Choir School NEWS
A NEWSLETTER FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS OF SAINT THOMAS CHOIR SCHOOL
Probationers in the choir stalls for the first service at Saint Thomas Choir School
From the Head of School
CHRISTOPHER SEELEY
Outside our building on 58th Street, the trees are changing color and the air is increasingly crisp and autumnal. Within the walls of the Choir School, there is joyful noise, merriment, and wonder wherever one looks or listens. As I take the elevator down eleven floors to my office each morning, depending on the hour, I hear conversation and raucous laughter coming up from the dining hall or the echo of 26 voices singing as one floating up from our basement rehearsal room. Our returning students have fallen quickly back into their familiar routines, and our youngest, newest students are taking their cues from the older boys, especially our four “seniors” in eighth grade, as they learn the rhythm of life here and as their love for this place and all that it promises grows daily.
As I begin my fourth school year leading the Choir School, we are as fully enrolled as we have ever been with 26 boys hailing from seven different states. It has been a record admissions cycle, with eleven new boys admitted since opening day last year, and we continue to field inquiries from families interested in exploring whether a Choir School education might be right for their sons. If there were ever a testament of faith in this special, singular model of education, families are showing it volubly in these early months of the new school year.
You may have read that earlier this month, the Vestry of Saint Thomas Church voted to move forward with an academic collaboration between Saint Thomas and Professional Children’s School beginning in the 2025–2026 school year.
Concerts
For more information about ticketing, as well as exclusive benefits for Choir Families and Alumni, email concerts@saintthomaschurch.org.
This decision, which comes after several months of discernment and exploration by the Sustainability Task Force, aims to ensure a more financially sustainable future for the Choir School while preserving our mission, values, and unique choral heritage. Under this model, choristers will continue to live in the Choir School building and receive religious and musical instruction both here and at the church, while attending core academic classes at Professional Children’s School just a few blocks away. Those of us here at the Choir School have experienced a range of emotions in the wake of this decision, as I am sure our wider community also has. We are relieved that the Vestry has found a way to preserve the school and avoid outright closure, but, at the same time, we grieve the loss of the all-encompassing residential, musical, and academic program that has been transforming the lives of young men for over one hundred years. Above all, though, we feel a sense of resolve: now that the decision has been made, we step out of a space of uncertainty and into the work of ensuring that we continue to provide a transformative experience not only for the choristers currently enrolled, but also for the future choristers we have not yet met.
The Choir School’s senior administrative team possesses a deep knowledge of and love for our school, and we are united in our commitment to making this collaboration as successful as possible. More than ever, we are asking our students’ families to trust and believe that we will ensure a future and pathway forward to preserve the school’s legacy, and above all, to fulfill our promise of providing an excellent academic, musical, and spiritual education for their boys.
Concerts at Saint Thomas is excited to announce our 2024–2025 series, featuring the Choir of Men and Boys. This season sees the return of our annual holiday concerts, a bold collaboration for Holy Week, and a springtime concert celebrating music itself. On December 10 and 12, Handel’s Messiah returns to Saint Thomas, accompanied by period instrument ensemble New York Baroque Incorporated. Harpist Bridget Kibbey joins the Boys of the Saint Thomas Choir for their popular winter concert entitled Christmas on Fifth Avenue, with two performances on December 19 and 21. For Passiontide, the Men and Boys will join forces with the UK chamber choir Vasari Singers to perform J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor. To close out the season, we will celebrate St. Cecilia and music itself with works of Parry on An Ode to St. Cecilia.
As always, Choir Families will have exclusive access to the front two rows of all concerts featuring the boys. Choir Families and Alumni are also eligible for half-price tickets. We hope to see you this season!
New Students
We are thrilled to welcome six new students from four different states to our Saint Thomas Choir School family this fall. It feels like they have been here much longer than just two months! We are proud of them for adjusting so well and grateful to our returning students for helping their new classmates feel welcome.
Back row: Henry M., 6th Grade, New York; Andrew G., 5th Grade, Florida; Daniel C., 5th Grade, New Jersey
Front row: Lincoln B., 4th Grade, Virginia; Noah L., 3rd Grade, New Jersey; Andrew K., 4th Grade, New Jersey
Faculty Transitions
Our faculty transitions this fall include the welcoming of several new colleagues, as well as new roles for some of our returning staff. In addition to his residential life and advisor responsibilities, Mr. Noel Patterson (STCS Class of 2013) will be our PE Teacher and Athletic Director in the coming year. Ms. Margaret White , previously known to the STCS community as a teacher of Latin and English and member of the residential faculty, will assume the position of Interim Director of Outreach and Enrollment.
