A National (Cathedral) Performance

When Mr. Greg Vick arrived at St. Christopher’s in 1998, there were only 16 boys in the Glee Club. Now, that number has almost tripled, due in no small part to the excellence of the St. Christopher’s music program. This year in particular is the Beaux Ties’ 25th anniversary, and Saints Singers, the joint St. Christopher’s and St. Catherine’s auditioned choir, has added more singers than in previous years.

Saints Singers performed at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on February 2nd of this year. After a long bus ride from campus, the group hurried to the rehearsal room and rehearsed for a couple of hours beforehand. Saints Singers had been practicing the music for about a month, but this was their first and only time singing with the entire group. This group consisted of auditioned choirs from the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal School Association (MAESA) and the choirs at the National Cathedral School and St. Alban’s School. Each year, these schools host a service of Choral Evensong at the Cathedral. 
 
The Glee Club and Chorale (the St. Catherine’s version of Glee Club) sang Evensong at the Cathedral for the first time in January of 2003. On the other hand, Saints Singers has participated in the MAESA Evensong services for the past five years (and counting). According to Mr. Vick, “It’s a nice opportunity for the Saints Singers to enjoy making music at a high standard with other Episcopal school choirs and the National Cathedral Choir in the National Cathedral.”
 
After rehearsing for a few hours, the group was ushered into the main chamber to rehearse with the acoustics of the space. They yet again rehearsed for an hour or two, then were finally ready to perform. Seniors Harris Wolfe ’25 and Elizabeth Kaufman ’25, who are members of Saints Singers, read scripture during the service. The performance went exceptionally smoothly.
 
Mr. Vick encourages all students who are interested in singing or joining a music ensemble to attend and observe rehearsals. The music ensembles are a great mix of all demographics of the Upper School, and STC is fortunate to have many arts faculty who not only teach their discipline but are also active professionally.
 
Being able to sing at the National Cathedral is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and members of Saints Singers are lucky enough to now do it every year. Mr. Vick “want[s] to see boys coming to STC from all around Richmond to pursue their passion for the performing arts, be it vocal or instrumental music, theatre [and] dance.” The future of performing arts at STC is looking bright, and it’s largely thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Court, Mr. Vick and the other immensely talented arts faculty on both campuses.