Return to home page

FIRST SERVICE FOR RETURNING CHORISTERS

Sunday, August 24, 2008 - 8:30 rehearsal, 9:00 service

FIRST REHEARSAL FALL SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 27, 2008- 4:00-6:45 (Registration, vestment fitting, rehearsal, pizza dinner, parents meeting)

This choir of 30-35 singers is open to all young people beginning in the third grade and ending with high school graduation. The Junior Choir sings for all 9:00 a.m. Sunday Eucharists and on other occasions throughout the year such as Ash Wednesday and Christmas Eve With the Senior Choir they sing two performances of an Advent Procession with Lessons and Carols and a Solemn Evensong for Epiphany. At the end of the school year they sing a Sacred Concert, popularly known as “The Junior Choir’s Greatest Hits.” In the 2006-2007 season they sang over 40 compositions, not counting hymns and service music. The current repertory includes works by such composer’s as J.S. Bach, G.F. Handel, Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, Andrè Campra, Maurice Greene, G. P. Telemann, J-P Rameau, Francois Couperin, Felix Mendelssohn, Gabriel Faurè, Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells, Simon Lindley, Richard DeLong, and John Rutter.
No audition is required for admission to the choir, although a placement into sections based upon vocal range will be made early in the fall. No prior experience or musical study is assumed for new members of the choir, but all choristers must adhere to a rigorous schedule of rehearsals that will include instruction in basic musicianship and music reading. Another important aspect of the choir’s work is the mastery of the liturgy of the Episcopal Church, including knowledge of liturgical seasons and holy days, and of significant biblical and theological themes, which are embodied in the liturgies for which the choir sings.

Rehearsals are held on Wednesday afternoons from 4:00-5:15, and thirty minutes before services. Additional rehearsals will be held before Lessons and Carols, Epiphany Evensong, and the end of the year concerts according to a schedule provided at the beginning of the fall season and available on this website. A sign-out-in-advance system is in place. Choristers and their parents are expected to be scrupulous about registering their absences both from rehearsals and services in advance, and are requested to be present on major holy days such as Christmas Eve, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Easter, and Pentecost.

A flexible rehearsal schedule will be offered for the benefit of older choristers who have periodic or seasonal conflicts with school activities. This schedule is TBA and will be available on the website. Regular sessions will be scheduled for boys with changed or changing voices, as well as with advanced high school girls. These rehearsals will lead to performances of special literature both independently and in conjunction with the Junior Choir. Every effort will be made to keep interested young people singing through high school. A regular schedule of social events throughout the year provides a balance of work, worship, and fun.

The Junior Choir is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music in America. This international organization is especially strong within the Anglican Communion and offers richer opportunities for our singers. We employ some methods and materials from the RSCM’s widely acclaimed “training scheme” for choristers and we prepare interested singers to participate in summer programs offered by the RSCM. The ideals of this organization are well expressed in its biblical motto: Psallam spiritu et mente. "I will sing with the spirit and with the understanding also."
Please contact Dr. Quinn for further information about the Junior Choir. A brochure detailing the choir’s operations and its schedule for the school year will be available at the first rehearsal (August 29, 2007) and on this website (look under "Schedules").