THE CHOIR OF SAINT THOMAS CHURCH

John Scott, Director of Music

The Saint Thomas Choir is considered by major critics both here and abroad to be the outstanding choral ensemble of the Anglican musical tradition in the United States today. The choir of fourteen men and eighteen boys sings at five weekly principal services of the Church, preparing an astounding four hundred pieces of sacred music a year. They also offer an annual concert series with orchestra, and record annually a selection from their repertory of classical and contemporary works. They have performed and recorded with such artists as Jessye Norman, Placido Domingo and Leontyne Price, as well as with Carly Simon, and Judy Collins.

The men of the Saint Thomas Choir sing the traditional countertenor as well as the bass and tenor parts. The boys, who sing the treble (soprano) parts, attend Saint Thomas Choir School, the only remaining church-related boarding school in the country. The school, founded in 1919, provides musical training and advanced academic and athletic programs for the forty choristers, grades 4-8.

The Choir makes frequent appearances in concert tours throughout the United States and in Europe. In 1993 they sang in major churches in Italy and Austria. In 1992 they were the guest choir at the Dublin International Organ and Choral Festival. Past guest appearances include both the 4th International Congress of Organists in Cambridge (UK), and the 3rd International Congress of Organists in Philadelphia. They have been the Choir in Residence at both Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and have sung in concert at King's College, Cambridge, the King's Lynn Music Festival and the Aldeburgh Music Festival, England. Yearly concert tours throughout North America have taken the choir through twenty-one of the United States with performances in such cities as Los Angeles, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Montreal, Denver, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. They have appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, American and other symphony orchestras at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, New York City. During March of 2004 the Choir embarked on a tour of cities in Indiana, Michigan, Texas and Oregon; in April they fly to Italy for a week-long tour of concerts in Venice, Florence, Assisi and ending with the singing of High Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

As of January 2005