One of our readers very kindly alerted us to this exceptional Catholic boys' choir; The Choir of St. Paul's, Harvard Square is a parish affiliated choir school.
In these days when many parochial schools are seeking to strengthen their "Catholic identity" and finding it difficult to compete with "free" charter schools and the taxpayer-provided programs and technology offered in conventional public schools, this school has returned to the roots of Catholic education. According to their website, the Choir of St. Paul's, Harvard Square, is one of a "very
few traditional choirs of boys and men in the USA. The Choir is
supported by the only Roman Catholic Boys Choir School in America, while
the professional men are drawn from local music colleges including the
Longy School of Music, NEC and Boston Conservatory."
Of course, this is how the great choirs of boys and men we know today began during the Middle Ages, in the choir schools of the great cathedrals of Europe. It is an old idea, but clearly one whose time has come again. When you view the video above, it is apparent that these are boys who love their school and love music, as they joyfully absorb the Church's great patrimony of sacred music, her liturgical life, history and traditions. In the process, they are making an inestimable contribution to the liturgies of their parish, enriching the spiritual lives of their fellow Catholics and evangelizing the wider community. May they inspire many, many more schools like theirs!
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