Saint Paul's Choir School Performs Annual 'Christmas in Harvard Square'

Saint Paul’s Choir School (SPCS) presents “Christmas in Harvard Square,” a concert of festive seasonal Christmas music, on Sundays, December 10 and 17, 3 pm, at St. Paul’s Parish, 29 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge. SPCS’s Boys’ Choir, perform together with the Schola of St. Paul’s, Back Bay Brass, and instrumental accompaniment, including percussion, harp, and organ. The program includes many traditional favorites, including SPCS Founder Theodore Marier’s beloved setting of “Silent Night,” musical selections from the 10th through 21st centuries, including a plainsong “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and the Nigerian carol “Betelehemu.” General, reserved, and premium seating tickets range from $35 to $70, available at christmasinharvardsquare.com.

“Christmas in Harvard Square,” features a delightful mix of traditional and contemporary music of composers Benjamin Britten, Franz Biebl, Herbert Howells, Theodore Marier, among others. Audiences return yearly to this joyful celebration of the Christmas season, a beloved annual tradition, sung by one of the few boy choirs in the United States. Attendees enjoy the rare opportunity to hear the boy choristers perform in concert, offering a program that transcends their weekly Mass duties and worship services at St. Paul’s Parish.

SPCS Interim Director of Music Richard Webster leads the ensemble, together with Associate Music Director Brandon Straub. Webster brings an impressive five decades of experience to his appointment for the 2023-24 academic year, previously serving as director of music and as organist at Trinity Church in Copley Square for 17 years, and 29 years as organist and choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, Illinois, where he directed its Choir of Men and Boys and the Girls Choir to much acclaim.

“I’ve held only three jobs in my life, and this, in the best way, is by far the most challenging,” says Webster, a nod to his appointment at St. Paul’s Choir School. “To serve a school that’s very serious about music means that I still have the privilege of growing and learning myself.”

St. Paul’s Choir School is the only all-boys Catholic choir school in the United States, sustaining longtime collaborations with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

“Christmas in Harvard Square is a unique twist on what you would normally hear at St. Paul’s. This is not Mass, it’s not Vespers, it’s a concert of traditional sacred music, and music that’s not at all traditional. It offers multicultural works, several helming from faraway places,” explains Webster. 

Those attending the concert also have the chance to join the choir in singing the traditional favorite carols “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Come All Ye Faithful.” This traditional concert experience is enriched by St. Paul’s outstanding acoustic, which Webster touts as “one of the best in the Boston area.”

To learn more about “Christmas in Harvard Square,” or to order tickets, visit christmasinharvardsquare.com. To learn about Saint Paul’s Choir School’s enrollment, curriculum, programs and performances, visit saintpaulschoirschool.us, call 617-868-8658, or follow St. Paul’s Choir School Harvard Square on social media.

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