A Fun, Busy Week

Whoa!  I had an exhausting but fun week helping out at the Cathedral Choir Camp - forty kids working, praying, playing, and mostly singing all week long.  I originally signed up to help with checking the campers in on Monday morning.  I volunteered because I like to be helpful, of course, but mostly because I wanted a Choir Camp tee-shirt.  However it was all so great that I stayed for the whole week.  The St James Schola Cantorum, (I may have mentioned this before, like hundreds of times) is a simply amazing group of children lead by several amazing music educators.  They sing real music, and sound splendid.  This year they sang, among other wonderful pieces, movements from Charpentier’s Magnificat! It was astonishing.  Charpentier is one of my top favorite composers, so I was thrilled. And when, during the Mass for the Feast of theVisitation, they sang Panis Angelicus, it brought tears to my eyes – and despite it being one of my top not-favorite pieces.  

Uh-oh!  Someone is peeking into the window!

Lots of learning and lots of creating was happening, and not only creating music.  The choristers attended a presentation on the making of a local best-selling graphic novel, given by the authors themselves (or one of them, the other being at meetings), and then the group worked on their own, depicting the high spots of the week.

On the last day, there was a mini-camp for the younger children - those in the St. Gregory and St. Cecilia choirs, in training to become members of the Schola Cantorum.   Most of them looked a little apprehensive at first, but one singer,  Cecilia, was at ease and having a great time.

You can seem more photos and get an better idea of what a great week it was here.