Antrim Area Songsters concert benefits First Presbyterian Church

The inside of First Presbyterian Church of Antrim features a cathedral ceiling, two-story stained glass windows and curved pews.

On Friday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m., the Antrim Area Songsters, a new musical performance group founded by Antrim native Ray Sweeney, will present a holiday concert at the church to help raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the historic building. The concert is free, but guests are encouraged to contribute whatever donations they are able to help maintain the church.

The snow date for the concert is Sunday, Dec. 17.

“This concert is our way of thanking the Antrim Presbyterian Church for all they have done for our organization. It is challenge for the church to maintain the building, and this is our way of giving back,” said Sweeney, who is also musical director of the First Presbyterian Church.

The group will perform both classic and new “rousing holiday tunes,” including religious and secular music. Cookies and other holiday treats will be served. The Songsters include about 30 singers and musicians, most of whom live in Antrim, but also who come from as far away as Concord and Keene. The concert, which is the group’s first performance, will include 10 young singers from Great Brook Middle School as well several of Sweeney’s former students.

Sweeney has had a long career in music direction and performance. Before coming back to Antrim and becoming the music director at ConVal High School, where he worked for 15 years, Sweeney spent years performing in New York City, did shows with the USO and played professionally in piano bars.

“Antrim is a strong community and has always had a lot of musical talent. I grew up doing the Antrim Players. My musical mentor was Izi Nichols, who was legendary in the area. She wrote music for Boston radio stations and taught in local schools. She was a huge influence,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney noted that the baccalaureate ceremony for Antrim High School, which closed in 1969 when the ConVal School District was created, always took place in the First Presbyterian Church.

“There was always a Christmas concert for the whole community and lots of other events. The different congregations would gather and use this building together,” Sweeney said.

The Songsters have been rehearsing weekly at the church for about 18 months, since the end of the pandemic. Sweeney formed the group after COVID, when many people in the community were eager to perform and gather again.

Pastor Jan Howe of the First Presbyterian Church says that in addition to being an active church with a small-but-loyal congregation, the church functions as Antrim’s community center.

“The building is used almost every night of the week,” Howe said. “With the exception of the second floor of the town hall, our church is about the largest meeting space in town. The fellowship hall is used daily. The Historical Society meets here. The Grange is meeting here while they restore their own building. The Lions Club meets here. We do senior lunches; AA meets here. We have a teen group from Avenue A, the TACO group, where kids are leaning to cook – they use the kitchen in the fellowship hall. The Grapevine does community suppers. The Songsters practice here, a lot of other groups have meetings. It’s truly a community building; it’s constantly in use.”

Howe said the upkeep of the building is a perennial challenge for the congregation.

“We painted one side at a time to save money, and it took six years. We had a leak in the roof for years; no one could figure out how water was getting in, but we finally figured it out this fall. There are some problems with foundation leaks, some doors news to be replaced. It’s like any old building. But the community is incredibly supportive. A lot of people who are not even in our congregation support the church and this building just because it so important to the town,” Howe said.

Due the cost of heating the vast space in the sanctuary, the church holds worship in the fellowship hall in the rear of the building in the winter months.

Sweeney is excited for the Songsters to perform in the sanctuary. The holiday concert is the first of two or three Songsters concerts Sweeney plans to organize each year.

“We practice mostly in the fellowship hall in the winter, but the acoustics in the sanctuary are absolutely incredible,” Sweeney said. “The light through the stained glass changes all day long. It’s stunning.”

The First Presbyterian Church congregation has had several homes over its long history. The original First Presbyterian Church, a two-story brick church, was built in 1788, near the site of the Antrim Grange. When the economy of Antrim began to switch from farming to manufacturing, the population center shifted south, closer to the mills along the Contoocook River. The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church decided to move downtown, as the brick church was no longer convenient to the majority of the town’s population. Because the laws of the Presbyterian Church forbid Presbyterian churches to be sold or converted to other uses, the original brick church was destroyed when the congregation moved out.

“The first church was actually blown up,” Sweeney said. “No one wants that to ever happen to this building. Everyone cares about this building; it is so important to the town. People have looked into placing the building on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s just very special.”

Howe said the concert is the first big fundraiser for the building in several years.

“We are just so grateful to Ray and the Songsters. It’s an old building, and there is always a long list of things that needs to be done,” Howe said. “We’re so grateful for the support of the whole community. People’s generosity just keeps us going.”