Mrs. Heyden White Rostow will teach Latin to grades six and seven, stepping in as Ms. White assumes her new role in admission. Ms. Rostow is an experienced teacher of English, History, French and Latin, and we are fortunate that she has agreed to take on this part-time role at the school. She has
taught in boarding schools and day schools, co-ed schools and single-sex schools; she brings a wealth of experience as a school administrator; and she is delighted to continue to work with students and to offer them a strong foundation in Latin.
Mr. Nolan Turner will teach English to grades five through eight and serve as co-advisor for grade seven. Mr. Turner is an experienced middle and high school teacher, and he comes to us from California, where he has been teaching for a number of years. He visited Choir School last spring and was immediately drawn to our community and to the boys’ eagerness to engage adults and one another.
Mr. Hunter Doucette comes to us from a Charter School in Brooklyn and will teach math to grades five through eight. Drawing on his own experiences as a boarding school student, Mr. Doucette looks forward to joining our community and sharing his interests and talents in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in music.
You may have already read in a previous issue of Choir School News that Mr. Jonathan Bolena , STCS Class of 2020, returns to us this year as an Organ Scholar. As a member of the Music Department staff, he will assist with choir rehearsals, music theory classes, and instrument practices. He will also serve as a member of the residential duty team, assisting with study hall and nightly routines and activities.
Welcome and congratulations to all!
New faculty Hunter Doucette, Heyden White Rostow, and Nolan Turner
Opening Weekend:
September 5–8
Head Chorister Dominic and Deputy Head
First choir rehearsal of the year for returning choristers
New chorister Edric with his family
New chorister Ephrem with his mother
Grade 8 boys sporting their new school bowties, a special gift from Mr. Seeley
First all-school sports outing to Central Park
Chorister Bakore with Mr. Seeley and Dr. Filsell
Saint Thomas Girl Chorister Course 2024
This summer the Saint Thomas Girl Chorister Course welcomed 24 girls aged 11 to 18, hailing from 11 different states and Melbourne, Australia, for nine days of music making, learning, and fellowship. Working with Guest Music Director Bruce Neswick and our world class team of music and residential life staff, the choristers sang five choral services throughout the week— a weekday eucharist for the feast of St. James, two weekday evensongs, one treble-only for the feast of Mary Magdalene, and both eucharist and evensong on the final Sunday of the course.
When not singing, course participants took classes in music theory and music history, as well as private voice and organ lessons. We were thrilled to welcome back Janet Yieh from Church of the Heavenly rest as our Guest Organist and Music Theory Teacher, and Dr. Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek from Princeton University as our Vocal Coach and Music History Teacher. Dr. HornerKwiatek also directed the choristers in singing a choral introit by Hildegard von Bingen at the treble-only Evensong service.
There was plenty of time for fun and relaxation, too: Residential Life Coordinator (and former STGCC Chorister) Claire Thomas Griffin
organized a scavenger hunt in Central Park for the choristers, with the winning team receiving elevator privileges for a day; other outings included a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, a Mets vs. Braves game at Citi Field, and our annual Broadway outing, this year to the Tony Award-winning musical Suffs. After the performance, the choristers had a chance to meet Suffs Music Director and Music Supervisor Andrea Grody and ask her questions about her career in music.
Wallace (Music Education major at St. Olaf College). We also were thrilled to add an Organ Scholar to our ranks this year: Ariana Corbin, recent doctoral graduate from Florida State University.
This year saw the continuation of our Choral Scholar/Intern program begun last year. Three college age choristers joined us for the course this summer to assist with rehearsals, activities, and residential life. These students were selected after a rigorous application and interview process and received a small stipend, 2 voice lessons, and instruction in conducting during their 11 days at Saint Thomas. This summer’s Choral Scholars/Interns were Becca Lipsky (Music Education major at Bucknell University), Elisa Sikula (recent graduate of the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University), and Heather
The STGCC would not be possible without the support of Saint Thomas Church and Choir School and our wonderful staff. Thank you to all the staff listed above and to Housemother Mara Morgan, School Chef Glenn Trickel and his staff, our Choir School housekeeping and security staff, and special thanks to Organist and Director of Music Jeremy Filsell and Head of School Chris Seeley for their ongoing support of the STGCC.
