Youth Choir
Increasingly, schools are eliminating their music programs. It thus falls to other organizations and people to instill in children a love of good music. It is our goal to teach children to enjoy making music while also helping them mature into knowledgeable musicians.
The various youth choirs are responsible for the offertory music at the 8:45 service on Sundays. The choristers follow the training program of the Royal School of Church Music in America (RSCM). Choristers are educated not only in the field of music, but also learn about the liturgy of the Episcopal church and the usage of the Prayer Book and Hymnal. The music they sing is intended to be challenging for them. As choristers progress in ability and knowledge, they are awarded different "ribbons" which they wear on top of their surplice on Sunday. With the exception of the youngest singers, the choirs are not encouraged to sing by rote, but rather to become thinking singers themselves---being able to sing along fully on any hymn and follow along in a choral score. Furthermore, these youth choirs do not sing on a Sunday to entertain the congregation, but rather to make a musical offering unto God. Regardless of age, the choirs process and sit in the choir just as the older adults do. This familiarizes them with the ceremony of our worship as well as the proper role of music in it.
Joyful Noise is the youngest choir, primarily composed of four year olds. Through the use of Orff instruments and basic Kodaly hand signs, they learn to enjoy making music while also learning to match pitch.
The St. Nicholas Choir is for those who have accelerated beyond Joyful Noise and ready to take on slightly more challenging music. Choristers sing in this ensemble through the second grade. By the end of their time in the St. Nicholas Choir, choristers are expected to have mastery of basic rhythmic notation, pitch matching, note names, and knowledge of some principal components of our liturgy.
The Nativity Youth Choir sings more frequently than the other choirs, partly because the choristers are older and are expected to learn music more quickly. The music sung by this choir ranges from that of Purcell, Bach and Wesley to challenging unison and two-part anthems by modern composers. These choristers are responsible for leading congregational singing on hymns and Anglican chants. In addition to becoming familiar with the Book of Common Prayer, the choristers are expected to know the seasons of the church year and principal feast days. This choir rehearses in two sections at different times in order to compensate for the many demands placed upon them with school and other extra curricular activities.
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