A Day of Music With Tom Trenney

Saturday, August 15, 2026
Choir Workshop • 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Registration required)
Festival of Hymns • 4:00 p.m. (Free and open to the public)

Join church musicians, choirs, and singers from across Northwest Arkansas for a day of music, fellowship, and joyful song with acclaimed conductor, composer, and clinician Tom Trenney.

Whether you sing in a church choir every week, direct a music ministry, teach music, study voice, or simply love to sing, this ecumenical gathering is an opportunity to make beautiful music, meet fellow musicians, and celebrate the rich tradition of congregational song. Together, we'll spend the day preparing hymns, hymn arrangements, and choral settings that will culminate in a community-wide Festival of Hymns at 4:00 p.m.

More than a workshop, this is an opportunity to build friendships across churches and traditions, to be inspired by one another, and to experience the joy that comes when many voices become one.

Community Choir Workshop

The workshop is open to choir members, church musicians, organists, music directors, music teachers, vocal students, community singers, and college musicians. Advanced high school singers (ages 16 and older) are also welcome.

Participants will rehearse together under Tom Trenney's direction, learning a variety of hymns, creative hymn arrangements, and anthem settings. Most of the music will be learned during the day, and any materials requiring advance preparation will be provided before the workshop.

Schedule

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. • Morning rehearsal (Parish Hall)

12:00 p.m. • Lunch provided (Parish Hall)

1:00–3:00 p.m. • Afternoon rehearsal (Church)

3:00 p.m. • Break and light refreshments

4:00 p.m. • Festival of Hymns (Church)

Registration is required for workshop participants.

Festival of Hymns

At 4:00 p.m., the wider community is invited to join us for a joyful Festival of Hymns featuring the workshop choir, congregational singing, and inspiring musical leadership from Tom Trenney.

Rather than a formal concert or traditional worship service, the Festival of Hymns is a community celebration of the church's rich musical heritage. Whether you come to sing every verse or simply to listen and be inspired, you'll experience an afternoon filled with beautiful music, shared voices, and the timeless power of congregational song.

Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.

About Tom Trenney

Composer, conductor, organist, preacher, and teacher Tom Trenney serves as Minister of Music at First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is Director of Choirs and the Susan Sehnert Stuart Endowed Professor of Choral Music at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

His choirs have performed for state, regional, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and have received recognition from the American Prize. In 2024, he was named Music Educator of the Year by the Nebraska Music Education Association.

As a performer and clinician, Tom has appeared at churches, colleges, and major concert venues across the country, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Kauffman Center, Benaroya Hall, and the Kimmel Center. His compositions are widely published and performed, and his anthem From Generation to Generation received the 2023 Raabe Prize for Excellence in Sacred Composition from the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music, Tom is widely known for his inspiring teaching, joyful leadership, and deep love of congregational singing.

Location & Parking

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
224 N. East Avenue
Fayetteville, AR 72701

Morning rehearsal and lunch will take place in the Parish Hall. Afternoon rehearsal and the Festival of Hymns will be held in the church.

Parking is available on the east side of the church near the Welcome Center (off College Avenue) and on the west side of the church along East Avenue. St. Paul's is located just off Dickson Street between College Avenue and East Avenue.

Register for the Community Choir Workshop

We hope you'll join us for this inspiring day of music-making, fellowship, and shared song.

Registration is required for workshop participants. Lunch is included.