The Boys and the Men of St. Paul’s Archdiocesan Choir School will provide the music for the Mass of Ordination. Here’s their story:
Saint Paul’s Choir School at Saint Paul Church, Cambridge is a musically intensive, academically rigorous Catholic day school for boys in grades four through eight, striveing to engage young men in the development of their intellectual and musical talents and to inspire them to use their gifts for the greater glory of God and in service to his people.
Saint Paul’s Choir School, the only Catholic boys’ choir school in the United States, identifies and accepts boys from the greater Boston area who are musically talented and academically qualified. In the context of a Catholic environment, students are offered intensive musical training, a rigorous academic program, and a solid moral, spiritual formation.
Music is at the Choir School’s foundation, and is centered around arguably the best Catholic choir of men and boys in the United States. While the music program is diverse and includes many types of performance opportunities, choral singing is the primary focus, principally in service to the liturgies at St. Paul’s Church.
The Choristers sing the highest part in the Choir of St. Paul’s and have a very busy concert and travel schedule. Recently, they have appeared on a large number of television and radio shows (including Good Morning America and Fox & Friends) to promote their chart-topping debut international recording Christmas in Harvard Square. Boys are Choristers from the day they are ‘invested’ (usually at the end of the 5th grade) until their voices begins to change, at which time they join the Schola Cantorum.
The combination of emotional, intellectual and vocal maturity in the Choristers allows this group to perform challenging repertoire, to accept public and private engagements, and to serve as the “public face” of music-making at St. Paul’s Church both at home and farther afield. The Choristers sing each week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Music is at the Choir School’s foundation and is centered around one of the best Catholic Choirs of Men and Boys in United States. While the music program is diverse and includes many types of performance opportunities, choral singing is the primary focus, principally in service to the liturgies at St. Paul’s Church. Though the Choir sings at all the major liturgies of St. Paul’s Church, it frequently tours to sing around the U.S. and internationally, including performances with such world-class ensembles as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.
The privilege of singing with the choir in the renowned acoustics of St. Paul’s is an experience which stays with all of the boys for life. It is the best possible exposure to the great choral and organ music of the Church, and many boys go on to musical careers later in life.
The full Choir of St. Paul’s includes professional male altos, tenors and basses and sings on Sunday mornings at eleven, while the boys sing the week-day Masses on their own, performing works by composers such as Rheinberger, Britten, Langlais, and Faure.
