Welcoming our Interim Director of Music

ebecker on August 8, 2024

Dear Parish Family,

I write to share with you that Dr. William (Bill) Weisser has accepted my invitation to serve as Interim Director of Music at St. James Parish. Bill has been offering his talents as Guest Organist since July 7th, and will now serve in a longer capacity as we conduct a search for our permanent Director of Music.

Bill retired in 2011 as Minister of Music at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, where he had been responsible for seven singing choirs, three handbell choirs, three dance ensembles and instrumental ensembles with over 460 participants for more than 35+ years. He was the conductor and artistic director of the Capital Area Chorale, a mixed-voice community choir, for 11 years. Bill was also an adjunct assistant professor on the faculty of North Carolina State University, where he directed the University Singers for 5 years.

Since retirement, he has served at several churches as an interim director, including most recently at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church here in Wilmington. Bill is a graduate of Westminster Choir College, having done graduate work in sacred music at Indiana University. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony and the North Carolina Symphony, was the founding director of the Children’s Choir of Duke Chapel, and directed the choir that sang the publisher’s premiere of John Rutter’s “Requiem,” with the composer conducting. He is also an ordained deacon in the Methodist church and has retired to Wilmington.

We look forward to Bill time’s with our parish family and encourage you to reach out to him with any questions regarding the Choir or Music Ministries at St. James. His email is [email protected].

I will be sharing more details in the near future regarding our search process for Director of Music. In the meantime, please know that I remain available for any conversation about any aspect of our life together as a parish community.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Phillip Craig

[email protected]