Music Ministry
The music program at University Baptist Church seeks to provide the highest quality music for our congregation and community while honoring God through our efforts. We believe in music as a tool for outreach, and frequently join with other choirs and non-profit organizations to provide high quality music to the Austin community. For more information about the music ministry of University Baptist Church,
please contact Minister of Music and Outreach, Jonathan Castillo.
UBC Chancel Choir
The UBC Chancel Choir is the core ensemble of the music ministry at UBC. Open to adults 18 or older, this choir provides weekly worship leadership for our 11:00AM worship service on Sunday mornings. No audition is required. Singing music from all style periods and composers, the Chancel Choir also presents occasional concerts and masterworks in accordance with the liturgical year. Previous works include:
John Rutter’s Requiem
Handel’s Messiah
Charpentier’s Messe de minuit pour Noël
Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ
Schubert’s Mass in G
Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo
Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna.
Taylor Scott Davis’ Magnificat
We are supplemented by our four Choral Scholars who provide enhancement and leadership in choral excellence and experience.
Rehearsals are on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:15PM in the Choir Room. If you are interested in joining the Chancel Choir, please contact Minister of Music and Outreach, Jonathan Castillo
Come Sing With Us!
Interested in joining the choir at University Baptist Church?
We meet every Wednesday evening from 7:00 - 8:15 pm.
Please note, due to the changing nature of the covid-19 pandemic, the choir will be occasionally required to wear masks while singing.
Our Pipe Organ
The first organ was a pedal‐pumped, two‐manual reed instrument that sat where the display pipes are now. It proved inadequate for the sanctuary. In 1924 the Majestic Theater (now the Paramount) purchased a new organ, and the church bought the old one for $1,000. This was a small electric pipe organ. From 1931 to 1937, Dr. C. P. Boner, a physics professor at UT, with the assistance of Robert Newman, added components from three organs and parts from all over that he bought, begged, or swapped for. When completed, the organ had 2,100 pipes and 80 stops. By 1960 ranks on the organ could no longer be patched, and Mr. Otto Hofmann of Austin was commissioned to build a new organ. Many of the old pipes were used, but most were made especially for the church. When completed in 1963, the instrument had 2,945 pipes. From time to time, Mr. Hofmann has made improvements and repairs to the organ. In 1986 he added 85 pipes of festival trumpets that play on all manuals and pedals.
In the following decades after Mr. Hofmann finished his work, the organ began to decline, and with limited financial resources the church could not keep up with the maintenance that was required to keep the instrument fully functional. Entire chests had to have their winding removed so that multiple ranks and partial-ranks would no longer play due to damage. Pipes had been damaged due to a tight build that made maintenance extremely challenging. The contacts in the console were old and unreliable and there were many holes in each division.
In February 2022, the congregation voted unanimously to renovate the sanctuary organ, once again showing UBC’s commitment to high quality organ music. R. A. Colby, Inc. was contracted to construct a new console, re-voice and re-scale the present pipework, facilitate the addition of new pipework, and add high-quality digital additions from the Walker Technical Company to bring new life to our ailing instrument and to enhance the worship of our members and visitors for the next generation.
R.A. Colby, Inc. completed the new instrument on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 after a 6-week installation. The new instrument is a rich and colorful instrument that will support the congregation and serve the community for decades to come. For the current specifications of the new instrument, please click here.