The following address was offered on 10 February 2024 by Anthony Clark, Class of 2024, Saint Paul’s Choir School, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The occasion was a fundraising gala for the Choir School at the HARVARD CLUB (Boston, Massachusetts). The speech received a standing ovation.
OOD EVENING everyone. Thank you for being here, and for all your generosity. My name is Anthony Clark, and I’m a member of this year’s graduating class. We are all here for a reason. Of course it is to support the Choir School, and raise money—but I think there’s a “bigger picture.” We are here tonight to celebrate the accomplishments of us boys and of the school in the past sixty-one years since its founding in 1963 by Dr. Theodore Marier. As a part of tonight, I am going to reflect on all of my years at this school, and give you an even better look at what being a student at this school looks like.
Choice Of A Lifetime • Choosing the school was the best decision I have ever made. At Saint Paul’s we receive a firm musical education and a very accelerated academic curriculum, and I am proud of it. I know you have all probably heard this at least a million times, but I will say it once more—Saint Paul’s Choir School is the only all boys Catholic choir school in the nation. This is truly a unique school in this country; you can’t receive the same kind of education anywhere else.
Kindness From Others • Let’s travel back about four and a half years ago to September 2019, when I was in fourth grade, the year I started this school. What immediately struck me on the first day was how few kids there were in each grade. Attending such a small school is a blessing because us boys know each other very well and our teachers are able to give lots of help and attention to each kid. On the first day, I felt very comfortable and did not find it hard to socialize with the other boys. I also felt welcomed because all of the older boys were so kind to us new kids.
Being Challenged • But what I loved the most was watching the choristers sing. The third and fourth graders are the pre-choristers that train to be invested into the choir in fifth grade. I really aspired to be a chorister and looked up to those who were—so I worked pretty hard that year. In our pre-chorister rehearsals, we learned what I call the “basic foundation” of skills as a chorister. These are things like knowing how to stand, breathe, and match pitch, knowing how to read notes and rhythms on the staff, and being able to follow along with the music. Complicated skills like sight reading new music are things that they develop while they mature through the choir. Our pre-choristers have the opportunity to sing BENEDICTION before Mass on Fridays, which helps them get used to rehearsing and singing in the choir loft. This year, they have been sounding very good, as you have already witnessed, under the direction of Mr. Straub. After my fourth grade year was up, I became pretty excited for the next year. Little did I know the amount of incredible experiences I would soon get.
Becoming “Invested” • Fifth grade is an exciting year, but challenging! It’s the year pre-choristers transition into the choir and get invested as a chorister. Being a chorister is no easy job, but a huge commitment to attend long rehearsals, sing Mass five days a week, including Sunday, and sing widely attended concerts. What is most challenging about being new in the choir is enduring the change of a more demanding schedule and also being met with new, challenging music. In my personal experience, I found rehearsals to be tiring at first, but I was excited to be there and to learn lots of new music. Since the investiture is in November, fifth graders get a few months to prove their capabilities. They are not expected to be super strong singers by then, but to have the basic foundation of skills they learned as pre-choristers. The day I was invested fell on the Solemnity of Christ The King, and the Feast of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. That day was a very special one for me, because it was that day that I officially felt committed to the choir, but also the start to an incredible journey.
Unforgettable Holy Week • one of my favorite memories from that year was singing the Holy Week liturgies, Good Friday especially. That day we sang The Passion, with responses by Victoria, and other powerful music like Crucifixus for eight voices by Antonio Lotti, and O Vos Omnes by Pablo Cassels. By the end of my fifth grade year, I enjoyed singing even more and loved all the music. I also felt that I had a stronger relationship with God and that I was where I belonged.
