ourselves in providing many different types of music for the church.
Many of our church members are talented musicians and we encourage them to perform and add to the worship service. The choir performs every Sunday, with rehearsals immediately prior to services. There are no auditions to join the choir, just a desire to sing and a commitment to be there on Sundays. We sing a variety of choral music with an emphasis on the standard church literature, although we also have sung a number of more "modern" composers including John Rutter and
Jim Scott. We have also participated in various special services.

The bell choir plays most often during the Christmas season and rehearses on Sundays after the service. The bell choir has participated in Grafton's holiday celebration for several years with a concert along with a number of our other groups. We own a 2-octave set of Whitechapel bells which were donated to the Upton church in 1970. Because of the limited number of bells, we may have one
to two groups playing. Again, there are no auditions, but a person should be able
to read music as well as make a commitment to be at rehearsals and services when we play.

The Pachamamas is an ensemble of musicians and singers who perform original, traditional, and contemporary music celebrating the seasons, the Earth, and the wheel of life. Comprised of members of our UUSGU society, the Pachamamas perform frequently at our Sunday morning services and UUSGU events.
The music of the Pachamamas spans many cultures and time periods including Medieval European, Native American, African, Celtic and early English. The ancient and rhythmic textures that give the Pachamamas their unique sound are created with instruments from diverse world traditions, such as the Australian didjeridu, African drums, Medieval vielle, and Celtic harp; as well as flute, violin, viola, guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, bouzouki and bodhrán.
The Pachamamas are (left to right): Alex Schmidt, Jennifer McCullough, Gail Goodness, Leslie O'Flaherty, Susan West, Judy LeBlanc, Beth Hall, and Barry Hall.

The Pachamamas in a recent performance at
the Armstrong Multicultural Festival

For bookings, information or performance listings contact Beth Hall, Adderstone Productions, at 508-523-7026 or via email or visit our website at www.ninestones.com/pachamamas.

Some of our UUSGU members have joined together to form an African style drumming group called Bese Saka, and we are delighted to have them perform periodically during our Sunday services. Bese Saka's music celebrates and draws the rhythm out of each of us.

Bese Saka takes its name from an Adinkra Symbol from the Ashanti Tribe. In the Twi language, Bese Saka's literal translation is "sack of cola nuts". Bese Saka is a symbol of affluence, power, abundance, plenty, togetherness and unity.

Members: Susan West Gail Goodness Doug Wittmer Jen McCullough Colin McCullough Barry Hall Pam Pendleton Margie Matteson
If you are interested in having Bese Saka perform for your function, please contact Susan West at susan@graftondrum.com http://www.graftondrum.com/besesaka/index.html