Music is an integral part of spiritual life at our parish. Our Director of Music Ministries is Dr. Michael Kaminski.
If you are interested in our choir or any other aspect of music at our parish, please contact Dr. Kaminski at [email protected] or leave a message for him at the rectory – (718) 638-1880.
Here at Saint Augustine-Saint Francis Xavier we have a tradition of beautiful sacred music. Throughout the pandemic we have kept the inspiration of music in our liturgies. Now we need your help more than ever to keep this tradition alive.
Our own dedicated, talented volunteers have always been the heart of our choir. In support, we have a small number of professional vocalists. These singers anchor and guide the ensemble, and we would be unable to sustain the high quality of our musical offerings without them.
Rising parish expenses in other important areas have limited our resources. To help ensure the future of sacred music at St. Augustine St. Francis Xavier, we have created The Clare Cecilia Society. Named in memory of long-time choir member Sister Clare Rapp, and for Saint Cecilia, Patroness of Music, the Society offers parishioners opportunities to give the gift of music.
We thank you for your gift of any amount to help support our Music Program.
Friends ($25 and above)
Supporters ($100 and above) receive a pin, and are listed on our Contributor’s Page Donors ($250 and above) sponsor music for a Sunday in Ordinary Time for an intention or memorial
Patrons ($500 and above) sponsor music for Advent, Lent and Holy Week Liturgies
Benefactors ($1000 and above) sponsor music for Midnight Mass, Christmas Day, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday
https://www.givecentral.org/location/725/event/32473
Thank you for your generosity.
Have you ever wanted to be transported back in time? If you sing, are looking for a way to augment your religious experience or want to try something new, join us for a session at the parish’s Gregorian Chant Schola.
The Schola has members from diverse musical backgrounds – from neophytes and amateurs to classically-trained musicians. We gather weekly to chant Latin psalms and hymns in a musical tradition that is more than one thousand years old in one of the city’s most beautiful churches. The Schola is a low-commitment group which welcomes all, including walk-ons and guests.
Some members experience chant as prayer in the form of music based on the Psalms and other ancient texts that have been sung for centuries. Others are drawn to the music’s beauty, while others find it to be a meditative tool and a healing balm in difficult times.
On Good Friday, St. Augustine’s is the only church in the city to provide the unabridged monastic service in Latin called the Tenebrae. The four-hour service by the Schola is a retelling of the dramatic story of the Passion through psalms and prayers chanted with accompanying choral responsorials. Tenebrae can be experienced in its entirety or in smaller 30- to 45-minute sections on a drop-in basis, and English translations are provided.
All are welcome to join us.
Click on the links below to download and play the recordings.
Photo by SVK Photos