Cathedral Choir
The Cathedral Choir is the resident choral ensemble of Saint Peter Cathedral. It is comprised of professional and volunteer singers from the greater Marquette area. The choir sings for the 10:30am Sunday Mass year round, which is live broadcast through Northern Apostle Radio on WNOA at 103.9FM, as well as for other parish and diocesan occasions. The choir regularly collaborates with members of the Marquette Symphony Orchestra and the Cathedral Brass. While primarily an “adult choir” with a minimum age requirement of at least 15 years old, this ensemble is open under special circumstances to students 5th – 8th grade who show exceptional musical talent, focus, and maturity.
There are currently openings in all voice parts. Ensemble experience and sight-reading are highly valued though not required. For more information and to schedule an audition ASAP, please contact Benjamin O’Brien, Director of Sacred Music, at (906) 227-9122 or
http://www.benmusic.org/cathedral-choir.html
All members of this ensemble have automatic membership into the Diocesan Choir (see below).
Diocesan Choir
The Diocesan Choir sings for the major liturgies of the Diocese of Marquette, including the Chrism Mass and Ordinations. The choir accepts invitations from parishes across the Diocese to sing for liturgies of particular importance to the parish, as well as performing in concerts throughout the region. Recent liturgies of particular importance have included the Solemn Requiem Mass for the 150th Anniversary Commemoration of the Death of Venerable Bishop Baraga and the Mass of Christian Burial for Joyce Sample, the mother of Archbishop Alexander K. Sample.
http://www.benmusic.org/diocesan-choir.html
St. Peter Cathedral Youth Schola
The St. Peter Cathedral Youth Schola sings for the weekly Father Marquette Catholic Academy PK-8 school Masses and is open via audition to all children 2nd – 8th grade of the parish whether homeschooled, public school, or students at FMCA. With the primary requirements of ability to hear and match pitch as well as beauty of vocal tone – this Youth Schola builds a strong musical foundation with each young singer teaching them the basics of music theory, sight reading, and vocal technique through the study primarily of Gregorian Chant. All of this serves to train these students to join more advanced choirs when they are older in Middle School, High School, and College and ultimately helps serve as a “funnel” to transition students directly into the Cathedral Choir when they are old enough (high school age usually). Chant serves as the perfect foundation because monophony is the simplest of musical textures. Monophony is a texture comprising a single line of musical tones: that is, a single melody, or intonation, or cantillation. It makes no difference whether there is one singer, or several, or many singers – so long as they all sing the same notes together, it is monophony. So whether the melody be basic or very ornate and challenging to sing, all the voices are mirroring one another on one single pitch at a time. This creates the perfect training module for young singers to precede more complex forms of vocal music that will come later that contain harmony and varying rhythms as seen with adult-level choral music whether that be polyphony, hymns, anthems, etc.
http://www.benmusic.org/st-peter-cathedral-youth-schola.html
All members of this ensemble have automatic membership into the Diocesan Youth Schola (see below).
St. Cecilia Diocesan Youth Schola
The St. Cecilia Diocesan Youth Schola is composed of children from parishes throughout the fifteen counties of the Diocese of Marquette. Membership is open via audition to all children 2nd – 8th grade of the Diocese of Marquette. Previous musical instruction is not necessary but rather focusing on the requirements of ability to hear and match pitch as well as beauty of vocal tone is what we’re looking for. This ensemble provides children with the opportunity to sing sacred music in liturgical settings as well as in concert.
http://www.benmusic.org/st-cecilia-diocesan-youth-schola.html
One of the highlights and main focuses of the St. Cecilia Diocesan Youth Schola is participating in the annual Pueri Cantores Youth Choral Festival. Though the venue location sometimes changes from year to year, usually the closest festival for the Upper Peninsula MI will be down in Milwaukee WI, about just under 5 hours from Marquette, MI. Pueri Cantores is the official student choral organization of the Catholic Church. AFPC organizes Choral Festivals and Masses for parish and school choirs (grades 4-12) in cathedrals and other churches around the United States.
As a corporate partner of the National Catholic Educational Association, Pueri Cantores also provides professional opportunities for music teachers and no cost music education resources for the 6000 Catholic Schools in our nation. With 32 federations comprising 70,000 young singers worldwide, Pueri Cantores is the leading international student choral organization of the Roman Catholic Church, whose mission is to evangelize and catechize choristers through the medium of sacred music, aiding them in growing in their faith and rooting them ever deeper to the Church. Here in the U.S. the American Federation organizes choral festivals at the local and national levels held in the regional Cathedral, Basilica, or other church of architectural significance. Our Treble voice festivals (for grades 4-8), and Mixed Voice festivals (for grades 4-12) are in the context of a Eucharistic liturgy, and feature a broad repertoire of Gregorian chant, classical and modern polyphonic music, and contemporary compositions.
What’s a SCHOLA?
Loosely translated as “a school of singers” the term Schola Cantorum was the trained papal choir during the Middle Ages, specializing in the performance of plainchant also known as Gregorian chant. This group was the ancestor of the Sistine Chapel Choir! Legend associates them with the papacy of Gregory the Great. In modern terms it is known as a group of singers who specialize in liturgical sacred music.
