Christmas at St. Louis

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St. Louis Choir Trip

Last weekend, members of the St. Louis Choir traveled to Summit, New Jersey to combine forces with the Choir of St. Teresa of Avila Church. This collaboration began in April 2009 when the St. Teresa Choir visited St. Louis to sing for Mass and a concert (featuring Mozart's Coronation Mass). Later that year, the two choirs combined to sing the Mozart Mass at St. Teresa. In 2010, the two choirs combined to sing for a concert featuring the Schubert Mass in G at SS. Philip and James Church in Baltimore. All of this led to the trip this past weekend in which the two groups combined for a Veteran's Day Concert at St. Teresa.








It's always wonderful to put to the two choirs together, but this particular performance to a nice-sized crowd was especially welcome after all of the difficulty felt in the New Jersey area in the wake of the recent hurricane.

Stay tuned for information about future collaborations.

Hymn Festival at St. Louis

The new hymnals are here! As a preview we will have a Hymn Festival this Sunday, November 18 at 4:00pm. Members of the St. Louis Choir, Folk Group, Youth Band, and Children's Choir will be present to sing a variety of music - both familiar and new. If you have an hour free on Sunday, stop by to sing, stop by to listen, or simply

Some recent history: Now that the new English translation of the Roman Missal has begun, we are able to address our books by replacing our current annual Missalettes and Music Issues with permanent hymnals. The new hymnals include a set of two books – Worship, Fourth Edition from GIA Publications and the Saint Augustine Hymnal from International Liturgy Publications. The two books combine to provide hundreds of hymns – well-known hymns from our current Music Issue, well-known hymns currently unavailable to us, a whole variety of new music for use in the future, and all of the revised texts for Mass. In addition, Worship 4 includes all of the readings for each Sunday as well as an easy to follow Order of Mass.

Purchasing the hymnals is a significant capital expense, so we have started a sponsorship program. Over 300 parishioners have already sponsored hymnals. Have you sponsored yet? Please consider doing so. We are asking you to consider sponsoring a set of the two hymnals for $50.00. As you will see at the Hymn Festival the sponsored hymnals have a bookplate on the inside cover inscribed with the sponsor’s name, family name, or the name of a loved one. The sponsorship form is available on the St. Louis website: here. By making this purchase now through the support of this special sponsorship, we will be able to save substantially in the long term by not having to purchase the Missalettes and Music Issues each year.

Concerto Competition 2012-2013

I'm excited to announce the announce the 2013 Concerto Competition for the St. Louis Church Concert Series. The competition will provide an opportunity for a high school student to perform a concerto with orchestra at the St. Louis Church Concert Series Spring Concert on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 4:00pm.

The 2013 competition is open to high school musicians who are in grades 9-12 during the  2012-2013 academic year. Performers of piano, strings, woodwind, brass, or percussion instruments may apply. In order to apply, students should submit a high quality recording of their concerto with accompaniment. The performance should be a complete and unedited version of the piece.

All materials must be postmarked by Friday, December 14, 2012. Finalists will be notified no later than January 1, 2013 and invited to perform in the final round of competition on Sunday afternoon, January 20, 2013. The winner will prepare his or her solo with orchestra at the concert dress rehearsals on Friday evening, April 19, 2013 and Saturday morning, April 20, 2013. In addition, the first place winner will receive a $250 prize.

Do you know someone who might be interested in the competition? Please forward this information to them. I am looking forward to working with these dedicated and talented musicians. 

Application, rules, and guidelines are available here.

Pedals, Pipes, and Percussion

It's almost here! The 2012-2013 season of the St. Louis Church Concert Series begins this weekend - Sunday, October 7 at 4:00pm with Pedals, Pipes, and Percussion. I will have the opportunity to perform with local percussionist, Tim McKay, on a variety of percussion and organ works including energetic hymn settings for organ and timpani as well as movements of Dan Locklair’s Constellations.

New Hymnals at St. Louis

As you may have heard by now through print and online means - and through my presentation at all of the Masses on September 15-16 - we are all very excited about new hymnals at St. Louis. Now that the new English translation of the Roman Missal has begun, we are able to address our books by replacing our current annual Missalettes and Music Issues with permanent hymnals. The new hymnals will include a set of two books – Worship, Fourth Edition from GIA Publications and the Saint Augustine Hymnal from International Liturgy Publications. The two books combine to provide hundreds of hymns – well-known hymns from our current Music Issue, well-known hymns currently unavailable to us, a whole variety of new music for use in the future, and all of the revised texts for Mass. In addition, Worship 4 includes all of the readings for each Sunday as well as an easy to follow Order of Mass.

Purchasing the hymnals is a significant capital expense, so in addition to sending publicity as a means of introducing the new books, we have also started a sponsorship program. We are asking you to consider sponsoring a set of the two hymnals for $50.00. The sponsored hymnals will have a bookplate on the inside cover that will provide an opportunity for the sponsor’s name, family name, or the name of a loved one to be inscribed. The form is available on the St. Louis website: here. By making this purchase now through the support of this special sponsorship, we will be able to save substantially in the long term by not having to purchase the Missalettes and Music Issues each year.

The plan is to begin using these hymnals on the Feast of Christ the King – this year it falls on Thanksgiving weekend – which is just as the subscription to our current books expires. Please keep an eye out for an upcoming event on Sunday afternoon, November 18; a Hymn Festival, in which all are welcomed and encouraged to come and sing or come and listen to a variety of hymns – both familiar and new – from the new books.

Thank you for your consideration.

Travel with the St. Louis Choir in November

Would you like to travel with the St. Louis Choir to New Jersey and New York in November? Seats are available on the bus as the choir travels to New Jersey and New York on Saturday-Sunday, November 10-11, 2012. Highlights of the trip: Saturday night in New York City with optional Broadway musical, overnight in Summit, NJ, Sunday morning Mass at St. Teresa of Avila Church, Summit with the combined choirs of St. Louis and St. Teresa and an afternoon concert featuring the two choirs. For more information, please contact Paul Carroll at 410-531-6040 or e-mail.