Mansfield students participate in National Catholic Youth Choir |
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Saturday, 10 July 2010 00:00 |
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn.—Two students from the Diocese of Toledo are participating in this year’s National Catholic Youth Choir (NCYC).
Barbara Henriques and Jamie Reynolds, both of Mansfield St. Peter, were selected to participate in the NCYC’s two-week summer camp with other high school students from across the United States.
The NCYC was founded in 2000 by Benedictine Father Anthony Ruff, and is now in its 11th season. This choir was begun under the motto “Spreading the Catholic Faith Through Great Music” as a response to the call of Pope John Paul II for a “new evangelization.”
The NCYC is sponsored by the St. John’s School of Theology-Seminary and meets on the grounds of St. John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn. The choir sings music of various eras, ranging from medieval Gregorian chant to 20th century music. The primary focus of the choir is liturgical, as it seeks to implement the directive of the Second Vatican Council that the “treasury of sacred music” be preserved and fostered in modern liturgy.
High school students from across the U.S. are selected to participate in the choir on the basis of written applications, recommendations and taped auditions.
 The summer camp includes choir rehearsals; daily classes based on their repertoire in religion, music theory and music history; daily worship and prayer; and sports and recreation. The choristers worship together as a group with the Benedictine monks on campus and at the Benedictine women’s community in St. Joseph, Minn. and they conclude each day with sung compline (night prayer).
During the camp, the students perform in concerts and at liturgies in churches in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota.
The choir is directed by Axel Theimer, a native of Austria and former member of the Vienna Boys Choir. Dr. Theimer has served on the music faculty at St. John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict for 41 years.
For more information, visit www.catholicyouthchoir.org.
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Last Updated on Friday, 09 July 2010 20:41 |
