31 Mar 2022 Church choir director celebrates life of making music

By Colleen Holt

For nearly 30 years, Janet Gingerich has directed multitudes of choirs in singing, ringing, playing, and inspiring through music. Now, she is planning her next production — retirement.

In October 1993, Gingerich was offered the part-time job as director of music at Conway First United Methodist Church. With two children in preschool and a husband working full time, this was a big undertaking. From all respects, she has conducted herself and her choirs with grace since. Her retirement date is June 5.

A fixture in both church and secular music throughout the Conway community, Gingerich was born in England and came to the U.S. in 1984 after graduating from the University of Bristol with a bachelor of arts in music and French. Janet (née) Savage met her future husband, J.D. Gingerich, through the Student Methodist Association at the Methodist Church in Bristol.

A Conway resident, J.D. brought his English bride to Arkansas. She soon started to attend worship with him at FUMC, began working with the children’s choirs for a small stipend, and teaching private piano lessons. Many of the young adults in the church are former piano students. 

In 1993, FUMC was looking for a new choir director and organist which was a job designed for 20 hours per week. The senior pastor came up with a plan to split the job: 10 hours for Gingerich to direct the choirs, and 10 hours for Betty Coombs Cohen to serve as organist for just a few months until a replacement could be found.

“And here we still are,” Gingerich laughed. Cohen retired from the organ in 2018, yet remains an active member of the church and is an occasional guest organist. “Betty and I had a really good partnership for almost 25 years, and I miss her, but I’m loving working now with our new organist, Jason Saugey. We make a good team.”

Janet has also taught French at the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College, was a part-time instructor of music appreciation at Hendrix, and directed the Conway Community Chorus and the Voices of Sallie Cone. She holds a master’s degree of music in piano performance from UCA and served for three years as chairman of the Arkansas chapter of the Handbell Musicians of America. 

“At Conway FUMC, we’ve grown from one choir, one bell choir, and a children’s choir to adding a First Service choir, a second adult bell choir, an expanded children’s music program, a children’s music associate, and have created a whole new service and Praise Band,” she said.

She also started the Under the Dome Recital Series. “It’s a way for the congregation and members of the community to perform. I feel when we share musical opportunities with the community, it’s an inroad to the church. It’s not specifically designed as an evangelism tool, but it’s always good to have strong relationships with the community, and it’s certainly the case that these kinds of events have been a point of entry for several of our members.”

Other specific community collaborations were presenting Choral Evensong services, performing with the Conway Symphony Orchestra and the Conway Community Chorus, and combining with the New Sussex Singers, an English choir that included her father, Keith Savage. 

So, why retire now? Life changes and her husband is also retiring . “I feel this has been my complete life and soul for the last almost 30 years, and my family has taken the back seat. Yet, the family has always been involved, and this has been a way for us to make music together. It’s time now to put family first and have the flexibility to be able to come and go as needed or desired.”

Retirement will allow more opportunities to visit her family in England. She has always gone to England for one month each summer, until COVID-19.

In the end, the thing she worries about most in retirement is the loss of this connection to her people. “I wasn’t aware when I started how much of a ministry this really was. There is so much pastoral care involved. We take care of each other. It definitely goes way beyond the music,” she said. “This is what feeds my soul.”