A few highlights • After a year of experience in the choir, having already gone through the hardships of the Christmas season and Holy Week, and learned lots of the repertoire, the sixth grade year naturally feels a little easier. In my sixth grade year, we started singing vespers on Thursday evenings more often. Each week, we would sing a new Magnificat, one of them being composed by our last director of music, Mr. Kennerley, which is a well loved piece by our choir to this day. Some musical highlights from that year were singing the Fauré Requiem, and movements from Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Although, my favorite experience from that year was when our choir sang in Mahler’s Third Symphony with the Boston Philharmonic, conducted by Benjamin Zander, at Symphony Hall. I had never sung with a full orchestra before then, and I admit, it was hard. We were singing from the second balcony, which was away from the orchestra and the other choir, but it was really surreal to be up there singing in front of a huge audience. The next month, for our annual spring concert, we performed Mozart’s Spatzen Messe, which is a Mass setting we are very familiar with, along with his Laudate Dominum, and the Vivaldi Gloria. This concert featured an award winning soprano soloist, Amanda Forsythe, and also a baroque orchestra. The performance left me with an even greater appreciation for early music, with the Vivaldi Gloria being one of my favorite pieces I have sung.
Momentous Summer • After the school year ended, we sang the National Anthem at FENWAY PARK, which was a very different scene, compared to Symphony Hall, but a very noteworthy performance. Now the next huge event for our choir took place at the end of August to record a commercial album of the Fauré Requiem, and music by Mr. Kennerley. The Requiem by Fauré is a piece our choir knew very well, but for the recording, we had a chamber orchestra playing, changing things up from what we are used to, being just the organ. We also sang the Missa Sanctae Mariae Virginis, a Mass setting written by Mr. Kennerley. This piece is so amazing because it is energetic, peaceful, and frightening. He also references Marian antiphons throughout the piece. The Fauré Requiem and Missa Sanctae Mariae Virginis worked well together with their solemn attitudes and heavenliness. The final product became the album Gabriel Fauré Requiem And Other Masterworks, which I really recommend you go listen to for either the first time, or I suggest you listen to it again if you already have. You can find it on Spotify and Apple Music, but if you are super awesome and want the best experience, you’ll buy the CD at this website. Anyway, that was my most eventful summer ever and goes to show that the commitments as a chorister last year long.
Back To Work! • Just two weeks later, we were back in school. When entering seventh grade, standards get higher and more leadership is to be expected from those students because they are a part of the older grades. In the beginning of my seventh grade year, I decided that it is important for me to be an example for the younger boys, to be helpful, and to have a strong voice in the choir. That year, we got a flood of new choristers, making more fifth and sixth graders than seventh and eighth graders, so I took that opportunity to step up. In January we went on tour to Washington D.C., which was actually my first time traveling with the choir as a chorister. We visited the National Cathedral and Saint Alban’s School, and had the opportunity to listen to the high school choir, which was directed by Mr. Straub. That same day, we sang evensong with the boy choristers at the National Cathedral in the chapel below the church. The next day was the worldwide release of our CD, in which we sang a concert at Saint Peter’s on Capitol Hill, and before we left D.C, we sang at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral for Sunday Mass. Singing and traveling in the choir is one of the coolest and very unique experiences that this school offers, and it was lots of fun, for all the places we visited, the music we sang, and also spending time with my fellow classmates.
Late Night Rehearsals • And then we started prepping our biggest project of the year, to be performed once again at Symphony Hall, but with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky’s Perséphone, which is about the Greek goddess of spring. It is a very difficult piece to learn, so it required a lot of late night rehearsals, but it was all worth it once we got on stage. Yes, that time we got to be on stage, which was a whole new experience with the orchestra in front of us. Being on stage made me feel more a part of the production than the last time. We performed it three times, and nailed it three times, with exceptional reviews.
Traveling To Italy • Now for our long awaited tour to Italy. It was a very long trip, nearly two weeks, where we got to sing in some of the most visually stunning churches I have ever stepped foot in. We sang Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Saint Mary Major Basilica, and Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. We also had the opportunity to sing at the Pope’s general audience, and got a pretty cool picture with him afterwards.
O THAT WAS QUITE THE YEAR. All of those experiences with the BSO, traveling, and releasing a new album has allowed me to appreciate where I am and how lucky I am to have done these things that most kids my age can’t say they have done. If that Italy trip taught me anything, it’s that I have awful jet lag. But on a serious note, I am very grateful for what this school provided me with during the entirety of those years.
