Christmas Eve: "Silent Night"

Choristers Sing at the GWIM Christmas Party for Homeless Children

Choristers Offer Advent, Christmas Eve, Songs

The Chorister Academy will sing during the 10:15 a.m. worship service of Lessons and Carols on December 2. The group will also sing Evensong at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 6. The public is welcome to attend.

P.S. It's time for the Choristers to start practicing the signed version of "Silent Night." Click here for the practice video.

The choristers will sing at the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve service, as well.

Choristers Participate in St. John's Christmas Bazaar November 17

Five Choirs Festival at St. John's Parish, October 19 and 20

Here are images of the choristers of St. John's, Waterbury; St. Peter's, Cheshire; Trinity, Hartford; Trinity, Newtown; and St. Luke's, East Greenwich, Rhode Island. These young people participated in the Festival of Choirs at St. John's Church under the direction of the acclaimed Richard Webster. Matthew Brown was organist. Scroll down to "Listen" to hear the Evensong service of October 20. (Click on "Posts" to select the song you would like to hear.)

Choristers Participate in St. John's 275th Anniversary Celebration

Choral Conductor Richard Webster Looks Forward to the Festival

Composer and choral conductor Richard Webster, who will direct the Five Choirs Festival at St. John's next weekend, offers his thoughts on the value of teaching the choral art to young people:

Children's minds are like sponges. They soak up anything and everything offered them, and quickly. That's why they learn a foreign language much faster than adults. So rather than fill their minds with drivel, why not offer then only the finest in music, art or literature. Given the proper tools, skills and encouragement, children can learn to sing Bach, Byrd, Howells and Mozart, and LOVE it. In doing so, we are not looking to create young snobs. By simply exposing them to beauty at a level appropriate to their development, we allow the hearts and souls to be moved by this beauty. One need only visit a rehearsal room when the director says, "Now let's take out the Bach and work on all those sixteenth notes and German words," and the resounding unison response from the kids is "Yesssss!"

Please Join us for the Five Choirs Festival

Read all about it here.

Singers Develop Their Voices and Their Confidence at Chorister Camp

The three of the choristers from St. John's who attended a week-long program of music and fellowship during a choristers camp at St. Thomas Church in New York City in July say the program helped them to strengthen and develop their singing voices while making new friends and enjoying the company of old ones. The girls returned with greater confidence in their abilities and enthusiasm for the chorister program.

Ofelia, the lead chorister at St. John's, says the program taught her to hit the High B as well as other previously out-of-reach notes. She and Diana said the exercises for "jiggling your muscles" to strengthen them helped them develop their voices.

Susy says that through the course she learned how to support her voice: "I learned how to hold it longer so my throat doesn't give out before I'm done."

The 44 girls from around the country who attended practiced singing for 1 1/2 hours three times a day.

All three girls enjoyed seeing New York City, including a performance of Mama Mia and walks in Central Park. The girls said that back in their dorms they found themselves singing as a group for the fun of it as well as just plain having fun with their peers.

You're Invited to the Five Choirs Festival at St. John's

The Five Choirs Festival at St. John's Parish on the Green in Waterbury, Connecticut, on October 19 and 20 will bring together 80 choristers from five Episcopal churches in Connecticut and Rhode Island to sing under the direction of the acclaimed Richard Webster.

"St. John's initiated this project because we want our choristers to sing these services," says Maria Coffin, who established and directs the Chorister Academy at St. John's.

"The most beautiful thing in the world is the sound of young voices singing this music," Ms. Coffin adds. "What better place than this beautiful church?"

Choristers from St. Luke's, East Greenwich, Rhode Island; St. Peter's, Cheshire; Trinity, Hartford; and Trinity, Newtown, will join the St. John's group.

Mr. Webster, Associate Director of Music at Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston, is a choral director, organist, arranger and composer.

Matthew Brown, formerly an intern in church music at Grace Church in New York City, will be the organist during this festival.

All the choristers will sing Evensong at St. John's at 4 p.m. on October 20. The public is invited to attend this service.

Ms. Coffin hopes people in the community--parents, neighbors, music teachers--will attend this event and enjoy the talents of these children. "This will be a great opportunity for people in Waterbury to hear children sing beautiful music, and these children can do some very difficult things."

For more information, contact St. John's Church at 203-754-3116. Click here for an event flyer.

Chorister Calendar is Up-to-Date

Please click on the calendar in the navigation toolbar on the right to open up the Chorister Academy's fall calendar. The rehearsal, singing, and event calendar are current as of August 16.

Choristers Need Your Help for the Festival of Choirs

The Festival of Choirs at St. John's Church October 19 and 20 will present 80 choristers from Connecticut and Rhode Island to meet and mingle with peers from other churches and to sing under the direction of the acclaimed Richard Webster before they sing Evensong at St. John's at 4 p.m. on October 20. Matthew Brown, formerly an intern in church music at Grace Church in New York City, will be the organist during this festival.

This event will need church wide support. Chorister Academy director Maria Coffin needs your help in the following ways: *food for Saturday snack break,
*food for Saturday lunch,
*home stays for about 25 children, and
*help coordinating rooms for our visitors to St. John's.

Please contact Maria at St. John's 203-754-3116 if you can help. Click here to download a flyer to print and display.

Choristers' Pool Party--Thank You, Alice!

