Choir School

Summer News from the Choir School

We congratulate the following boys in the Class of 2010, who were graduated on Saturday, June 12, 2010:

John William Rodland Carson
Alistair Lucas Chase
Daniel Abraham DeVeau
Andrew Godwin Jones
Joshua Ross
Samuel Edward Sargunam
Julian Phillip Wesley Turner
Calvin Jeffrey Wentling

You may listen to a webcast of the commencement ceremonies here.

You may see the leaflet and listen to a webcast of the final worship service (Leaving Sunday) for the Class of 2010 here.

You may read and listen to Reverend Heischman's address to the graduating class here, and to his excellent sermon the following day, regarding the significance of the Choir School in the lives of the boys, here.

The Choir School ended its 91st academic year with 41 boys representing 14 states. According to our records, this is the highest enrollment since the mid 1980s. This is an exciting and busy period of growth and renewal in the life of our Choir School.

Boys’ recruitment concerts for the coming year include events in Boston and at St Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire, in October, and at St Mark’s Church, Philadelphia, in March 2011. The full choir will be on tour in early April.

The 2010 Girl Chorister Course:  we welcome this year's participants in the annual Saint Thomas Girls' Course, which begins on July 24, 2010. The girls, under the direction of Ms. Sarah Baldock, will sing at Choral Evensong on Tuesday, July 27 and Thursday, July 29, both days at 5:30pm. The girls return again on Sunday, August 1 at 11am to sing alongside the Gentlemen of the Choir. You may read more about the Girl Chorister Course here on the Choir School website.

In November, the Choir School launches the T. Tertius Noble Guild, part of the Saint Thomas Legacy Society. Gerre and Judith Hancock have agreed to serve as honorary chairmen of the guild and will host our inaugural reception in the fall. For further information on the Noble Guild, or if you wish to make a financial gift towards our work with the boys of the Choir School, please contact the Headmaster, Father Wallace: 212.247.3311.

Choir School Outreach: This summer, our Choir School math teacher, Michael Rose, is working on a ten-week placement with the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation in southern Sudan. Michael will teach students and train new mathematics teachers at the first secondary school in the entire region, where, after twenty years of civil-war, students now have the opportunity to continue their education. The Choir School is proud to provide financial assistance for Michael‟s work and travel.

Overview of the Choir School

The Reverend Charles F. Wallace, Headmaster

Founded in 1919, Saint Thomas Choir School is the only church affiliated boarding choir school in the United States. Its mission—established by Saint Thomas Church—unites three great traditions: music, education and Christian community.

The Choir School is for boys in grades three through eight. All boys stay at the school through the school year, which runs from early September to early June. The school offers a challenging pre-preparatory curriculum, inter-scholastic sports, and, of course, musical training. An average class size of eight students ensures each boy individual attention both in the classroom and out.

The 35 to 40 boys who each year attend Saint Thomas Choir School not only live, study and work together as part of a community of learning, but also sing together as professional members of the world-class choir of Saint Thomas Church.

The boys of the Choir School are key players and participants in a rich and living tradition—a tradition of education, sacred music and Christian worship—that traces its roots far back through the centuries. The boys of Saint Thomas Choir School, in short, are both beneficiaries of and contributors to one of the great streams of Western culture and learning.

Visit the Saint Thomas Choir School website