Wednesday, Feb 9, 2022
Serving the church where Westminster Choir College began
by Anne Sears
Westminster Choir College’s connection with the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, is over 100 years old. Beginning with the founding of the Westminster Choir under the direction of John Finley Williamson in 1920 and through the establishment of the Westminster Choir School in 1926, the relationship has continued through numerous tour concerts presented by many of the Choir College’s choirs over the years.
The relationship moved to a new level this year as Jason Steiner ’21 is serving in the church’s first residency program. Designed for recent college graduates who feel the call to professional leadership in the church, the program offers two residency positions each year: one in music and one in mission. The residents have the opportunity to learn from and to work beside the church’s highly qualified and experienced staff in this large, multi-staffed, urban congregation. They receive a salary and are provided with housing during their 11-month residency.
When Steiner enrolled at Westminster Choir College in 2017, he wasn’t planning on a career in the church. A Bachelor of Arts in Music major, he studied piano with James Goldsworthy and voice with Kathy Price and Jay Carter. He also was a member of the Westminster Concert Bell Choir and Westminster Kantorei. It wasn’t until his last semester that he took formal organ lessons with Alan Morrison.
Growing up unchurched, he first became exposed to sacred music through his job as the handbell and youth music director at Spruce Run Lutheran Church in Glen Gardner, N.J. After graduating in May 2021, he planned to stay in New Jersey and continue at Spruce Run while teaching piano privately.
“But then in February, I woke up one morning and felt that I was called to do something else, although I didn’t know what it was yet,” he says. That same day, he heard about the American Guild of Organists’ jobs website and checked it out. The Westminster Presbyterian Church residency was the first position listed. His skills matched perfectly with the job description, so he texted Brent Manley, the church’s music associate, the same day and applied a few days later. Not long after, he was invited to become the church’s first music resident.
We couldn’t be more proud to have a graduate of Westminster Choir College as our first resident.
After moving to Dayton in August, he immediately immersed himself in the church’s music program. His duties include directing a beginning handbell choir for adults, planning and leading rehearsals for children grades 3-6, singing in the Dayton Westminster Choir, playing organ and piano in worship, ringing in handbell choirs, organizing music for several choirs, setting up for rehearsals, attending staff meetings, and practicing the organ and piano. He works closely with Music Associate Manley and Associate Pastor for Music John Neely. He has also volunteered to serve as a youth advisor for the church’s youth fellowship program on Sunday evenings, and the members have invited him to travel with them to Scotland in June.
Manley says about the program and Steiner, “It is our hope and vision that those who complete a year of residency at Westminster will build their leadership skills, grow spiritually and discern more clearly where God is calling them in their career path. We couldn’t be more proud to have a graduate of Westminster Choir College as our first resident. Your institution should be very proud of Jason and his considerable skills, knowledge and high character.”
Reflecting on the experience, Steiner says, “It’s been really amazing. I had a clear vocational calling before I got here, and it’s grown stronger and more definite by being here. I don’t know if I’ll ever end up in a program this large, but the importance of paying attention to detail in managing a program of this size is something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my career. Even though worship isn’t a performance, we’re always striving for perfection.”
His plans for after the residency concludes in July are evolving. He’d like to be a full-time minister of music. The next step will probably be a master’s in church music, perhaps followed by seminary.
Looking back at the path that led him to where he is today, he says, “Even though I wasn’t a Sacred Music major, I was able to secure this position. My first semester at Westminster I was taking handbell methods and then applying what I learned in my church job. My peers were doing the same with their coursework and respective fieldwork, and constantly talking about the side projects we were doing and different ideas we had for the future. Bell tour was also critical to my development as a minister, and definitely the reason why I’m pursuing music ministry instead of just general music. Being welcomed into people’s homes and hearing their stories expanded my worldview and taught me what it means to be a minister out in the world.”
He adds, “The level of innovation inherent to the campus culture at Westminster has served me well, both in my previous position and in this one. And it will continue to serve me well in the future because whenever I see an opportunity or need at the church, I’ve been trained to imagine an infinite number of possible things to do with it. I’ve never spoken to anyone who knows of a student body as energized and creative as Westminster’s.”