Music Program

Preserving Treasures of the Church

Magdalen College has a unique music program involving all of its students in a four-year choir program. The primary purpose of the choir program is to provide uplifting sacred music at the liturgy and in so doing provide students with an opportunity to learn about the musical heritage of the Church. They also come to appreciate the adage that music is a potent instrument that shapes the soul.

Music is an integral part of the formation of students; it enables them to experience the true, the good, and the beautiful in their daily lives and it supports the campus common life.

Traditional and Contemporary Materials

The Choir's source materials are drawn from both traditional and contemporary liturgical music—Gregorian chant, Masses by great choral masters such as Haydn and Mozart, four-part hymns, and sacred polyphony. The materials abide by the ordered rhythms of the liturgical calendar. For example, during Holy Week, which is the highlight of the academic year and the culmination of the liturgical calendar, all students remain on campus to participate in the liturgies. 

Music in the Academic Schedule

During the academic year, the students meet twice a week for Choir rehearsal to prepare for Sunday Mass, special feasts, and weekday Mass.  Each and every student sings in the choir and has many opportunities to enhance their musical talents by cantoring, singing solo or in small ensembles. Students also supply the instrumental accompaniment for choir—organ, strings, and winds. 

In order to prepare students to participate in the Choir, freshmen take the tutorial Fundamentals of Music and Singing. In the first semester, students learn to read and sing modern notation, pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.  They study and sing examples of Renaissance polyphony and the chordal harmony that grew out of the Baroque period of music. In the second semester, students learn to read and sing the monody of Gregorian Chant and analyze the elements of the Sacred Liturgy. 

Sharing with the Larger Community

In addition to on-campus musical activities, the College choir travels regularly throughout New England to sing at parishes.  But the choir’s repertoire is not limited to liturgical music. The Performance Choir, a small group of auditioned students, offers concerts at community functions. Their programs range from American and international folk songs to Big Band classics, jazz, and gospel music. The music learned at the College also finds its way across the country when students return home for vacations.

Music permeates life on the Magdalen College campus. Whether students chant the liturgy, sing in the residence or as they walk to class, or gather for impromptu singing in the student lounge, they grow in friendship with each other and God through music. But more importantly they help in their own way to preserve a treasure of the Church—her great musical tradition.