Interested in Joining the Choir?
Step 1: Visit a Rehearsal – You are invited to “sit in” on a rehearsal or two, to see if you’d like to join. When visiting, you may sing along if you wish, or you may simply observe. Check the choir schedule (here) for the next rehearsal time. Please let the music director know ahead of time if you are planning a visit, so we can inform you of any last-minute schedule changes. Contact the directors here.
Step 2: Your Skills – Requirements: To join the parish choir, a singer must demonstrate that he or she can vocally match a pitch played on the organ, and can carry a tune reliably (even a simple tune will do – Amazing Grace, Happy Birthday, God Bless America, etc). Additionally, you should be available to attend all (or nearly all) scheduled events and rehearsals. A cooperative attitude, a willingness to learn, and some creativity are good things to bring with you.
Choir Members:
visit the Adult Choir’s Resources site here: Choir.SacredHearts-StStephen.com
About the Adult Choir
Mission: Enhancing the celebration of Mass and other special occasions with traditional hymns, sacred choral concert repertoire, and new compositions, this mixed adult ensemble provides a space for personal musical and vocal growth, as well as collaborative music making and community building. All levels welcome! The choir is one branch of the parish’s “Ministry Society,” and its members serve as music ministers. The choir is an important part of creating and inspiring a sincere attitude of prayer in all those who attend our church, and who hear us sing.
Events: The parish choir sings for special events at the church throughout the year, including Christmas Eve, Easter Sunday, First Communion, Confirmation, Immaculate Conception, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and more. We sing in English, Italian, and Latin.
Rehearsals: The choir rehearses seasonally (usually September to December, and January to early June), once a week on Wednesday evening. Rehearsals are held in the church. Rehearsals are typically an hour and 15 minutes. All rehearsals are announced on this website.
Attendance: Each member’s individual participation makes a big difference. For the choir to function well, we need everyone to attend every event, or the sound of the whole group suffers. There are legitimate reasons to be absent – illness, a death in the family, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, etc. However, each of us must respect the time and effort of the others in the group. If you must be absent, you must notify Jim directly by email or telephone at least 24 hours before the event. This includes rehearsals. Advance notice enables something to be done to ensure a good experience for the rest of the choir. If you only call the day of, or fail to call at all, you are wasting the time of both the director and the other members of the group.
Please respect your choir – communicate about your attendance ahead of time. 24 hours is the minimum in order for the information to be useful. Thank you for your cooperation.
Directors/Personnel: The parish music director is Jim Lake. The choir director is Jennifer Wu. Jim handles music selection, scheduling, accompanying, arranging, and communications (including this website). Jen directs the choir’s rehearsals and the vocal ensemble during liturgy. Music during liturgy is a collaboration among all the music ministers – organist, conductor, choir, and instrumentalists – with the goal of helping the whole assembly to sing their prayers and praise.