Mater Dei Catholic Parish

A parish of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, served by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Men & Boys Choir – 2018-2019 Registration OPEN!

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Message by: M. Chase Fowler, director of the Men & Boys

Greetings fellow parishioners & future choristers!

Established in AD 2017, the Mater Dei Choir of Men & Boys is one of the many choral ensembles of the Music Ministry at Mater Dei Latin Mass Parish which strives to embolden men & boys in their Catholic faith through singing in common with one another! We strive to honor the Catholic Church’s timeless tradition of maintaining Her choral ensemble par excellence by singing from the Church’s prized treasury of sacred liturgical music, namely Gregorian chant, and Renaissance-style polyphony. We desire to grow in cross-generational fellowship with one another and reclaim authentic masculinity by singing the praises of God through the Church’s sacred liturgy!

What are we looking for?:

  • A Catholic male with a love of music who has at least made his first Holy Communion or who is in the process of completion. (Note: Men & Boys in the process of conversion into the Catholic Church are also welcomed!)
  • Trebles (boys, aged 7-13): an unchanged, natural singing voice; attentive and with at least a 2nd-grade reading level. No prior music or vocal training required.
  • Men (18 – older): countertenor (male alto or falsettist), tenor, or bass; good pitch; ability to read music with fair sight-reading capability. Formal music education desired but not required.

For more information, including 1) singing dates, 2)  rehearsal days and times, and 3) vocal assessments, please contact M. Chase Fowler at schola@materdeiparish.com with the subjected line entitled: Men & Boys Choir.

NOTE: We are especially looking for new, adult male, singing voices of all types listed above to assist in this ensemble in order to alleviate the already-committed male volunteers who sing for Mater Dei! If you have this talent, we ask in good Christian charity for you to strongly consider this ministry!

For more information on the men & boys ensemble:

The Glorious Return of the Boy Choir – James Thomas More Griffin, Modern Medievalism, April 2018 (features Mater Dei)

Tra le Sollecitudini – Instruction on Sacred Music – Pope St. Pius X, Motu Proprio promulgated on November 22, 1903
* Noted reading: Section V: The singers

Mater Dei Men & Boys Choir

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Greetings!

For those who have been in the know, Mater Dei has started a Men & Boys choral program which has sung at various of Masses in this current choral/academic year! If you were at the 9 AM Sung Mass last Sunday (Passion Sunday), you heard the ensemble and saw for the first time the Men & Boys choir in choir dress: cassock and surplice. For those who were there, they sure made an impression when coming down for Communion! Our final signing date of the term is on the Fifth Sunday After Easter (May 6th) at the 9 AM Sung Mass.

About the Men & Boys Choral Tradition

The history of Men & Boys choirs can be found in the long-standing tradition of major Catholic choral institutions, cathedrals, and churches, with examples as recent as the St. Paul’s Boys Choir of Harvard Square and Westminster Cathedral Choir (both Catholic boys choir schools – US & UK) and other institutions which stretch back to the early middle ages when boys were brought in from the local villages to sing the plainchants and polyphony with the lay clerks (laymen who assisted) and monks. The privilege of wearing choir dress for laymen & boys implies that while singing the proper chants of Holy Mass and furthermore the polyphonic devotional prayers meant to further edify the faithful, they are fulfilling a dutiful position normally set aside for clerics (priests, choir monks, brothers). Out of necessity and normally due to the lack of clerics, the demand of repertoire, etc., this is transferred to laymen & boys who have the training to do so for the greater glory of God and the edification of the faithful at Holy Mass.

For more information on the importance of preserving the tradition of men & boys choirs in the Catholic Church, I encourage you to read St. Pope Pius X’s motu proprio on the Instruction of Sacred Music, Tra Le Sollecitudini

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If you have a son with an unchanged voice who is musically inclined and who likes to sing, please contact me at schola@materdeiparish.com to set up an appointment for a short vocal evaluation. Age limit: 7 – 13 years old.

If you are a man who has a natural singing voice and/or who is a classically trained countertenor (male alto), tenor, or bass, please prayerfully consider joining by contacting me at the previously mentioned email address. The Mater Dei Choral Program is always looking for new talent!

+ JMJ +

M. Chase Fowler, MM
Associate Music Director
Men & Boys Program, director

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