The Cathedral Choir School of Delaware uses music as a positive intervention in the lives of youth, many of whom live in the Cathedral's inner-city neighborhood of Brandywine Village. Through the Annual Scholarship Fund, each student receives a scholarship. This Scholarship includes more than seven hours each week of "out-of-school" arts learning, including vocal training, private piano lessons and leadership development to children ages 7 to 18. Annual scholarships for youth include:
Without this fund, the Cathedral Choir School could not provide training for its students. Please make your tax-deductible donation today to the Annual Scholarship Fund. This website has an on-line contribution form you can use as well as a printable form. To learn more, please contact us.
Beverly Romain, a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, has offered her talents as a writer to raise money for our Annual Chorister Scholarship Fund. She has written a story in honor of her grandson, Cameron Dixon who is a chorister. The book, The Day The Bell Rang, is illustrated by Lori Fitzgerald. Readers will see some familiar Cathedral characters in the story, including a choirmaster, choristers who are preparing for a Tour, a church secretary, clergy, birds in a bell tower and a mystical wind that creates music. Click here to purchase The Day The Bell Rang for $10 plus $2 shipping.
WANT TO CONTRIBUTE BY CREDIT CARD?
The Donald C. Taylor Legacy Society was created to honor and recognize alumni, parents and friends who share Don Taylor’s passion for making a difference in the lives of young people and who, like Don, have included the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware in their estate plans or have made a gift to the Choir School’s Endowment Fund. Click here to learn more about the Donald C. Taylor Legacy Society.
Our endowment provides a stable, dependable source of financial support. They are among the best ways a non-profit can have to build and maintain long-term quality. That is why the Cathedral Choir School has embarked upon a $1 million endowment campaign - the "Continuing the Tradition" Endowment Campaign. Your financial support of this Campaign will guarantee that what the Choir School has been, and is now, will continue into the future - including being open to children across the City of Wilmington and the region, regardless of their economic status.
The Cathedral Choir School Endowment Fund is managed through a separate Investment Account called "Master Fund A." Master Fund A is a conservatively managed Fund which currently oversees more than $50,000,000 in pooled funds for the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware and has multiple investment manager oversight. There are several opportunities for donors to help the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware while gaining tax and income benefits, including: cash, appreciated securities, real estate, personal property, retirement assets and deferred gifts (wills and bequests and gifts of life insurance). The Cathedral Choir School also partners with the Episcopal Church Foundation to offer Life Income Gifts, including Charitable Gift Annuities, Pooled Income Funds and Charitable Remainder Trusts; and local foundations like the Delaware Community Foundation.
Education
Young people who participate in
the arts are more likely to be elected to a
class office in school, more likely to win
an award for school attendance and more likely
to be recognized for their academic achievement.
A recent study from the College Entrance Examination
Board found that students of the arts continue
to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT,
and that SAT takers with experience in music
performance scored higher on the verbal and
math portions of the test than students without
this experience. Cathedral Choir School choristers
are beginning to see similar results. As one
student stated, "Since I have been in
the Choir, my grades have shot up from C's
and D's to A's and B's." Another
male student became the first African-American
president of his class. He also got a full
scholarship to an elite private school and
the school mentioned specifically in their
acceptance letter the student's singing
as a factor in his acceptance.
Resilient Youth
Through the Cathedral Choir
School youth are mentored through their most
at-risk adolescent years, including African-American
males. The Cathedral Choir School has an excellent
retention rate, with many students staying
for more than five years. Participation in
the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware builds
the qualities of a resilient child. At the
Cathedral Choir School, students know there
are adults who will support and help them;
each student is appreciated for his or her
unique qualities; and students learn through
rehearsals and performances that they are capable
of self-discipline and self-control which contributes
to their self-esteem.
Future Artists
Through weekly rehearsals,
students at the Cathedral Choir School learn
about diction, how to read music and how to
prepare a piece for performance. They sing
in at least five different languages (including
Swahili, French, Latin, German and English)
and a repertoire of choral music that spans
five centuries. The Cathedral Choir School
proves that the classics can still speak to
upcoming generations. The Cathedral Choir School
introduces the classics to young people in
a way that is challenging and meaningful -- challenging
in that choristers receive the instruction
necessary to develop their musical skills and
meaningful because they can use these skills
in leadership roles.
While students of the Choir School train at the Cathedral Church of Saint John, they get invited to sing at other venues, including OperaDelaware's production of Puccini's Turandot at The Grand in 2004. "I'm very excited about working with the choristers of the Cathedral Choir School in our production of Turandot," said Leland Kimball, Producing Artistic Director of OperaDelaware. "We get the benefit of a highly trained group of young singers, and they get the experience of working with top professionals in the opera world." Each year the Cathedral Choir School provides opportunities like this for young people participate in the arts for the first time.
To learn more, please contact us.
The Cathedral Choir School of Delaware is part of Cathedral Community Services; a non-sectarian, non-profit organization. The Choir School is funded in part by grants from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware.
The Cathedral Choir School of Delaware
Copyright 2003 - 2010