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  8011 Douglas Ave, Dallas  ·   (214) 363-5471  ·   Contact Us  ·        

Saint Michael and All Angels
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From The Loft

with Music Director and Organist Jonathan Ryan

What perhaps sets our music program apart from many others, including nearly all in the DFW area, is what we call our ribbon training program for our boy and girl choristers. Some of you have seen the beginning of this program’s fruits when you’ve witnessed the Admission of Choristers in the Whiting Ceremony at our Sunday 9:00 services in the church on February 3 and March 31. Another one will occur on May 19, and we expect them to continue once or twice a program year. What you may not realize is what these boys and girls accomplish within their first year of choir in order to receive Admission and Choristers. It’s far more than simply being here for a few months!

It’s also much more than simply vocal or musical training, too. But let’s start with that. Our in-house, custom made curriculum for Admission includes training in posture, breathing, control of breath, and placing the voice in the correct part of the head. So, for example, a chorister must demonstrate that he/ she can provide good breath for singing without stopping for up to 16 beats (i.e. about 13 seconds), can sing a scale of 12 different notes and hold the final one for 4 beats, and must sing one verse of a hymn of their choice perfectly, i.e. in tune, with clear diction, correct breaths, a beautiful sound on each note, and with comprehension of the text’s meaning. It normally takes several sessions to pass these off.

Beyond these vocal components, our Admission curriculum includes choristers knowing the hymnal, that is, how to find both hymns and service music, and familiarity with our printed orders of service. It also includes in-house, custom made workbooks. Averaging 30 pages, these workbooks are self-explanatory, of graduated levels, and cover a large span of material. For Admission, the workbook begins with knowing how to read the treble staff, the names of the pitches, the rhythmic value of the most common notes, and how to count the beats in the music. We grade the workbooks during our ribbon training time as each page is completed so choristers can make corrections as needed. This ensures that they all know the material solidly.

Music and singing are only part of what we teach, test, and realize in ribbon training. The Christian formation portion of our Admission curriculum entails knowing the three postures used in our services and their meaning, as well as memorizing the Chorister’s Prayer which we pray together at the end of every rehearsal. The human formation portion for Admission is sitting well through 8 different services with excellent behavior and focus – sometimes, the most challenging part!

Typically, boys and girls in 3rd grade work towards Admission because they will have just joined choristers. Since our program has just started, we naturally have a number of boys and girls older than that working on Admission, and we often will have some because a boy or girl can certainly join after 3rd grade. I suspect that by now you can see that all the above is quite a full plate for an 8 or 9 year old child! And that is another important lesson they learn: in a culture that increasingly craves instant gratification and an easy way out, our children are learning the value of staying the course, not giving up, working hard on things that are challenging, and then enjoying the fruits of their time and work. This is an insight into what our young people are accomplishing over a number of months before they receive Admission and their white surplice in the Whiting Ceremony. I hope you are as proud as I am of these boys and girls, and find their leading of our liturgy even more inspiring now that you realize how hard they work for what they do (this is not even considering our actual choir rehearsals!).

Once a chorister is whited and admitted to the choir, he or she continues his/ her ribbon training by working towards earning the next level: the light blue medal. The color refers to the ribbon worn around the neck over the cassock and surplice in services. This ribbon holds the medal of the RSCM. These ribbons, along with the white surplice, indicate the status and achievement of the chorister in the choir (hence the title “ribbon training”). The light blue ribbon is followed by the dark blue, and then the red. Each ribbon entails the same elements as Admission, but at a more advanced level. For example, starting with light blue, a chorister must be able to sight read music, that is, sing a passage of previously unseen music exactly right the first time without any help. In the red ribbon workbooks, choristers ultimately are taken to a freshmen college level of music theory. The Christian formation part includes memorizing the Lord’s Prayer, the Nicene Creed, knowing the three parts of the church, knowing the liturgical church year and its corresponding colors, and knowing parts of the Bible. The list can go on!

While our ribbon training program, which is based on the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), is a secret to how well our choristers sing already, it is also a big demand on our staffing bandwidth. We are grateful for the increased stewardship that led to the expansion of our music staff in 2019 to help us recruit, engage, and train these young people as leaders in our worship and central to our parish’s life.

I hope you will keep your eyes peeled for the new things we have coming up for our young people this fall! We will have auditions this month for choristers to start in the fall. We are excited to have our first annual chorister camp the weekend of August 23-25. This camp will be at Camp All Saints on Lake Texoma, is open to anyone in grades 4-8, and has no obligation to join choristers though there will be opportunities to audition. Contact Meg Harper, Associate Director of Music for more info. We also plan to begin a prepatory choir for those in Kindergarten to 2nd grade this fall, and further expand our chorister program to include a place specifically designed for high schoolers. Beyond that, we are planning both domestic and England choir tours for our choristers in the coming years!

Lastly, our chorister program is a huge outreach for our young people and young families. Please encourage any family with K-12 children to contact myself or Meg Harper. We’d love to hear from you and talk about how a child’s life can be transformed through being a chorister!


