Music Ministry

The music ministry of Unity Church has a long history of outstanding choral singing as an integral part of Sunday worship and for creating connections within, among, and beyond our community. All newcomers are welcome and encouraged to join an adult choir at Unity Church! Membership is free and open to everyone—including people outside of Unity's congregation. However, all members of Unity's adult choirs must commit to singing at Sunday worship services when required and to honor Unity's values, mission, and end statements.

Unity Church Music Ministry Schedule 2025-26

Upcoming Music Events

Sing in a Choir on Christmas Eve | Email [email protected] to participate. 
Rehearsal for the adult pageant choir is Sunday, December 14, 10:15 a.m., in the Foote Room. 

Rehearsals for the 9:00 p.m. Lessons and Carols candlelight choir are Monday, December 22, and Tuesday, December 23, 7:30-9:15 p.m., in the Sanctuary choir loft. Call time on Christmas Eve is 8:00 p.m. 

Music Ministry Winter Concert: Saint Nicholas 
Saturday, December 13 | Sanctuary
6:30: Carol Sing
7:00: Concert
8:00: Potluck Dessert Buffet 
Please bring a dessert to Parish Hall before the concert: nut-free, labeled, cut and ready to serve. 

Unity's Music Ministries is very excited to present Benjamin Britten’s Saint Nicholas at Unity Church, a huge endeavor that involves all of the music ministry, past and present music staff (including Ruth Palmer at the organ!), and an orchestra of Unity Church members. 

Border CrosSing presents Navidad Nuestra
Details and Tickets
Saturday, December 20 | 7:00 p.m. Academia Cesar Chavez
Sunday, December 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Incarnation Catholic Church

Border CrosSing continues its holiday tradition of performing Navidad Nuestra by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez paired with villancicos from Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru, performed in Spanish and Nahuatl. The music on this program centers the Holy Family’s role as refugees in the Christmas story, a perspective that is often left out in concert programming in the United States. Don’t miss these powerful concerts!

To apply for membership in any of the adult choirs at Unity, please email Ahmed Anzaldúa, Unity's Director of Music Ministries, at ahmed@unityunitarian.org.

Unity Singers

​First Rehearsal: Tuesday, September 2, 7:30 p.m., Parish Hall
​Rehearsals: Tuesdays, 7:30-9:15 p.m., Parish Hall
​
Unity Singers is Unity's auditioned, chamber choral ensemble (typically between 20 and 28 voices.) Each singer’s involvement is built on a passion for singing and for ministry through music. This ensemble has an outstanding trajectory of representing Unitarian Universalist music locally and abroad through many commissions and premieres of music by world-renowned composers, professionally-produced recording projects, collaborations with other ensembles and community organizations, and multiple appearances at conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, with the most recent being an invitation to perform at the 2019 ACDA National Conference in Kansas City, MO.

​Unity Singers rehearses every Tuesday, from 7:30 to 9:15 p.m., and on average is called to sing for worship one Sunday per month, as well as for special church events and important dates in the liturgical calendar. 
 
Due to the requirement for independent learning and the pace of rehearsal and performance, membership in Unity Singers requires a yearly audition, scheduled individually with the director. 

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon, arr. Kirby Shaw
​Unity Singers
​Ahmed Anzaldúa, director

Unity Choir

First Rehearsal: Thursday, September 4, 7:30 p.m., Parish Hall
​Rehearsal: Thursdays, 7:30-9:15 p.m., Parish Hall
​
Unity Choir is a large choral ensemble (typically between 60 and 80 voices) and is the strong component on which Unity's choral program is built; a vital and energetic presence in our community. Its members share various levels of musical experience and a wide variety of activities and interests, all of which are brought together by their love of singing, music, and community.

Unity Choir rehearses every Thursday, from 7:30 to 9:15 p.m., and on average is called to sing for worship two Sundays per month. Although no audition is required to join Unity Choir, new members interested in applying will have a brief interview with the director and will be asked to sing a few vocalises (“warm-up” sequences) and short tonal memory exercises, so that the director can get a more thorough understanding of their background, vocal range, and vocal tone. 

Meditation on Breathing by Sarah Dan Jones
​Unity Choir
​Ahmed Anzaldúa, director

Women's Ensemble

​First Rehearsal: Sunday, September 7, 10:30 a.m., Foote Room
Rehearsals: Sundays, 10:30-11:00 a.m., Foote Room

Women’s Ensemble is a continually growing and evolving group (typically between 40 and 60 voices) that emerged organically at a Women's retreat at Unity Church. These singers meet for only a half-hour each Sunday morning and to this short rehearsal time they bring tremendous creative energy, commitment, and joy! While this group emerged and continues to function as a space that supports and empowers women, all soprano and alto singers are encouraged to apply for Unity's Women's Ensemble, including transfeminine, transmasculine, and non-binary as well as cis male sopranos and altos.

Women's Ensemble rehearses every Sunday, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m., and on average is called to sing for worship one Sunday per month. Although no audition is required to join Women's Ensemble, new members interested in applying will have a brief interview with the director and will be asked to sing a few vocalises (“warm-up” sequences) and short tonal memory exercises, so that the director can get a more thorough understanding of their background, vocal range, and vocal tone. 

Be Like the Bird by Abbie Betinis
Women's Ensemble
Ahmed Anzaldúa, director

Children's Choir

​First Rehearsal: Children's Choir (grades 1-5): Sunday, September 14, 
10:15 a.m., Choir Room
Rehearsals: Sundays, 10:15 - 10:55 a.m., Choir Room

​Unity Children's choir is a vibrant group of singers comprised of children from grades one through five. The choir meets from 10:15-10:55 a.m., each Sunday in the Choir Room at Unity Church. Children’s choir rehearsal activities are focused on hands-on music making. In addition to singing the children experience music through movement, games, playing instruments, reading music and learning about the elements of music. No prior experience is required to join the choir. 
 
The Children’s Choir sings at Unity services approximately one Sunday each month. Additional special Children’s Choir traditions include a spring community outreach nursing home concert, a December holiday concert with all the choirs of Unity church and many opportunities for the singers to socialize together.
 
For more information contact Kathleen Radspinner, Unity Children’s Choir Director, [email protected].

Children's Choir Registration

This Is What Democracy Looks Like by Elizabeth Alexander
Children's Choir
Kathleen Radspinner, director