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St. James' Church
 

Music for Children & Youth at St. James'
 

See this month's music events for children & youth

Choirs

  • Boys' & Girls' Choir, grades 3–12
  • St. Cecilia Choir, grades 1–2
  • Cherub Choir, ages 4–6

    • We offer children creative artistic expression
    in a dynamic faith community.
    • Help LEAD worship
    • Learn to READ music
    • SING like the angels
    • MEET new friends
    • Make RECORDINGS
    • TRAVEL to exciting destinations
    • Be a part of a TEAM that WORKS and PLAYS hard

    No prior experience or church affiliation necessary!

    Boys' & Girls' Choir
    The Boys' & Girls' Choir is a treble choir that sings about three times a month at the 9:10 a.m. service on Sundays. Choristers have the option of attending rehearsal on either Tuesday (4:15-5:30 p.m.) or Wednesday (3:45-5:00 p.m.) afternoon. The choir sings a wide range of repertoire and often combines to sing with adults or with the St. Cecilia Choir. In addition to singing in church, they also take trips together to participate in festivals with other choirs. They have "Choir Fun Days" on certain school holidays, allowing for a morning rehearsal, lunch, and afternoon fun activity together.

    Progression through the Boys' & Girls' Choir is based on a combination of age and musical ability. As such, choristers can move at their own pace through the Royal School of Church Music's Voice for Life curriculum, which will not only help teach music fundamentals, but allow individual recognition of progress via ribbons, medals, etc. Participating in the chorister program is also a good way to teach the importance of faith and encourage a lasting involvement in the church, although church membership is not required to participate.

    Membership is open to any child who loves to sing and is willing to commit to the rehearsal schedule.

    St. Cecilia Choir
    The St. Cecilia choir sings about twice a month at the 9:10 a.m. service on Sundays and rehearses on Thursday afternoons from 3:45-4:45 p.m. Many children choose to attend Thursdays at St. James' after choir. The main objective in the St. Cecilia Choir is to learn to read music and sight sing--to recognize notes on the page and sing them out loud without relying on the aid of a piano. To acheive that end, special multi-media presentations with phrases from hymns in The Hymnal, 1982 are used as the basis for learning. Children spend a great deal of time learning how to follow the service leaflet and finding our way around the hymnal. Choristers prepare anthems to sing in church and often sing with other choirs. Full participation in the liturgy is a high priority, so choristers sit in the chancel with the Boys' & Girls' Choir and sing hymns and responses throughout the service.

    Cherub Choir
    The most important objective of the Cherub Choir is to foster a love of singing. These pre-readers learn simple bible songs incorporating eurythmics and hand motions to aid the learning process and make choir fun. They may also want to attend the Tuesday Playgroup before choir. Children may join the choir the day they turn four years old. They sing on the first Sunday of the month at the 9:10 a.m. Children's Eucharist.

    Suzuki Violin Classes
    Suzuki Violin Classes meet Sunday afternoons during the school year. This is the only portion of our Music for Children and Youth program that is tutition based.

    For questions or to enroll, please contact Christopher Jennings, Associate Organist-Choirmaster and Music Associate for Children & Youth. To learn more about weekday opportunities for children at St. James', check our Children's and Family Ministries page.

    bio for Christopher Jennings

     
    		 
     

    St. James' Church  865 Madison Avenue  New York,   NY  10021   (212) 288-4100   fax (212) 650-0304   www.stjames.org