Publius
I will check out the Latin Mass.
That is a beautiful church.
Tess

Tess:

Good point that the increasing sophistication of the group may relate to the reason fewer neighborhood people sing with them. I sang with them the first year they were downtown about ten years ago. I probably would not make the cut today. You really have to be a sharp sight singer and be able to hold your line all alone (singers are not positioned in sections so you don't have your section members to prop you up). Singing for Deborah kind of radicalized me. We were doing a Victoria motet at St. Michael's in a concert and I thought why is it that this gorgeous Catholic music is never used at mass any more or sung by Catholics. Enough of Christian Muza/show tunes. And then, by chance, along came the Latin Mass venue at Holy Rosary where the music is sung weekly in the setting for which it was composed. The Holy Rosary choir sits you in sections so as long as you can blend, you are welcomed.

Publius

I attended the Schola Cantorum on Hudson concert on Sunday evening (American Ambassadors) and I thought it was spectacular.

"Ain't but one train on this track,
runs to heaven and right back.
St. Peter waitin' at the gate,
said come on sinner, don't be late."

-- Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit

Publius,
Do you mean fewer local singers in that group?

I think that MAY be because they have increased the difficulty of the repertoire (sometimes they have to learn new pieces with VERY little rehearsal time, and have more performances per season, etc. so
I suppose there is a more pressing need for top-notch sight readers, more soloists, etc) and some really fine singers travel here from NY and NJ suburbs to rehearse and perform in the group...

They are going to Europe this summer,
and yesterday's concert was a great preview of that.

I wonder if more local people would go to concerts if they knew about the group... which is what prompted my post...

Glad to hear that you also like their work!

Tess-

You are right on the mark. They are excellent. Deborah Kink is a real task master and has a loyal and talented group. I am somewhat surprised that this site and our neighbors are not interested in this sort of thing. It is also strange that despite the increasing population in the last ten years, I think that there are actually fewer singers from the neighborhood than ten years ago.

Publius

Went to a fabulous concert Sunday 4pm at Holy Rosary on 6th St. between Monmouth and Brunswick. Saw some neighbors, but was surprised there weren't more.

If you don't know of this group, and are interested in classical music, check them out.

http://www.scholaonhudson.org/

The group has a fantastic sound. Many in the group are professional singers, and the group has sung at St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC at Christmas.

The conductor, Deborah Simpkin King,
is clearly passionate about the group and the music. She's a musicologist and puts together REALLY interesting programs.
Nothing ho-hum about this group. WELL worth the price of admission. It struck me that I hadn't seen anything about them on this list, so I wanted to give a head's up to anyone interested in walking a few blocks (no waiting for trains :))
to hear some wonderful singing.

From the website:
?Schola Cantorum on Hudson is a bright spot in the ... landscape of classical offerings in the Jersey City-Hoboken area.
[SCH] has an energy and level of technical preparation that only few such nonprofessional groups in the state have.?
?Willa Conrad, Newark Star-Ledger