Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic Headmaster Dr. Michael Lescault Phone +1 617-868-8658 Founded 1963 | Established 1963 Pastor Rev. William T. Kelly Color Maroon | |
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Type Private, Day, Choir school Director of Music John Robinson (Church Musician) Address 29 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Motto Repleatur os meum laude tua Profiles | ||
The boys of st paul s choir school o come all ye faithful
St. Paul's Choir School is a Catholic choir school located at the Church of St. Paul, Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1963, the middle school for boys in fourth through eighth grades is the only boys' choir school in the United States of America affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The Choir School educates and trains the choirboys who sing soprano in the choir of St. Paul's, a choir of boys and men. The choir sings for liturgical services at St. Paul's Church and performs primarily in and around the Boston area. It is located within the Archdiocese of Boston.
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History
St. Paul's Choir School was founded in 1963 by Theodore Marier and Monsignor Augustine F. Hickey as the result of the Vatican's 1958 Instruction on Sacred Music and Sacred Liturgy De musica sacra, which declared that every effort should be made that city center churches have their own boys' choir school. St. Paul's Choir School started in September with twenty-five fifth- through eighth-grade students chosen from throughout the Archdiocese of Boston. The Choir School was designed as a four-year course for students of academic ability and musical talent, assigning two periods of each school day to music, as well as additional rehearsals with the men of the choir. The music program included sight reading, appreciation, theory, history, and instrumental studies. Under Marier's direction, the boys sang, initially with members of the Harvard Catholic Club, and later with the Schola Cantorum of St. Paul's, which had been formed years earlier by Marier to sing Gregorian chant at Mass. Harvard students also helped out with the recreation program at the Choir School.
Within the Choir School's first several years, the choir made guest appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Handel and Haydn Society. They additionally performed the Nutcracker Suite annually with the Boston Ballet, directed by Arthur Fiedler.
During Marier's tenure, the school was renamed as the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School. After the school's 50th anniversary it returned to its original name.
Following Marier's retirement from the Choir School in 1986, John Dunn assumed the position as director of music, having been involved in the church's music program since 1960 when he was a student at Harvard. He combined the roles of director of music of St. Paul Church and headmaster of the Choir School, leading the choir in recordings, concerts, and tours throughout the final years of the twentieth century. Dunn maintained a consistent and increased enrollment at the Choir School and oversaw the move to a new educational facility in 1991. Towards the end of his tenure in 2007, the school became fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
In 2010, after an international search, John Robinson (Organist and Choir Director), Assistant Organist at Canterbury Cathedral, was appointed director of music. Robinson has worked to raise awareness of the Choir of St. Paul's as a primarily liturgical choir, increasing the number of sung liturgies and enlarging the repertoire of daily Mass music for boys' voices and for boys and men. Additionally, he has overseen the introduction of professional male singers to the Choir of St. Paul's and the implementation of the music theory curriculum by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Beginning with the 2012 academic year, the Choir School added a fourth-grade level.
In 2015 the Choir of St. Paul's Church came to national and international recognition after the release of their debut professional recording 'Christmas in Harvard Square.' This universally acclaimed recording sold in large numbers, and brought awareness of the Choir to a new level.
Student life
Students attend the Choir School full-time, completing a rigorous academic program in addition to daily rehearsals and singing for the liturgy several times each week. The students are divided into three choirs: the Probationers (boys who are in choral training), the Choristers (fifth- sixth- and seventh-graders who sing with the professional men as The Choir of St. Paul's), and the Schola Cantorum (boys whose voices have changed). The Choristers sing four weekday masses (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) each week, Thurday evening vespers, as well as the Sunday 11:00 High Mass with the professional men. The Schola Cantorum and Probationers sing at the 8:00 AM morning mass on Friday each week. Each student's tuition is supplemented by a "working scholarship," whereby the choristers are expected to sing at weddings, funerals and concerts throughout the school year.
All students at the Choir School study mathematics, science, literature, language arts, social studies, geography, religion, music theory, French, and Latin. In addition to these academic subjects, all students study the piano, few also study the organ. Opportunities to perform include regular informal concerts, as well as biannual adjudications. Though the school does not participate in any sports leagues, many students participate in sports outside of school.
As of 2014, student enrollment at the Choir School is approximately 55. New students are admitted to the fourth grade based on the results of a vocal audition and a written academic exam. Students commute to Harvard Square from various cities and towns throughout the greater Boston area, sometimes traveling more than an hour each way. Most students at the Choir School are Roman Catholic and many have previously attended parochial schools.
The Choir School has traveled over the years to sing in Chicago, Montreal, Washington, DC, and Rome. In 2005, the choir sang in Rome for Masses at St. Peter's Basilica and at the Church of Santa Susanna and again in 2013 before an audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square and a performance in Assisi. The choir has sung at Mass on multiple occasions at the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, DC, most recently in 2011. The Choir School has also performed at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 2012.