From the Organist & Master of Choristers

       On Tuesday, 27 March 2012, the Harvard Glee Club, and the All Saints' Choir of Men and Boys, presented a free, one hour-long concert at All Saints'.

       Many have asked me how this concert came to be. In the fall of 2011, I sent an email to the local board of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), notifying them of openings in the choir here at Ashmont, and soon thereafter received a response from ACDA board member Andrew Clark, the director the the Harvard Glee Club (HGC). We agreed to meet for lunch, where we quickly discovered that the two choirs have much in common, but specifically, a commitment to promoting excellence in male choral singing. Andrew Clark conveyed to me the HGC's interest in a greater degree of community involvement, and this led to the creation of the event of 27 March, an evening of socializing and music-making culminating in a joint concert of the ensembles. [Check out this link to learn more about the concert.—Ed.]

       And now, for a report of the choir's recent outing to Cambridge. On the afternoon of the Third Sunday of Lent, 11 March 2012, our choir boarded the Red Line (with a large and enthusiastic group of parents and chaperons) to travel to St. Paul's Church, Harvard Square. There our choir joined forces with their Choir of Men and Boys for a service of Choral Vespers. The boys of the choir at St. Paul's are educated at the adjacent Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, a day school for boys, grades five through eight. John Robinson, the director of music at St. Paul's, was gracious and welcoming, and the sound that the two choirs generated was truly grand.

       What our choir enjoyed particularly was the opportunity to sing in such a reverberant acoustical space. Between the rehearsal and the service, the boys enjoyed a delicious mid-afternoon snack provided by the parents of St. Paul's, while some of the men took in an elegant pre-service organ recital by Ross Wood, Associate Director of Music at our sister parish, Church of the Advent. The choirs sang music by Eleanor Daley, Herbert Howells, Colin Mawby, and Robert Parsons. Both John Robinson and I are hopeful that this will be just the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship between the two choirs.

       A note for your calendar: The St. Paul's Choir will come to Ashmont on 20 May 2012 to join forces with our choir in singing Solemn Evensong and Benediction. This is a change from a previously advertised date of 6 May 2012. Please make a note and plan on attending this special service.

Andrew P. Sheranian

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