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Views from the Choir Loft

The American Boychoir Redefines the Choral Experience

Richard J. Clark · January 15, 2016

HE AMERICAN BOYCHOIR sets the bar for choral singing and education in the United States. While not a liturgical or sacred institution, we must pay heed to their work. As the go-to choir for major symphony orchestras (and Hollywood), they attained a high standard long ago and have sustained it for a very long time. To maintain such levels of quality, they have set the educational bar just as high. The two go hand in hand.

Maintaining high standards in art is a lifetime pursuit, often elusive, rarely achieved. Maintaining the financial health of non-profit artistic institutions is equally challenging. Consider the number of major symphony orchestras in the red. Consider that we have only two Roman Catholic choir schools in the entire United States. If they were easy to build we would have many more! Aggressive fundraising is the new norm for all non-profit institutions, no matter how unpleasant a responsibility. Do so, or perish, and along with it, art and beauty.

The American Boychoir, currently working their way through a significant financial crisis, has not suffered one bit artistically. Having been to the brink, they seem to have blocked out the noise and have made music that much more passionately.

In a recent concert tour, I had the privilege to hear them perform at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul’s in Boston. Having heard them many times before in the last decade, this concert left me with the impression that they have entered a new phase. Sounding better than ever (which is saying a great deal) they now are flaunting a variety of styles and choral techniques, all done to perfection. Conductor Fernando Malvar-Ruiz has indeed redefined the live choral experience.

Their program, “How Can I Keep From Singing” drew from music from many cultures and styles—in and of itself not innovating at all. In fact, many in the audience may find that they like some and dislike others of the choices. (A personal highlight was the Mendelssohn’s Surrexit Pastor Bonus.) But the innovation was the educational intent and subsequent execution. Performed and conducted entirely from memory, this highly disciplined performance appeared effortless when certainly it was not. As many pieces flowed seamlessly form one into another, it was difficult at times to know when one piece began and another ended. This concert was not simply a collection of pieces, related or otherwise. The entire concert was not unlike liturgy in which the music followed an arc, it was given shape which drove a broader message. It was an experience for the listener to engage internally, digest, and carry in their hearts for a long time to come. We strive for this in liturgy. The American Boychoir has modeled this on the stage.

ITH REGARD TO INTENT, conductor Fernando Malvar-Ruiz speaks passionately that the mission of the choir is not music. It is education. Likewise, in liturgical choirs, the purpose of sacred music is not the music itself, but to serve a greater purpose. The greater purpose is paramount. To that end, it is telling that even with recent financial challenges, they have not lost one student. As a result the cohesion and continuity is evident in their art.

Astounding was the beauty, purity, and unity of the choral sound. Equally astounding was the number of individual glorious voices, many of them rather unique, some of them changed, yet integrated seamlessly—something they have always done well. Through the course of the concert, it seemed close to half of the choir of about twenty-four singers had a short solo at some point. Several of these voices were jaw-dropping in their beauty. I had to wipe tears away, such was the privilege to be in the presence of something so truly special.

MALVAR-RUIZ DEFLECTS ALL CREDIT for the boys’ sound to ABC’S Director of Vocal Training, Fred Meads. But what Malvar-Ruiz does with these voices is reaching new heights. In private, he appears very comfortable in his skin in the role of educator and artist. He has a fire in his eyes with love for this institution. Let us hope this beauty continues to shine for many years to come, leading the United States as a model of choral education.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not only heard them perform many times before, but have had the privilege to collaborate with them upon occasion. My opinions are not entirely objective. But don’t rely on my opinion. Consider the opinion of conductors who relied upon the American Boychoir: James Levine, Pierre Boulez, and Kurt Masur just to name a few.

Please pray for their success and for all who educate our children through music!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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