Shawn McCann,
Music Director
Music is one of the most inspiring parts of our services. In non-pandemic times, an Adult Choir and a Children’s Choir provide music for services. In addition, we are blessed to have a number of talented musicians in our congregation who also contribute to our services.
When we are not in quarantine, Adult Choir rehearsals take place on Thursdays from 7:30 – 9:30 pm in the vestry. The Children's Choir rehearses on alternate Sundays from 11:45 am to 12:30 in the sanctuary. Each choir also rehearses at 9:00 am before services at which they sing. If you are interested in joining one of the choirs, please contact music director Shawn McCann by email at , or see him after church.
While church is remote, rehearsals happen via Zoom. Please see the information sheets linked below for details in the current church year.
When we meet for live services, the Adult Choir sings at services once or twice per month; the Children’s Choir sings about once per month. Here you can download sign-up sheets for the two choirs (PDFs open in a new window).
There was a man with tongue of wood
Who assayed to sing,
And in truth it was lamentable.
But there was one who heard,
And in the clip-clapper of this tongue
He understood what the man
Wished to sing.
And with this the singer was content.
— Stephen Crane (1871-1900)
Shawn McCann joined the staff of First Parish Church of Groton as Music Director in December of 1995. He has over 30 years of professional musical experience as a director, conductor, accompanist, and as soloist on piano, harpsichord, organ, and other keyboard instruments. Shawn received his Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and in Music Theory / Composition from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell where he studied under Inge Lindblad and Juanita Tsu. Shawn is a member and past President (2017 through 2019) of the Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministry (AUUMM) and is a graduate of the three-year Music Leadership Credentialing program of the UUA. He was a member of the band for the UUA General Assembly in 2012 (Phoenix, AZ) and led the band in 2013 (Louisville, KY) and 2014 (Providence, RI). In addition to church music, Shawn works as accompanist for the Nashoba Valley Chorale and Indian Hill Music School.
On Sunday 2015-10-04, the Adult Choir unveiled their brand new, colorful stoles. The stoles were made as a gift to the church by a team of choir members and relatives, led by Carolyn Francisco and including Nancy Ross (Carolyn’s mom), Deb Boczenowski, Nancy & Margaret Burdine, Kathryn Ellis-Moore, Nancy Karuzis, Deborah O’Rourke, and Michelle Stiller. The original idea was Pat Lawrence’s, and the whole choir weighed in on color and basic design decisions. The detailed design and construction was a fun, team effort!
3 Powderhouse Road … Groton, MA 01450-4700 … 978-448-6307 … …
Most recently updated 2021-09-06