We are pleased to be able to announce that our twentieth anniversary course will take place July 19–27, 2025, with Guest Music Director Dr. Maxine Thevenot of the Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque, NM. The course is open to girls ages 12–18 with some choral experience. Email girlscourse@ choirschool.org to request more information or sign up to be notified when applications are open. Watch our website and our Instagram account @ stcs_girlscourse for news regarding next summer’s course.
Ora Labora: A Hymn for Today
BY MAKS ADACH, ASSISTANT ORGANIST AND ASSOCIATE FOR MUSICAL STUDIES
A reflection on the School Hymn delivered to the Faculty of Saint Thomas Choir School at the opening meeting of the 2024–2025 academic year.
Come, Labor on.
Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain, While all around us waves the golden grain? And to each servant does the master say: ‘Go work today!’
These words, by Jane Borthwick, were set to a melody composed by our founder, T. Tertius Noble; we call the hymn ‘Ora Labora’. It is the first thing sung by a new probationer, and it is the final thing that a graduating eighth grader sings as he processes out of the church for the final time.
Thus it ‘bookends’ the student experience of choristers at Saint Thomas Church. It encapsulates their purpose as part of our community. They are workers in God’s field—their job is to cut and gather the wheat that is human souls. What is their scythe? Their ability to sing beautiful music.
The countless pieces of music they sing have a twofold purpose. The first is a practical one—their music is an
evangelistic tool. Music has a particular way of touching the human soul, opening people to God, and assisting them in worship.
The second purpose of their music is theological: it is through their singing that our earthly liturgy is joined with the heavenly one. Clad in white and standing in those choir stalls, they are a mirror image of the angels in the heavenly courts. Next time you see them in church, consider the massive stone reredos behind them and imagine those statues alive and in vivid technicolor. Imagine all of those stone saints, apostles, patriarchs, and prophets moving and joining in with their singing. Heaven and earth are truly full of His glory!
We, too, have a ‘harvest plain’ filled with ‘golden grain’. Our ‘harvest plain’ is the 26 boys in our care, and the ‘golden grain’ is their potential. Our job is to assist them in realizing that potential— academically, socially, musically. Most importantly, we must instill in our boys a deep understanding of their purpose here at Saint Thomas. We must help them to know their mission and its objectives.
Come, labor on.
Cast off all gloomy doubt and faithless fear! No arm so weak but may do service here. Though feeble agents, may we all fulfill His righteous will.
We are all imperfect instruments—you are fooling yourself if you do not consider yourself a ‘feeble agent’. Despite this, God has chosen us to fulfill His will for us. Each one of us has a vocation—that task that God has called each one of us to attempt and, hopefully, accomplish.
A constant theme through ‘Ora Labora’ is the idea of working together. As ‘feeble agents’, we work best as a team. It is
together that we can accomplish ‘God’s righteous will’. In this place and at this time, God’s will for us is to work together to help the boys both to realize their potential and learn the value of teamwork. The motley crew of 26 middle schoolers that will descend upon us this Thursday is a group of mixed ability. They aren’t a group of extreme musical prodigies. Rather, like all of us they are each a ‘feeble agent’ in their own way. Our boys’ various skill sets complement one another’s and they each become a small part of an excellent choir.
Come, labor on.
Claim the high calling angels cannot share; To young and old the gospel gladness bear. Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly. The night draws nigh.
The ‘high calling that angels cannot share’ is the role that the boys play here—the mission where they draw souls to God and adorn the worship of the liturgy. But what of all these nights that ‘draw nigh’ and times that ‘too swiftly fly’?
Allow me to take you back to my high school in Fulham, London. The motto of the London Oratory School is ‘Respice Finem’—‘look toward the end’. My school’s founder, the 19th century clergyman Fr. Wilfrid Faber, once said that the London Oratory School does not prepare boys for life. Rather, it prepares them for death. That may sound intense, but there is a certain truth to it.