Practice and Performance at Grace Church, New York, City, June 17, 2007

Choristers at Grace Church, New York City, June 17

Three Choristers will Participate in the Saint Thomas Girl Chorister Course in New York City This Summer

Three members of the Chorister Academy of St. John's Episcopal Church in Waterbury, Connecticut, will participate in the third annual Saint Thomas Girl Chorister Course in New York City from July 29 to August 5. This year’s Director of Music is Sarah MacDonald, Director of Music in Chapel, Selwyn College, Cambridge. She will conduct all rehearsals working toward a Treble-only Evensong on Thursday and the Sunday morning Eucharist which is sung with the gentlemen of the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church. Left to right: Diana Hernandez of Waterbury, Ofelia Torres of Waterbury, and Susy Cromwell of Southbury.

Choristers Sell Roses

Festival of Choirs

FESTIVAL OF CHOIRS

October 19 and 20, 2007
St. John's Church, Waterbury, Connecticut

St. John's, Waterbury, Connecticut
St. Luke's, East Greenwich, Rhode Island
St. Peter's, Cheshire, Connecticut
Trinity, Hartford, Connecticut
Trinity, Newtown, Connecticut

a two-day festival for 80 young singers
from five churches and towns

Richard Webster, Director
Matthew Brown, Organist

Maria Coffin, Coordinator

concluding with a service of
EVENSONG
the ancient Anglican service of sung evening prayers
Saturday, October 20, 4 p.m.
All are welcome.

Click here to print a flyer.

203-754-3116

Evensong at St. Mark's, Bridgewater, Connecticut, on May 6, 2007

The Chorister Academy of St. John's Episcopal Church, Waterbury Connecticut, sang during the Evensong service at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Bridgewater, Connecticut, on Sunday, May 6, 2007, at 4 p.m.

St. Mark's will donate the offering from that service to The Dominican Literacy Project, which was established to help Haitian children living in the Dominican Republic to help pay expenses such as building maintenance and midday meals for 120 children trying to receive an education. Haitian children in the Dominican Republic are denied status, birth certificates, and public education, according to St. Mark's.

Evensong, one of the oldest services in the Anglican tradition, dates back to the original Book of Common Prayer of 1549, and combines the monastic offices of Vespers and Compline. It is drawn almost entirely from the Bible and includes Psalms, Hymns, Anthems, and the Magnificat and Nuc dimittis. The service is a sacred method of singing praise to God, according to St. Mark's.

"O Domine, Jesu Christe"

Choristers Look Forward to a Busy Spring

Chorister Academy Director Maria Coffin has many plans in the works for the spring. The choristers will be conducting fundraisers, preparing for concerts at St. John's and elsewhere, and rehearsing every week until the end of the school year. Chorister parents, keep an eye out for the details here and in Maria's newsletter.

(Here are the Choristers on Palm Sunday, 2007.)

Dorothy Ferguson Helps the New Kids Learn to Read Music

Choristers Valentine's Day Party

Working Hard

February 1 Rehearsal

Evensong with Trinity Church, Newtown, Sunday, March 18

The Choristers will participate in the Evensong service with Trinity Church, Newtown, on Sunday, March 18, at 4 p.m. Rehearsal will be on Saturday, March 17, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. There will be a reception after the service, and help will be needed with food and drink donations, set up, serving, and clean up.

Valentine's Day Bake Sale

On Sunday, February 11, between the 10:15 a.m. and noon services, the Choristers will hold a bake sale to raise money to send three choristers to the St. thomas Girls' Course in New York next summer. Start baking!

We'll need parents to help set up, sell, and keep track of the money. Please speak to Mrs. Coffin.

Sing unto God

Sing unto God with songs of praise.
We are the Choristers,
The rooftops of churches we raise.

Beautiful high notes that flutter around,
sometimes notes that haven't even been found,
Songs in Spanish, Hebrew, French
For the tunes and notes that we mush clench
To impress the audience
That we've come to admire
For the wondrous sounds of this lovely choir.
a
Sing unto God with songs of praise
We are the Choristers,
The rooftops of churches we raise.

(By Joshua Singleton, Age 10)

Handiwork of In the Making Graces the Children of St. John's Chorister Academy

(WATERBURY, CONN. - January 25, 2006) - In the Making employee Antonia Cotto of Waterbury created the red stoles worn by Krystal Dover (left) and Ofelia Torres (right) and the other children of the Chorister Academy of St. John's Parish on the Green, Waterbury, when they sang during the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve family worship service.

The children also wore them when they sang during a recent performance of The Nutcracker at The Taft School in Watertown.

The Chorister Academy was established three years ago to give young people in the Greater Waterbury Area, regardless of background, the opportunity to sing in a choir that is faithful to the highest standards of the choral art. The choir is open to all young people, 3rd grade through high school. In addition to vocal instruction, lessons will be offered in music theory, music history, and Christian liturgical practice.

"Using donated fabric, Antonia created 32 stoles for the children and one for chorister director Maria Coffin," according to Sr. Rosemary McKenna, D.W. of In the Making. The project took about 17 hours of labor.

A nonprofit organization in Waterbury, In the Making exists to offer personal/economic development to under-employed and unemployed women. Employees work in ways that complement and strengthen one another in the workplace and in the community. "Our efforts are in who a person is as an individual, in a group, and in the community," said Sr. Rosemary, adding, "We don't just make things but we build on the positive aspects of each person and of people."