Do you know a child who loves to sing?
St. John’s Chorister Program makes use of the VOICE for LIFE curriculum published by the Royal School of Music in America. All children aged eight and above (reading age) may join, and we welcome participants from inside and outside the parish. We rehearse Wednesday evenings, and have multiple opportunities to lead Sunday worship each month during the program season.
Alongside our Director of Music and a professional Vocal Coach, our young musicians learn to sing in a safe, supportive environment, develop teamwork and leadership skills, and build a lifelong love of great music.
An RSCM program cultivates in its participants a healthy vocal technique, a deep understanding of music theory, and a lifelong love of high-quality sacred music. The curriculum covers increasingly sophisticated musical concepts, focusing on sight-singing and music theory. Choristers are treated as professional team members, and they are given musical selections similar to those performed by adult choirs. As choristers grow older, they become role models for newer, younger choristers. After they graduate from high school, they can instantly find new friends wherever life takes them – by joining the choir at the nearest Episcopal Church!
Choristers following the VOICE for LIFE curriculum are paid a small stipend for their attendance at rehearsals and services, and fined for tardiness, disorganization, or forgetting their pencil. As they progress through the curriculum, they are tested for progressively complex musical skills, earning a series of colored ribbons (much like in martial arts programs). Each of these ribbons is accompanied by a corresponding workbook, which choristers complete at home or before or after rehearsals (with help from St. John’s musicians, as necessary). As they earn new ribbons they get a small “raise.” This builds a sense of responsibility and professionalism that serves choristers well throughout their life. Most importantly, singing is fun! Choristers make lifelong friends in a supportive intellectual environment, they have opportunities to perform frequently, and they learn to love the music of the church.
Please email Dr. Karl Robson, Director of Music Ministries, to enroll your child in our program!
