St. Alban's Chorister Program After Voice Change

[Anonymous]

What happens to a boy chorister after his voice changes? Do the boys leave the program entirely?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happens to a boy chorister after his voice changes? Do the boys leave the program entirely?

They get rid of him at the end of the school year.

[Anonymous]

We are not at St. Alban's but our school does not have middle school boys in choir because of voice change. They can join again in 9th.

[Anonymous]

They leave the choir once their voice changes. If it happens mid-year, they retain their stipend for the remainder of the school year. Boy choristers are in grades 4-8.

[Anonymous]

After leaving the choir do most continue their education through high school at St. Albans? If they leave, are they going to music conservatory type high schools? I would think that the transition away from the choir would be hard. I am curious as to what the experience is like. TIA.

[Anonymous]

The boys leave the program with beautiful, well-trained voices. They can join other musical groups offered at the school, middle school chorus or chorale when in upper school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens to a boy chorister after his voice changes? Do the boys leave the program entirely?

They get rid of him at the end of the school year.

What a diplomatic response! I suppose it par for the course..for those involved...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After leaving the choir do most continue their education through high school at St. Albans? If they leave, are they going to music conservatory type high schools? I would think that the transition away from the choir would be hard. I am curious as to what the experience is like. TIA.

I think most stay at St. Albans through high school, and are often mainstays of the arts program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens to a boy chorister after his voice changes? Do the boys leave the program entirely?

They get rid of him at the end of the school year.

What a diplomatic response! I suppose it par for the course..for those involved...

It was obviously a joke, PP. Geez. STA is a very supportive community. Of course, the boys stay at the school. The stipend ends, but many are millions of dollars from needing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens to a boy chorister after his voice changes? Do the boys leave the program entirely?

They get rid of him at the end of the school year.

What a diplomatic response! I suppose it par for the course..for those involved...

It was obviously a joke, PP. Geez. STA is a very supportive community. Of course, the boys stay at the school. The stipend ends, but many are millions of dollars from needing it.

If a family wasn't able to afford the school without the stipend, would they get some kind of priority for financial aid?

[Anonymous]

I've known of families whose sons wanted out before their voices changed and who left because either they didn't qualify for enough FA or there wasn't any FA for them or the parents were pissed because their son's grades suffered. Most continue as students at the school after their voice change and receive FA if needed.

A successful chorister after leaving the program should have acquired great time management skills and a well-trained voice.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all of the prior posters who noted the well trained voices - the result of a truly marvelous if intense musical education - as well as the excellent time management skills - the result of juggling all that is expected of a St. Albans student to include a rigorous course load and robust in-school sports on top of the grueling Chorister schedule and demands.

The Chorister grads do go on to be mainstays (and not surprisingly often stars) of not only the arts programs, but of every other facet of STA. The school seems to recognize both the commitment the boys have made to the school through the program, the service they have provided, and the continued contributions they make to the school even after they graduate from the program. They are, after all, walking examples of the Renaissance Man ideal the school strives for in forming all of their boys. As for the loss of the stipend, as one pp said it, many of the families were millions of dollars away from needing the stipend in the first place. And when you figure the 35k STA price tag, the stipend is really only a very small drop in the financial bucket. But for those who needed the stipend to help make ends meet, the school seems to do what it can to make sure that the boys are able to stay on. It's in the boys' and school's best interests at that point.

OP, if you are exploring the program, good luck. It is unique and special and will in the end be a life altering experience for your son.

[Anonymous]

How much is the stipend per year? And do these boys applying for fourth or any other grade go into a different admission pile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is the stipend per year? And do these boys applying for fourth or any other grade go into a different admission pile?

7000.

When you consider the number of hours put into the commitment, by both the boy and his parents, it comes out to about 10 cents per hour. No one does it for the money. You (actually your son) really have to be passionate about choral arts/music and be quite talented to seriously think about it.

You have 2 separate applications. One to Choristers. The other for admission to the school. They really are separate. I know of many boys who try out for Choristers, do not make the cut, but go to STA anyway. I also know of talented singers who had the musical skills but nonetheless did not get admitted to STA because they could not make the academic cut. By the way, the tryout process is also very intense.

[Anonymous]

Purely out of curiousity, how does a not-yet 4th grade boy get the kind of musical training that would make him competitive for something like this? Thanks.