KentTritle.com | ConductorLiturgical Music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
The services at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine are open to all:
Choral Eucharist with the Cathedral Choir – Sundays at 11 AM
The professional Cathedral Choir sings for this service 52 weeks a year, and throughout the school year the Choir is joined frequently by the Cathedral Choristers (grades 4-8) and volunteer Cathedral Chorale.
Evensong – Sundays at 4 PM
The traditional Anglican service of Evensong is offered every Sunday at 4 PM through Trinity Sunday on June 7.
- Click here for the Liturgical Music Schedule through June 2020
- Click here for more info on music at the Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is located at:
1047 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
www.stjohndivine.org
Photo: Isadora Wilkenfeld
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Here is a message from Kent:![]()
My Dear Ones, ![]()
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My mother, Donna Tritle, passed away last Wednesday, January 12th. All five kids, Dad and sister-in-law Karla were by her side. We sang, we prayed, we sang some more. The cause of death was Parkinson’s with complications due to Covid-19. Mom had been vaccinated, but Covid set up respiratory complications. Fortunately for us the contagious period passed quickly and we were able to be with her in the days leading to Mom’s passing. ![]()
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Mom’s piano playing was my very first and then life-long inspiration for being a musician. She played ‘by ear’ and with music, and I aspired to both, in that order. Her steady, consistent support, concern and care through my entire life has sustained me, and her ever-positive outlook on life gave me the foundation for a similar life-view. Mom was the quiet center of our lives, and her unconditional love flowed freely to all five of us. My father, Elwin, is getting along as best as can be expected, even nobly. I am indebted to my sister Jennifer and brothers Greg, Dan and Brad for their extraordinary presence and care for both parents. We are a close family, and it was Mom in great part who made that possible. We miss Mom, but also know and believe that she is not gone, but transformed. The body is only a shell which contains the human soul. Mom was a woman of incredible faith, and we very much feel her presence, even as we miss her greatly.![]()
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Thanks for reading, and I send all my love to you.![]()
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Kent![]()
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Donna Tritle, daughter of Cecil and Ruby (Bass) Rooks, was born April 27, 1938, in Marshalltown, Iowa. On June 6, 1959, she married Elwin Tritle of Spirit Lake. Together they raised five children and also a niece. Donna was proud of all her children and never missed one of their activities.![]()
Donna’s mother was a homemaker, bookkeeper for the family businesses and a creative visual artist; her father was nationally recognized as a horse judge, and was also a farmer and entrepreneur. It was in this environment that her love of music, and particularly for the piano, was fostered. Donna graduated from Eldora High School and attended Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). She met her future husband, Elwin, at the Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa, during that time. She became a longtime member of the Spirit Lake United Methodist Church, and at various times served as church secretary, financial secretary, in United Methodist Women and Circle, sang in the church choir, accompanied the choir until recent years, and together with Elwin co-chaired the Missions Committee and taught Sunday school. For many years, she had her own store on Hill Avenue, The Hope Chest, and did bookkeeping for various entities including the family farm.![]()
Donna was active with her husband Elwin in the Dickinson County Farm Bureau, where she once served as Women’s Chairman and invented the idea of Christmas beef gift certificates, which became a statewide and then a multi-state promotion. She also served in PEO, as a member of the Northwest Iowa Mental Health Board, and she attended countless Spirit Lake Community School, 4-H, and Girl Scouts activities (where she was troop leader). Donna and Elwin were also active together in the Neighborhood Club. She was even recognized as Homemaker of the Year for Dickinson County. Many Spirit Lake music students will also remember her generously accompanying them for music contests in junior and senior high school. She was passionate about seeing her children and grandchildren, whether in Spirit Lake, New York, Arizona, Colorado, or California.![]()
Donna passed away on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, with her husband and children by her side. She was preceded in death by her parents Cecil and Ruby Rooks, and her brother, John Rooks. Left to cherish Donna’s memory are her husband of 62 years, Elwin, and their five children and their spouses, Kent Tritle and Arthur Fiacco of New York City, Greg and Sheila Tritle of Spirit Lake, Dan Tritle and Karla Oleson-Tritle of Spirit Lake, Brad and Ayako Tritle of South Orange, New Jersey, Jennifer Tritle-Oitzman and Cory Oitzman of Spirit Lake; their grandchildren, Kaylee Tritle of West Des Moines, Aisha Tritle of Glasgow, Scotland, Emily Spangler of Spirit Lake, and Bridget Tritle of Spirit Lake. Niece Diane (Jess) Dreadfulwater has been a member of the immediate family since 1964. Donna is also survived by her siblings Ike (Peg) Rooks of Eldora, Robin (Marc) Hyland of Grimes, Robert (Marlana) Rooks of Gabriola Island, British Columbia; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She is beloved for her warm smile, generous heart and positive spirit and will be missed by many.![]()
A service is planned for the spring.![]()
Turner Jenness Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC New Year's Eve Concert for Peace - Friday at 7 pm ET - will move to an all-online performance because of the ongoing pandemic, but this also means that all are welcome to view the livestream on this page - ![]()
www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/40465/new-years-eve-concert-for-peace - and on the Cathedral's Facebook page and YouTube channel.![]()
Kent, Bryan Zaros, and Jie Yi will conduct the Cathedral Choir, Jamet Pittman is soloist, and Harry Smith hosts: Charpentier's Te Deum, Joel Thompson’s riveting "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed" and David Hurd’s "When Night Fell," a medley of works by Asian composers including Chen Yi, with the choir singing in Chinese! Jamet Pittman will lead us all in singing “This Little Light of Mine” after J.S. Bach’s timeless setting of Dona Nobis Pacem from his Mass in B Minor. Join us as we ring in the New Year of 2022 with optimism!
Join Kent and his colleagues at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC for a livestream of Christmas Eve services this afternoon at 3:30 ET, which will be repeated later at 10 pm, as well as Christmas morning at 10 am, here: www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/40727/lessons-and-carols![]()
From the Cathedral: ![]()
This service will be streamed to this page and to the Cathedral's Facebook page and YouTube channel. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the service will be held without congregants to protect the health and safety of our communities.![]()
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The Service of Lessons and Carols is a recent but now classical element of Anglican Liturgy, first instituted for Christmas Eve 1880 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro. This beloved Christmas service begins with a musical prelude at 3:30 pm and will include musical contributions by the Cathedral Choirs as we celebrate the birth of the light.