Calling all youth
Do you have child who loves to sing or who would like to learn how? An extraordinary musical and formational opportunity awaits your discovery.
During the month of August, Saint Philip’s Saint Nicholas Choir warmly invites new applicants for the 2022-23 choir season. No musical experience is necessary and there are vacancies for boys and girls of all ages.
Saint Philip’s choristers during their residency at Wells Cathedral in the UK
Consider the many benefits of singing in the Saint Nicholas Choir:
Learn a skill you can use for the rest of your life.
Develop strong friendships in a unique community.
Learn how to read music.
Follow an established curriculum through the Royal School of Church Music.
Apply teamwork to challenging situations.
Contribute to parish life with the same expertise as an adult.
Find your place in a service-oriented lay ministry.
Be surrounded by prayer and beautiful liturgy.
Earn rewards for your hard work—and performance opportunities.
Find meaningful connections to the Anglican tradition and to the broader Church.
Learn important and exquisite sacred music from many eras.
Travel to UK cathedrals and connect your experience to a long history and tradition.
Travel to Royal School of Church Music summer courses to bolster your training and connect to other singers who share your training.
Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. And what’s more, this fine musical education is truly accessible. There is no cost for a child to be involved in the choir.
Of course, Saint Philip’s does ask the choristers to work hard and to demonstrate a high level of commitment to this ministry. However, that work pays off in dividends, and the choir continues to bless our youth choristers and the parish at large.
Rehearsals take place weekly at 4:30pm on Wednesdays (beginning September 7), and include a shared supper afterwards hosted by the Mosaic intergenerational forum. Choir parents are heartily invited to attend, as well.
If you would like to learn more or participate in the “Be a Chorister for a Day” event from 9:30am-12:00pm on Saturday, August 20, contact me at justin.appel@stphilipstucson.org or at 520-771-1733. This will be an opportunity to join current choristers; learn about singing, how to process in church, musical notation; and, make new friends.
If you would like to see what Saint Philip’s choristers actually do while at a UK Choral residency, plan to attend the UK Residency forum in the Murphey Gallery after the 10:00am worship service on Sunday, August 14. Dr Campbell, Fr Robert, and I will show photos, play some audio recordings, and talk about singing at Wells Cathedral.
—Justin Appel, Director of Music