Worshiping God through Singing
Join Our Chorister Program for Ages 5-17
Handing on the Catholic faith through the beauty, joy, and challenge of learning to sing the Church’s sacred music with excellence
Join us for Chant Camp 2026!
August 3–7, 2026
St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park
Our Mission and Goals
Are you looking for a positive, fun, and joyful environment for your student to pray, learn his or her Catholic faith, develop musical talents, meet great friends, and develop virtues such as patience and resiliency?
The Catholic Institute of Sacred Music Chorister Program is committed to inspiring young singers through a comprehensive program that emphasizes musical excellence and spiritual growth. Our mission is to cultivate a love for sacred music, guiding young voices to reach their full potential while instilling values of discipline, teamwork, and artistic expression.
Open to all students ages 5–17, the Chorister Program offers weekly training in:
- The Catholic faith
- Active participation in the sacred liturgy through singing the Church’s treasury of sacred music, including Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony, hymns, responses, etc.
- Rigorous vocal training and technique
- Music theory and aural skills
- Reading musical notation (modern notation for choral music and square notes for Gregorian chant)
- Rhythm and conducting
- Improvisation and composition
- Choral singing in the great cathedral tradition
Open to singers of all experience levels. The ability to match pitch is required and will be determined in an informal audition with a faculty member once the program begins. Students needing remediation to match pitch will receive short supplemental education.
This training complements any private instruction in voice, keyboard, stringed, or other instruments students are receiving outside the program.
Rehearsals are on Tuesday afternoons at St. Patrick’s Seminary for most of the choirs. Some choirs have an additional rehearsal during week. Please see below for excact rehearsal schedule for each choir.
2026–27 Program Details & Fees
Choirs in the Program
There are five choirs in our program! Below is a description of each choir:
Attendance Requirements
Participants must attend weekly rehearsals, special events,
and sing for scheduled Masses at Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.
Mandatory
Homework
There is weekly homework for The St. Gregory Choir (Probationers). Practice videos reinforce musical concepts and help students learn repertoire. Students should expect to practice about 1 hour per week total, divided up in 15 minute practice sessions, 4 days per week.
Choristers (St. Gregory, St. Cecilia, or the Schola Cantorum), do not have regular practice videos, but will given specific written or listening assignments.
Mandatory
Schedule Overview
St. Gregory Choir: Boy Choristers (returning singers or by audition)
St. Cecilia Choir: Girl Choristers (returning singers or by audition)
Schola Cantorum: Boys Changed Voice Choir
Holy Innocents Choir: Ages 5 – 7
St. Nicholas Choir: New Singers ages 8 and up / Returning singers who elect this option:
Pick-up and Drop-off
Singers may be dropped off between 5 and 20 minutes before their rehearsal call time. Siblings in different choirs may be dropped off at the same time.
A monitored study hall is available for students who arrive early to rehearsal.
Uniform for Mass
Modest black bottoms and white tops, or all black dresses/suits, with closed-toe shoes are required for each singer.
Dress for Rehearsal
For boys: collared shirts and/or sweaters, and trousers/slacks.
For girls: modest dresses, skirts/loose-fitting pants with collared shirts.
For all: no flip flops, sneakers, shorts, t-shirts, or blue jeans.
Parent Volunteers
It is vital to have parent volunteers assisting us in order for our program to be functional and successful. The expectation is that each family have a parent volunteer two times each term (Fall and Spring). Those for whom this is impossible or would create a serious inconvenience may speak with Prof. Berry to discuss the possibility of a waiver.
We will need at least 1 – 2 volunteers at every rehearsal/special event/Mass, to manage check-in/check-out, help with study hall, and to assist with rehearsal room/bathroom monitoring.
Please, when you sign your children up for this unique program, know that you’re committing to volunteering to help us on a regular basis. The more volunteers we have, the lighter the workload! You’ll receive more information and more details after enrolling in the program.
Tuition and Fees
Yearly Tuition: $1,000 per student; payable in full at registration or in two installments of $500 (one installment at registration and the other in January)
Family Discount: Pay for the first two students, third student and beyond are free.
Additional scholarships are available for families in need. Please contact Sr. Mary Vianney at mary.vianney@stpsu.edu.
Music Materials
$75 per student (all students, including those with free family discount)
Calendar for 2026 - 2027
NB: Choristers = St. Gregory, St. Cecilia, and Schola Cantorum Choirs
- August 25 – Rehearsals begin
- September 15 (Tuesday) – Choristers rehearse at Nativity. Holy Innocents and St. Nicholas at St. Patrick’s.
- September 20 – Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- October 13 – no rehearsal (mid-term break). Rehearsals on Weds, Thursday as usual
- October 18 – Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- November 10 (Tuesday) – Choristers rehearse at Nativity. Holy Innocents and St. Nicholas at St. Patrick’s.
- November 11 (Wednesday) – no rehearsal – Veterans Day.
- November 15 – Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving break
- Dec. 4, Friday – Advent & Xmas Concert @ St. Patrick’s 7pm (All Choirs)
- Dec. 8, Tuesday – Immaculate Conception, Rehearsal & 5pm Mass @ St. Patrick’s
- Dec. 15 – All rehearsals at Nativity.
- Dec. 20 – Mass @ Nativity (All Choirs)
- Dec. 22 – Rehearsal only for Choristers – no rehearsal for other choirs.
- Dec. 24 – No regular rehearsals
- Dec. 24, 10pm – Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- Dec. 29-31 – Christmas break
- Jan. 5-7 – Christmas break
- Jan. 12 – Rehearsals resume
- Jan. 26 (Tuesday) – Choristers rehearse at Nativity. Holy Innocents and St. Nicholas at St. Patrick’s.
- Jan. 31 – Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- Feb. 2, Tuesday – Candlemas – Rehearsal & 5pm Mass @ St. Patrick’s
- Feb. 10 – Ash Wednesday – 5:30 Mass @ Nativity (St. Cecilia) – Rehearsal @ 4:45.
- Feb. 16 (Tuesday) – Choristers rehearse at Nativity. Holy Innocents and St. Nicholas at St. Patrick’s.
- Feb. 21 – 9:30am Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- Mar. 13, Saturday – Pueri Cantores Northern California Festival & Mass – Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, San Francisco. ALL CHOIRS. Exact time TBA.
- Mar. 16, Tuesday – Solemn Evening Prayer – all choristers attend. 5pm.
- Mar. 17, Wed. – St. Patrick’s Day, St. Cecilia Choir sings Mass, 5pm @ St. Patrick’s
- Mar. 23 – All Choirs – rehearsals at Nativity.
- Mar. 25, Holy Thursday – 6pm Mass @ Nativity (All Choirs)
- Mar. 26, Good Friday – 2pm Liturgy @ Nativity (Choristers)
- March 30-April 1 – Easter break
- April 6 – Rehearsals resume
- April 18, 24 or 25 – Confirmation Mass @ Nativity (Choristers)
- April 21, 22 – Spring Break
- May 6 – Ascension Day, St. Gregory Choir sings 5pm TLM @ St. Patrick’s
- May 11 – All Choirs – rehearsals at Nativity.
- May 16 – Pentecost – Mass @ Nativity – End of the Year (All Choirs)
Calendar
Rehearsals 2026-27
- To be posted soon
Masses at Church of the Nativity
- To be posted soon
Special Events
- To be posted soon
Faculty
Led by expert musicians, students in our Chorister Program receive top-tier training.
Questions?
In need of a scholarship? Please get in touch with us.
Interested in volunteering? We are in need of parent volunteers.
Contact us with any questions you have. Please email Sr. Mary Vianney at mary.vianney@stpsu.edu.