Please Save These Dates

Saturday, September 27: Potluck square dance from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Bring food for the food bank as well as food to share with the group.
Friday through Saturday, October 24-25: Four Choirs Festival ending with Evensong at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Tuesday, November 4: Choir Day from 9:30 to 2:30 p.m. Bring your lunch for a day of fun with all of the choristers.
Thursday, December 4: Advent Evensong at 6:45 p.m. after the regular rehearsal. Parents and friends are welcome.
Sunday, December 7: Lessons and Carols for Advent

Choristers to Meet September 4 at 5 pm

The Chorister Academy at St. John's Church, on the Green in Waterbury, begins its fifth year on Thursday, September 4, at 5 pm. There is a limited number of openings for young people who would like to learn to sing the great music of the church and who would like to receive a basic music education.

Membership in the choir is for young people in grades 3 through 12.

A Training Choir for children in grades K-2 will begin rehearsals on Thursday, September 11, at 4 pm. Children who participate in this choir will receive musical training through participation in musical games, singing, and other musical activities.

The director of both choirs is Mrs. Maria Coffin, and she will be happy to talk to interested families about their children's membership in either choir. Please call her at 203-754-3116 for more information.

Chorister News from Maria Coffin, Director

The Chorister Academy begins its fifth year with a new and expanded program. Our new development is the Training Choir for children in grades K through 2 and older children who wish to join the Chorister Academy but have no musical experience. The Training Choir will meet on Thursday afternoons from 4 to 4.45 p.m. and will include singing, learning to read music, musical games, and anything that will make young children comfortable and excited about the wonderful experience of singing choral music. It is hoped that the Training Choir will be ready to sing in church by Christmas.

The Chorister Academy will continue to meet on Tuesdays from 4 to 5.30 p.m. and on Thursdays from 5 to 7.15 p.m. and will now be able to concentrate on learning more difficult music. The members will also be working on earning their various color ribbons. We have young people working on the first ribbon (light blue), the second ribbon (dark blue) and the third (red). We hope to have reached some of our goals by Advent.

New members of either choir are eagerly sought and will be welcomed. They will be asked to meet with the director to determine their placement. Please call the church office at 754-3116 to arrange to talk with the director.

Be sure to mark on your calendar the Festival Evensong to be sung by the Chorister Academy and visiting choirs on Saturday, October 25 at 4 p.m.

Chorister Awards, June 8, 2008

Chorister Academy Director Maria Coffin awarded cottas to the Academy's newer members and recognized others for their special achievements this year. Here are pictures of the choristers who received cottas and of Diana Hernandez, whom Ms. Coffin appointed as head chorister. Ms. Coffin praised Diana, who has been a chorister for four years, for her regular attendance and active participation during this time.

Mrs. Coffin also recognized Krystal Dover, Susy Cromwell, and Mitchelle Torres, who will attend chorister camp at St. Thomas Church in New York City this summer.

For their noteworthy involvement in the Chorister Academy, Mrs. Coffin also noted the following:

Adella Carlson's regular attendance, Cherry Terrero-Ortiz's improvement, Susy Cromwell's helpfulness, Jonathan Singleton's carrying her very heavy tote bag, Raven's perfect attendance and being the librarian, and Susana and Mitchelle Torres for consistent participation over four years.

Choristers' Talent Show

The Chorister Academy ended the school year with a talent show at St. John's. Choristers' families brought plenty of food for a pot-luck supper before entertainment in the sanctuary. Parents were treated to poetry readings; a cappella singing; guitar, piano, and clarinet recitals; dancing; and a finale from the choristers themselves. They sang, "There's a Place for all God's Children in the choir. " It was a beautiful, blessed evening.

Four Choristers to Attend Choir Camp at St. Thomas

Mitchelle Torres, Raven Walker, Krystal Dover, and Susy Cromwell will be attending choir camp at St. Thomas Church in New York City this year.

Choristers Sing at GWIM Fund-raiser

Choristers Visit with Mrs. Connecticut after GWIM Concert

After the Chorister Academy sang 10 interfaith songs at the Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministries May 20 pasta supper fund-raiser, it spent some time with Mrs. Connecticut, Lynnette Letsky Piombo, who was at St. John's to support the GWIM event. She helped each chorister try on her beautiful tiara. Ever the good sports, the boys joined in the fun, too!

The Choristers sang the Israeli folk hymn "Hashivenu," "O Gracious Light," "Festival Alleluia," "Al Shlosha D'Varim," "Jubilate!," "Christ Has no Body but Yours," the Sufi Islamic chant "Alla Hoo," "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace," and "An Irish Blessing."

RSCM America Publishes 'Five Choirs' Story

The Spring 2008 issue of the Royal School of Church Music America newsletter includes a story about the Five Choirs Festival at St. John's last October. Please click here to read it! (You'll need to scroll down to page 6.)

Click here to read other posts about the Five Choirs Festival.

Bach's Bible

Click here to watch a brief video about Bach's Bible.

Poem: 'Choristers' by Joshua Singleton

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

Beautiful high notes that flutter around,
Sometimes some notes that haven't even been found.
Songs in Spanish, Hebrew, French
For the tunes and notes that we must clench
To impress the audience
That have come to admire
The wondrous sounds of this lovely choir.

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

(Joshua Singleton)

Helping out with the Sharon Garden Project

Chorister Adella May Carlson spent last weekend helping out at the Sharon Garden Project in Sharon, Connecticut. For the past nine years, Dan and Mary Gates have welcomed St. John's Parish and Waterbury Baptist Ministries onto their land to grow fresh vegetables for the patrons of the Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministries (GWIM) and the Jubilee Harvest run by the Baptist church. (Read more about this endeavor here.) Adella spent much of her time rolling out sheets of black plastic that keep weeds from taking over the garden. She also took pictures and wrote about the Project here.

The GWIM soup kitchen provides dinner for the Chorister Academy every Thursday evening during rehearsal, so Adella was glad to give back to the people who have given her so much.