Tags: Blog & Newsroom

The Archangel May-June 2019

May/June 2019 AA cover

In This Issue

Addressing Taxing Problems

Director of Legacy Planning Lowell Duncan offers some tips to plan wisely with your financial assets to incur less federal taxes.

Read More »

A Message From The Rector - "God Help Us"

The studies show rising numbers of atheists, agnostics, and "nones," and Rector Chris Girata says that everyone, including atheists and agnostics, should be very concerned. Here's why.

Read More »

From The Loft

In his bi-monthly column, Music Director and Organist Jonathan Ryan shares updates on all things traditional music at Saint Michael

Read More »

Call for Vestry and Delegate Nominations

Nominating Chair and vestry member Christine Paddock defines a few key terms and outlines the nomination process as Saint Michael gears up for a new election cycle.

Read More »

Community Service & Youth: The Big Benefits for Kids Who Volunteer

Youth Task Force member Christi Houser explains why it's important to get your kids involved with volunteer work while they're still young.

Read More »

Easter Sermon from The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry

A transcript of The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry's Easter Day sermon.

Read More »

The Healing Nature of Music

Choir member Eleanor Wroath shares a story of finding comfort and healing in music after a personal tragedy.

Read More »

Read the full issue

Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
8011 Douglas Ave
Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 363-5471

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Sunday Services:

7:30 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I)
9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
9 a.m. Joy: A Children’s Service
11 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I)
11 a.m. Contemporary Rite II Service in the Parish Hall
5:30 p.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
8 p.m. Compline

In-Person Worship Information

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Saint Michael also offers weekday services every Tuesday-Thursday.

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Saint Michael and All Angels is a member parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. We practice The Way of Love as members of The Episcopal Church.

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Service Times

IN-PERSONLIVE STREAMS

We are currently offering worship in-person. Several of our Sunday services are also streamed live.

Sunday Services:
7:30 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I)
9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
9 a.m. Joy: A Children's Service
11 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I)
11 a.m. Contemporary Service (Rite II)
5:30 p.m. Traditional Service (Rite II)
8 p.m. Compline
Weekday Services:
Tuesdays, 7 a.m. Morning Prayer
Wednesdays, 12:30 p.m. Eucharist Service
Thursdays, 7 a.m. Morning Prayer

More about services at Saint Michael and All Angels here.

Location

Saint Michael and All Angels
8011 Douglas Ave
Dallas, TX 75225

Contact Us
(214) 363-5471

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Welcome Children Service Times Getting Here & Campus Map Membership

Welcome! | Saint Michael and All Angels is a community of passionate people seeking to follow Jesus in a meaningful way that impacts both our own lives and that of the community around us. We are blessed with our parish home and so glad to share it with you. If you find yourself in Dallas, we would love to have you join us for worship!

- The Reverend Dr. Chris Girata, Rector

Welcome to Children and Family Ministry!

Our team in Children and Family Ministry provides children, ages 0 – 5th grade, and their parents with the tools they need to become faithful disciples of Christ. We achieve this through fun and interactive programming that allows children and families to explore their faith together.

Learn More
Sunday Services:
7:30 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I) in Saint Michael Chapel
9 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite II) in the Church
9 a.m. Joy: A Children’s Service in Saint Michael Chapel
11 a.m. Traditional Service (Rite I) in the Church
11 a.m. Contemporary Rite II Service in the Parish Hall
5:30 p.m. Traditional Service (Rite II) in Saint Michael Chapel
8 p.m. Compline in the Church

Helpful Links

Service descriptions and more info
In-person worship information
Watch services live and on-demand

We are located just south of Northwest Highway off of Douglas Ave. at Colgate Ave. Via Northbound Tollroad: Exit Lovers Ln, continue straight on Lomo Alto a few blocks to Colgate. Church is on your right. Via Southbound Tollroad: Exit Northwest Hwy, turn left to Douglas Ave. Turn R on Douglas and church is a few blocks down on your right. Via US 75: Exit Northwest Hwy and go west to Douglas Ave. Turn R on Douglas and church is a few blocks down on your right.

Maps & Directions

If you are new to Saint Michael, curious about the path to membership, or simply want to learn more about life at our parish community, we invite you to join us for two different class events we have throughout the year: "Saint Michael 101" is an introduction to life here at SMAA, and "Episcopal Christians", where we explore what it means to walk as a Christian in the Episcopal tradition, discussing topics like our Anglican heritage, worship, the Bible and formation etc.

Saint Michael 101 Episcopal Christians
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Give Now

Flowers in our holy worship spaces are a beautiful gift to God and those who attend services at Saint Michael as well as those being honored or remembered. A contribution to the Flower Fund is a meaningful way to honor or remember a loved one for special life events such as birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, confirmations, thanksgivings, or in memory of a loved one.

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The Foundation of Saint Michael and All Angels is essential to the vitality, growth, stability and success of our parish. Its grants support the mission of the Parish, consistent with priorities established by the Vestry and the Rector.

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As God’s stewards, we build on the foundation left by those who came before us. We, in turn, have the opportunity, with a bequest to Saint Michael, to sustain and enhance our parish ministries and programs for the benefit of future generations.

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