The St. Paul’s Children’s Choir consists of children in grades 3 through 8 from St. Paul School, from the local public and private schools, and homeschoolers, as well. The choir practices during the academic year every Wednesday night in the choir loft from 5:45 to 7:00 pm. The choir sings for monthly 10:00 am Masses and serves the church by singing for other Masses and events as called upon.
A place where, together, beautiful music is made, friendships are formed, and the Catholic faith is shared through song.
The children that are in the choir have two special gifts - the gift to sing and the gift to share. Over the course of this year, we will work with them to help them to develop choral technique which will enhance their God-given ability to sing. When we sing as a choir, it is important to remember that we do not "perform". We enhance liturgies, touch hearts and serve God in our music ministry for our parish, our school and our community.
Children Choir practices will be held in the choir loft from 5:45 pm sharp until 7:00 pm sharp on Wednesday evenings during the academic year. Please encourage your child to quietly and reverently enter and exit the church.
Cancellation due to emergency, inclement weather, etc., will be done via email – so watch your email. Of course, the decision to bring your child to choir or not is yours and will be respected. Safety is the highest priority for our choir families.
All choir members are expected to attend all practices and all events but we realize that “life” happens and that attendance at events and practices are not always possible. It may not be possible due to inclement weather, sickness of your child, you, a family member, too much homework, etc.
For a missed Mass, it is your responsibility to communicate this to the choir director and do this in as much advance notice as possible as it is helpful to know who and how many will be singing for a Mass. Please extend this common courtesy to give advance notice of the inability to participate in a Mass. Of course, this does not include last-minute illness.
For a missed practice, it is not necessary to communicate this info to the choir director – you can, but it is not necessary.
Keep in mind that attendance at choir is beneficial to the child so that the child feels confident singing the music. Missing too many practices can cause a child to feel “unsuccessful” in knowing the music and we want the kids to feel “successful” – however, again, we know that “life happens” and so if your child needs to miss practice, that’s fine.
Please plan to arrive one half hour before Masses and events allowing your child sufficient time to get their robe, music, get settled and warm up.
When picking your child up from choir rehearsal, please pick them up in the lobby/vestibule of the church. If someone other than the parent/s or legal guardian of the child will be picking up the child, please ensure that the choir director is given advance notice of this.
For those who wish to have your children meet you outside of the church, please sign the waiver below (found in the registration area).
As the parents or legal guardians of _____________________________________, we hereby give permission for our child to leave St Paul’s Church when choir practice is over in order to connect for pick up outside in the driveway or the parking lot where we will be waiting.
On behalf of our child and on our own behalf, we agree to waive all claims against Saint Paul’s RC Church and any of its employees for anything that may occur once our child leaves the building.
A yearly fee of $35.00 per child/family will be collected during the registration process. If your family cannot afford the fee, please let the Choir Director know and it will be taken care of by the church. This fee covers cleaning robes and necessary supplies and music for the year.
Your child will be issued a choir robe that will be kept in the choir robe closet in the Church Hall here at St. Paul's. All robes and collars must be hung and placed properly in the choir robe closet. Robes and collars will be cleaned periodically. If a member's choir robe becomes excessively soiled it will be your responsibility to have the robe dry cleaned. Good care of the choir robes is requested as each robe + 3 collar set is valued at $180.00 x 65 robes = $11,700.00)
Your child will be issued a music binder. It will have his/her name on it and will be kept in the choir loft and may not be taken home. If your child has a solo and needs to take music home, that will be provided along with practice videos. Music packets will also be emailed home to the families each month so that they child can have the music at home as a reference to practice if they wish.
Help from Choir Parents is always needed, and we’ll call these helpers Children’s Choir Angels! These efforts will need to be coordinated. The children need help from a CCA, before Mass, in getting their correct robe and collar, putting it on, and then putting it neatly back after mass. In addition, a CCA is needed in the loft at each rehearsal to escort children to use the lavatory, if needed.
The calendar for the year will be provided to you upon registration. Email is the preferred source of communication between parents and the Choir Director. Our Music Director, Ernie Andreoli, will be copied on all communications.
Reverence in church will be expected and encouraged.