Parish Music

Director of Music

Dr. Jenifer Raub Fraser is Director of Music & Organist. An experienced liturgical musician, she directs the St. Peter’s Choir and St. Peter’s Handbell Ringers and leads the music at St. Mary’s. In addition to her work as a church musician, Jenifer is also a free-lance organist, musicologist, teacher, and composer. She teaches piano and music theory at ACS International School, Egham. She is a member of the Royal College of Organists and the Association of British Choral Directors.
After her early training as a biochemist, Jenifer abandoned science for church music. She holds degrees from The Catholic University of America, Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, the University of East Anglia, and Royal Holloway University of London. Her main area of academic interest is Tudor church music. She also compiled the article on the Victorian organist, Berthold Tours, for the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
As an organist, Jenifer has given recitals in both the U.S. and the U.K. and can be heard on several CDs accompanying the Chapel Choir of Royal Holloway.
Prior to this appointment, Jenifer served as Director of Music of St. Mary’s Church, Thorpe; and, in the U.S., she served parishes in Connecticut and in the Washington, D.C. area.
When she’s not conducting singers or playing keyboard instruments, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and wordplay.
Whether you sing or play a musical instrument (or would like to learn), she encourages you to join us in making a joyful noise to the Lord.

Music in the Parish of Staines
We have a lively and diverse music programme, which supports not only our worship but also our wider community. St. Peter’s Church has a SATB choir in the Anglican choral tradition, sung worship is led at St. Mary’s by a smaller choir .

The Parish Band regularly provides the music for the Heaven@11 services. The combined Parish choir frequently comes together for joint services and other music-making. Across the Parish, the music programme seeks the best of both traditional and modern music for worship. Each of the Churches has both a pipe organ and a piano, and all of these instruments are used regularly in worship.