Music & Arts
Youth Music Program
Almost every Tuesday and Wednesday after school, cars pull up to offload the boys and girls who are members of the Choristers (boys) and St. Cecelia Choir (girls.) Depending on which night and which group is rehearsing, our Canon for music, Martin Green and his assistant, Ruben Valenzuela, start practice. It is as intense and focused as soccer, football or basketball for the young people. Some of the children begin at age six and continue through high school. Those who graduate as high school seniors from the choir not only have well trained voices, but advanced music skills which help them if they go on with a music major in college.
Each year our youth singers present or participate in more than 200 performances at the cathedral and many off campus on tour in Southern California. This year some appeared in the San Diego Opera Company’s production of Carmen. Both Martin and Ruben are very proud of our well known and respected youth singers who sing in concert several times a year with the San Diego Opera, San Diego Symphony, and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra.
The Cathedral offers opportunities for boys and girls to participate in a most instructive musical training and performance program. It is often said that music is the lifeblood of St Paul’s Cathedral. Nowhere is that more evident than in the work of our talented boy and girl choristers. Patterned along the lines of the English cathedral and collegiate chapel choirs, these choirs sing some of the finest church music ever conceived. Each choir (boys and men, and girls and men) produces a unique and distinctive tone and has a separate repertoire.
Boys and Girls receive excellent musical training in musical notation and theory, as well as extensive work in vocal technique. San Diegans regularly see our boys and girls appear with the San Diego Opera and the San Diego Symphony, and the full choirs have performed with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, and the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra under Maestro David Atherton.
Both youth choirs instill discipline and high standards that are valuable assets later in life. We are very proud of our alumni who have gone on to hold positions in major cathedrals, churches, and universities throughout the U.S. The program is designed so that children may participate fully in their home church life as the choirs alternate in singing the service of Evensong (Evening Prayer) every Sunday at 5pm utilizing some of the most beautiful music ever written, from the Middles Ages to the present day.
Boys aged 7-12 and girls aged 8-17 are generally considered for admission to the Cathedral program, but older or younger children of exceptional ability are also welcome. Choir rehearsals are as follows: Tuesday (St Cecilia Choir-girls; 4.30-6.30pm); Wednesday (Cathedral Choristers-boys; 4.30-7pm).
For further information or to schedule an audition for an interested boy or girl, please contact: Mr Martin Green, Canon for Music: greenm@stpaulcathedral.org or Mr Ruben Valenzuela, Associate for Music: Valenzuelar@stpaulcathedral.org. Cathedral Music Office: 619.298.7261 x318.