The mission of spreading the gladness of the gospel is not limited to the time that the boys spend here in the choir school. Our aim here is to set them up for a lifetime of being witnesses for Jesus Christ in the world. We are called to try our best to instill into them the ideals of the Baptismal Covenant—that is, belief
in God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the importance of praying and receiving communion; seeking repentance for sin; proclaiming the Good News; and loving one’s neighbor. Out of this comes the concept of social justice. Through Jesus Christ, our boys become advocates for justice and peace in the world, with respect for the dignity of all human beings.
Our life is finite—it will end. Here at the Choir School we help the boys to dig deep foundations. They are, I hope, foundations that they will be able to build a lifetime of faith upon so that, at life’s end, the Heavenly Father may say to them: ‘well done, good and faithful servant—enter into the joy of the Lord.’
Come, labor on.
No time for rest till glows the western sky, Till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,
And a glad sound comes with the setting sun:
‘Servants, well done!’
‘Servants, well done.’ We sing these words to the graduating eighth graders with a lump in our throat during the last service of the academic year. This year, we will be singing them to Dominic, Bakore, Arthur, and Rocco. This final verse marks the close of a chapter; however, it is really not a valediction but rather something else. It is a call to work and a reminder that there is ‘no time for rest’. Indeed, our graduates still have a lifetime of work to do. We hope and pray that their time here at the Choir School has pointed them in the right direction and has equipped them with skills for discerning God’s purpose or vocation for them.
In this push to get the harvest ‘in’, we, as faculty, must use our God-given talents and abilities to work hard to create a loving and nurturing environment for the boys, so that they can fulfill their mission. So that, alongside them, we may be worthy to hear the ‘glad sound [that] comes with the setting sun: Servants well done!’
Alumni News & Notes
DAVID JOHNSON ‘64 reports that he is “still working corporate for a major software company.” He notes that this year marks 60 years since his graduation from STCS.
ALLEN RAYMOND ‘72 is living in California, still singing with the choir at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville, CA.
GREGORY LARSEN ‘02 finished a PhD in Marine Science & Conservation at Duke University in 2022, did a Postdoctoral research fellowship at Wake Forest University, and recently joined the National Park Service Southeast Alaska Inventory and Monitoring Network. He will be based in Juneau, Alaska, studying marine life at Glacier Bay National Park.
IAN OSBORNE ‘17 is a junior at Marist College studying psychology and music. This semester he is studying abroad in Florence, Italy.
ANDERS PEDERSEN ‘18 is currently attending the honors college at William Paterson University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in digital music creation with a minor in popular music studies. He writes, “I front, manage, and produce a punk band with members from the rebound William Paterson jazz program. After college I want to go into live sound and open a recording studio as well. I could not have found my passion for audio engineering without the path that STCS put me on.”
LEIGHTON C. ‘21 writes, “I am currently a senior in high school. I am planning to study voice in college. I still love singing because of STCS and am head chorister at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD.”
Wall Street. They recently performed Faure’s Requiem at St. Paul’s Chapel in downtown Manhattan.
We’d love to be in touch! Scan to get connected!
WILL P. ’22, CONSTANTIN L. ’23, and DAVID C. ’23 have enjoyed singing together in the Youth Chorus at Trinity Church,
Calendar of Events
All events take place at Saint Thomas Church unless otherwise specified. For complete information regarding the details of events and services, please refer to saintthomaschurch.org/events or choirschool.org.
TUESDAY, DEC. 10
7:30 p.m. G.F. Handel: Messiah
THURSDAY, DEC. 12
7:30 p.m. G.F. Handel: Messiah
THURSDAY, DEC. 19
5:30 p.m. Christmas on Fifth Avenue
SATURDAY, DEC. 21
12 p.m. Christmas on Fifth Avenue
SUNDAY, DEC. 22
4 p.m. A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols
TUESDAY, DEC. 24
4 p.m. A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols
TUESDAY, DEC. 24
10:30 p.m. Procession and Solemn Eucharist of the Nativity
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25
11 a.m. Procession and Solemn Eucharist of the Nativity
Contact Us
Saint Thomas Choir School
212.247.3311 | www.choirschool.org
Christopher Seeley, Head of School
Margaret White, Interim Director of Outreach and Enrollment admissions@choirschool.org
For news & events, visit our website
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Saint Thomas Choir School
www.choirschool.org
www.choirschool.org
212.247.3311