Choir includes local boys

By ANGELA CAVE- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Young singers are busy this time of year - especially those in the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys.

Five boys from LaSalle Institute in Troy and two from Holy Spirit School in East Greenbush are members of the choir, based out of the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints in Albany.

The oldest continuously-performing choir of its kind in the country, the Cathedral Choir sings choral services in the cathedral three Sundays a month and performs regularly in concert, often with groups like the Albany or Boston Symphony. The boys travel to Montreal yearly for choir camp and have gone to England three times.

Sebastian VanDerbeck, a LaSalle seventh-grader who attends St. John the Baptist parish in Valatie, remembered taking a plane for the first time to England last winter: "At first, I was kind of hesitant; when I got there, I really loved it. Everything seems more grand."

The group toured England for 10 days; they sang "in residence" at Hereford Cathedral and also appeared at Gloucester Cathedral.

The choir is made up of trebles - boys ages seven to 14 with unchanged voices - who sing the soprano line, and men who are professional singers, who sing the alto, tenor and bass parts.

Sebastian has been a member for almost three years and plans to continue until his voice changes. He enjoys the atmosphere, the opportunity and the director, Woodrow Bynum.

"He makes you feel like you're at home," Sebastian said. "If you make a mistake, it's no big deal."

The professional adult singers "always make you want to do better" and inspire Sebastian "to be a gentleman," he said.

The boys practice four hours a week year-round. Recently, they performed Handel's "Messiah" and Christmas carols about the birth of Jesus at cathedral concerts.

Sebastian said his favorite aspect of the choir is being "around people that love to sing. If you can sing and the people in the congregation feel better about worshipping, that's what I want to put forth.

"Some people actually say that when you sing, you pray twice," he continued, quoting St. Augustine. "It really brings me closer to God."

He has found that liturgies in the Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church are "basically the same."

Christopher Howard, an eighth-grader at LaSalle and a member of the Episcopal cathedral, agreed: "I don't really find it that much different."

Christopher has been a member of the Choir of Men and Boys for seven years and wants to pursue vocal or piano music for a living. He remembered singing "The Magic of Christmas" at the Palace Theatre in Albany last year with the Empire State Youth Orchestra.

Partnering with such well-known groups is "just a great experience," Christopher said. "You can't get it anywhere else."[[In-content Ad]]