My Final Year • Now, I am in eighth grade, my final year at this school. It came so quickly. Before I keep going, I would like to thank Mr. Webster for taking on the role of Interim Director of Music for the year, and it is an honor to have an incredibly experienced musician like him. Anyways, eighth grade is a tough year with high school entrance tests and applications, which are thankfully all done now. What was nice though was having a special high school prep class at school that helped us to prepare for writing applications. In October, we went on a short but sweet trip to New York to sing a wedding and Sunday Mass the next morning at Saint Vincent Ferrer. My favorite piece this year so far was Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, which was performed at our Christmas in Harvard Square concert. It is written for boy sopranos singing in three parts, which was a challenge, but we pulled through it and made it sound amazing.
Changed Me As A Person • Now that brings us to today, with many things in store for the rest of this year. This school has changed me as a person. One, going to Mass and singing everyday has made me find a closer connection to God. Since I joined the choir, all I listen to is classical or choral music. This school has also helped me be a better musician, which is obvious, but so true. I have put so much work into singing and piano that it has sparked an interest in me to pursue being a musician as an adult. Finally, being at this school has guided me to be a leader. With all of the exposure the younger boys get to the older ones, and being an older member of the choir, leadership is forced on us older boys. Honestly, for most of my years, I was not someone that ever thought or acted as a leader, or desired to. Being at this school has shaped me into one. This school has changed my life. I can’t imagine myself, my interests, my personality if I had not gone to this school. That is how big of an impact it had on me.
Acknowledgments • Now, I’d like to acknowledge some of the people who have inspired me—and that I am grateful for within the school. At Saint Paul’s we are lucky enough to have some really great music teachers. A great example of this was Mr. Kennerley, our previous music director. He cared so much about each of us and our voices that he individually pushed us, and it helped me a lot. One thing he emphasized often was how important it was for us to work as a team in the choir. He always said, “we are only as strong as our weakest member.” If someone is not working at their full potential, then they are weighing everyone else down as well. Or if some people are out, then he said that we all had to work a little harder to make up for it. He also taught us great musical skills like how to sight read music, and would express the importance of taking care of our voices. Using his tips eventually helped me learn to sight read better, which is a really difficult skill. Finally, he valued leadership from the older boys, which inspired me to take on leadership myself. Mr. Kennerley inspired me to want to be a musician, and I am grateful that I had him as my music director. I’m also grateful that Mr. Webster is here this year. The funny thing is that before I started fourth grade at this school, I attended the Massachusetts Boy Choir Camp, a week long overnight camp for singing, and Mr. Webster was actually the director of it, so I knew him before this year. I never thought I would see him again, but here we are now. A very good quote he says a lot is, “we are a choir, and by definition, we do things together.” That phrase is just so true and it reveals the bond that us boys in the choir have with each other, and how we are in this together as a team. I am also very glad to have Mr. Straub as my organ teacher for the past few months, and he has already taught me so much, along with Ms. Ip, my piano teacher who has pushed me a bunch this year, and has helped me get even better at piano. All of those people have come from this school and shows how great of a faculty we have. Beyond our musical studies, each teacher at this school is amazing because they challenge us, offer us a wide range of knowledge and lots of help when needed. This school really has given me the best education I could ask for.
Final Thoughts • After almost five years at Saint Paul’s Choir School, and very few months left, it does feel sad to have to say ‘goodbye’ soon. This school allowed me to find my passion for music, to be a leader, and to be a better follower of Christ. Through all of my struggles and difficult tasks in these years, I have learned to use the virtue of fortitude. As a chorister, I have done things that most people have not done, and have accomplished the same amount some professional musicians have done in many years in just a few, all thanks to this school. We could not have done it without any of you though. When you support Saint Paul’s Choir School you are not only supporting us boys, but also our education. Your support can allow us to do more concerts with the BSO, more tours, and can make this choir get even stronger. Thank you for taking time out of your night to be here, it means a lot to us. If you know a boy that is interested or already loves to sing, tell them about Saint Paul’s Choir School. Thank you, and I wish you all a good night.
Photos courtesy of Eric Manougian & Martin Etcheverry.
