The Choir of Men and Boys

The Choir of Men and Boys is made up of some 20 boys and a professional ensemble of 6 to 12 adult altos, tenors and basses. The foundation is based on the Anglican Cathedral model of Choir where the boys do the work of professional soprano vocalists. The Grace Church Choir of Men and Boys was established in 1894, and in the fall of that same year the Church established a Choir School for the academic and musical training of the boys.

James M. Helfenstein served both as Organist and Choirmaster and as Headmaster of the School. He was succeeded as Organist and Choirmaster in 1922 by Ernest Mitchell, who was brought to New York from Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston. Mr. Mitchell served Grace Church with great distinction for thirty-eight years. Upon his retirement in 1960, Frank Cedric Smith, then organist at Grace Church, Newark, New Jersey, and himself a former choirboy at Grace Church, became the third Organist and Choirmaster, serving until his retirement in 1991. The fourth Organist and Choirmaster was here from 1992 – 1999. Patrick Allen then became the fifth Organist and Master of Choristers in March of 2000.

Thus, in its 129-year history, the Choir of Men and Boys at Grace Church has had only five directors. It is the oldest resident Boy Choir in continuous service in New York City, and its school served as a model for the Choir Schools at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine on Morningside Heights and at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. The Choir School which began with sixteen boys has evolved into Grace Church School which today comprises some eight-hundred boys and girls spanning grades pre-kindergarten through twelve.

During its distinguished history this Choir was the first to have its Christmas Eve Service of Lessons and Carols televised nationally. The Choir has sung on many occasions at the major concert halls in New York City including participation in performances of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and Massenet’s Hérodiade at Carnegie Hall. New anthems are commissioned regularly for the Grace Church Choirs including most recently works by Malcolm Archer, René Clausen, Gerre Hancock, Fenno Heath and Barry Rose.

If you are an adult and would like to apply to be in the Choir of Men and Boys, please complete this application form. If you are a child, please complete this application form.

BLESS, O LORD, us thy servants who minister in thy temple; grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.