Here at Heavenly Rest, music centers around worship life, music education, and creative partnerships. Our choirs of all ages sing for weekly services, and we celebrate our core traditions with music including Lessons and Carols, the neighborhood Christmas Pageant, Holy Week and Easter. We honor our Anglican heritage, while bringing excellence in a variety of styles from jazz to new music featuring guest artists and composers. Our instrument collection includes an 8000-pipe Austin Organ, Steinway pianos, and handbells. Whether you love to sing or are looking for family-friendly activities and concerts, we have a program for you!
CHR Adult Choir
The Choir of Church of the Heavenly Rest brings together 35 volunteer singers and talented section leaders in a welcoming and dedicated community. The CHR Choir leads music for the Sunday 11am Eucharist and seasonal liturgies. Highlights include singing the Fauré and Duruflé Requiem, the World Premiere of a new Psalm Cycle, and a jazz festival hosting The 27th Bishop Michael Curry with Theodicy Jazz Collective. Rehearsals take place on Sunday morning and afternoon from September through May. If you have past experience singing in a choir, have a blending voice, and can read music easily, we’d love to hear from you!
Children, Youth and Families
Does your child love music? We offer free choral and music education programs for young people ages 4-18 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays during the school year. All of our activities are open to the neighborhood and community, and we would love for your family to join us! Learn more below:
Saints Music Class (age 4-grade K): On Wednesday afternoons from September through May, children ages 4-grade K learn music basics through joyful singing, arts, and games. This Saints class is led by Lydia Saylor and teaching artists. These children participate in the Wednesday evening Family Service at 5pm and special Sunday mornings.
Training and Junior Choristers (grades 1-5): During the school year, each Wednesday from September through May, Training and Junior Choristers learn fundamentals of choral singing, music theory, and team-building skills. These classes are led by Director of Music Janet Yieh, with church music teachers. The Choristers sing music from the Anglican Choral tradition and other diverse styles for the 11:00 am Sunday Eucharist at Heavenly Rest, on the First Sunday of each month. They also lead music during our Wednesday evening services.
Middle and High School Senior Choristers (grades 6-12): Our newest class meets each Thursday evening from September through May. Middle and High School Senior Choristers are challenged and inspired to build their choral singing, music theory, sight reading, and leadership skills. They are invited to sing for services and featured alongside the Adult Choir for special occasions including Christmas and Easter. This group works with Director of Music Janet Yieh and church music teachers. 2026 Spring highlights include joining the Diocesan Cathedral Chorister Day, hosting a Youth Jazz Festival, and learning to sing chants from Taizé.
We would love for any child 4-18 interested in singing to make a weekly rehearsal and monthly church service commitment at Heavenly Rest. All new 1st-12th grade choristers are invited to a Singing Placement meeting. Enrollment closes on January 1st for the Spring and September 1st for the Fall. Register with this form.
Seasonal Music Activities
Handbells: Our handbell choir group includes those of all levels of experience who enjoy playing as part of an ensemble in sacred settings, and occasionally outdoors! We perform for special occasions, such as Christmas and Easter, with a rehearsal or two prior to the event. We welcome new members; necessary skills are a sense of rhythm and basic ability to read music notation.
Concert Performances: Church of the Heavenly Rest regularly presents chamber and choral music. Our Concerts with a Cause have featured classical, choral, jazz and Broadway musicians.
August Choir Camp: Our annual music and arts program for rising 3rd-9th graders features singing classes, arts activities, musical guests, local field trips, and outdoor fun and games! The camp runs Monday-Friday in the first week of August. All neighbors and friends welcome.
Pipe Organs at Heavenly Rest
As a congregation that has long valued beautiful music, we are fortunate to have two pipe organs at Heavenly Rest. The Nave Organ at Heavenly Rest is one of the largest in the city, a magnificent 137-rank Austin Organ with over 8000 pipes and a 5-manual console built for us by Guilbault-Therien of Quebec. Its American Classic character adds support to the singing of the liturgy, including choral and solo anthems, hymns and repertoire, and is capable of providing orchestral accompaniments for large choral ensembles which regularly perform in the church. Learn more about the church organ here.
An additional Austin pipe organ of two keyboards and pedalboard is installed in the Chapel of the Beloved Disciple, which is regularly used for weekly services, weddings and funerals. Learn more about the chapel organ here.
Meet Our Music Team
Director of Music and Organist:
Janet Yieh
Director of Music Janet Yieh leads our vibrant music program for all ages here at Heavenly Rest. An innovative concert recitalist and sacred music specialist, Janet has been lauded for her “expressivity and technical prowess” (The American Organist). She has performed throughout the United States and across the globe, highlights include: New York’s Alice Tully Hall, Washington’s National Cathedral, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, Yale University’s Woolsey Hall, Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, and Malaysia; Canterbury Cathedral, UK, collaboration with the Paul Winter Consort, NOVUS NY orchestra at Carnegie Hall; and the national radio show Pipedreams, WQXR-FM.
In 2020, Janet co-founded a new platform ‘Amplify Female Composers’ with Carolyn Craig, and she contributes research to an international sacred music database called “A Great Host of Women Composers.” She has taught on the faculty for summer organ and choral programs for RSCM America. She is a board member of the New York City American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians. A Taiwanese-American native of Alexandria, Virginia, Janet holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and The Juilliard School. She previously served at Trinity Church Wall Street, Christ Church, New Haven and Trinity Church on the Green, and directed music for Yale-Berkeley Divinity School. www.janetyieh.com
Chorister Assistant: Theresa Johnson
Having grown up as a chorister, Theresa has been singing in the Episcopal church for fourteen years. Prior to graduate studies she served as the Assistant Director to the Children's Choir and soprano section leader at St. Mark's Cathedral in Shreveport, Louisiana from 2021-2024. During her time at St. Mark's the chorister program doubled in size and expanded into new age ranges now including choristers from ages 3-14. Theresa received her Master’s from NYU Steinhardt studying performing arts administration with a concentration in finance. Additionally, she holds a B.A. in Theatre and French and a B.S. in Accounting from Centenary College of Louisiana.
Yale Organ Scholar: Kingsley Price Wood
Hailing from Leonia, New Jersey, Kingsley Price Wood is an organist and pianist studying with Professor Martin Jean in the graduate program at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from Oberlin College, where he studied organ performance with Professor Christa Rakich, as well as mathematics. With particular interest in early music and historical performance, Kingsley has spent time in France, Germany, and the Netherlands studying on celebrated historical instruments. In his time at Oberlin, he received the Selby Harlan Houston Prize in Organ and Music Theory, worked with the College Choir to premier new works, served as a member of both the Schola Cantorum and Collegium Musicum, and appeared as a frequent continuo accompanist, extending his musical engagements far beyond the organ. He has previously served as organist at the First United Methodist Church of Elyria, Ohio, Peace Community Church of Oberlin, Ohio, and as the Wilson Family Oberlin Sacred Music Intern at the Brick Presbyterian Church, also in New York. Outside of music and academia, he is an avid reader and an advocate for sustainable urban development.
Interested in making music? Reach out to Director of Music Janet Yieh at
jyieh@heavenlyrest.org or (212) 289-3400 Ext. 204