Cathedral holds summer camp for Children’s Choir

During a concert last week, the voices of the Cathedral Children’s Choir rang out with the joy of heaven, while singing the end of “Stabat Mater,” a classic piece of sacred music. Young singers from the choir belted out “Amen” — a prayer for salvation that concludes the piece — which echoed through the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson at the end of the performance.

Most of the 50 singers in the growing Children’s Choir practiced and performed “Stabat Mater” — a meditation on Christ’s death and resurrection from the Blessed Mother’s perspective — while attending the choir’s very first summer camp. It was held during the day from July 10–14 in St. John’s, home parish of the choir and mother church of the Paterson Diocese. Campers also learned about playing the recorder, the instruments of an orchestra, and particulars of the Catholic faith.

The Children’s Choir, made up of young people from pre-K to 8th grade, has grown rapidly and sharpened its singing skills considerably, since it was established two years ago. Because of that, practices have been expanded from once a week to several times a week. Starting this fall, the Children’s Choir will sing with the Adult Choir at the 11:30 a.m. English Masses on first and third Sundays at the cathedral.

One choir member, Josephina Galiano, 8, told The Beacon she loves singing “Amen.”

“It’s pretty music. It makes me think about God and Jesus. I feel joy, when I sing,” said Galiano, adding, “I also have made a lot of new friends.”

Typically, these young choir members sing sacred music in their native languages of English and Spanish. But they also tackle works in Latin — the Church’s mother tongue — by learning to use dynamics — the volume at which they sing — to convey the emotion of the lyric. Tatyana Rodriguez, an assistant to David Bower, cathedral music director and organist, said the young singers also learn the meaning of some of the lyrics.

“When the kids sing ‘Amen,’ they belt it out loud and proud — but with great reverence,” Rodriguez said. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, an Italian composer, wrote the music of the 14-part “Stabat Mater” in 1736 before his death. “The kids are into this music of faith that’s complex and challenging to learn. They are figuring it out with our help. They understand it more,” she said.

Members of the choir hail from St. John’s parish and from the cathedral’s after-care program and soon will start coming from the Brilla Public Charter School that will open at the cathedral in August. Practices include time for a snack and sports. David Bower also credited the support and assistance of the parents.

“I raise the bar and these young singers meet those challenges. They are motivated by the joy of the music,” Bower said.

At camp, participating choir members enjoyed listening to visiting musicians play a few instruments of an orchestra, such as flute, trumpet, and saxophone and learned to play the recorder. At the concert that ended camp, the older children performed on recorder, while the young kids sang along to those tunes, such as “Hot Cross Buns.” Campers learned about parts of the Mass, including consecration, and also adoration; and respect for the Eucharist.

At the concert that concluded camp, Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects, led the applause, after the Children’s Choir’s performance. The audience included parents and the cathedral community.

“These kids have learned to appreciate liturgical music and get excited about adding to everyone’s worship because of their songs,” Msgr. Sylva said. “It’s wonderful to see their smiles of accomplishment.”