For the first time since its establishment in 1135, the Children of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, based at St. James’s Palace in London, England, made its inaugural visit to the United States in 2024. While there, the Chapel Royal choristers joined the St. Thomas Choir School choristers in New York City for special performances on April 19 and 21. Photo: Scott Heins

[Episcopal News Service] The Children of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, based at St. James’s Palace in London, England, made its inaugural visit to the United States last week.

“We share the same sort of musical tradition with the choristers of the Chapel Royal,” the Rev. Carl Turner, rector of St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, told Episcopal News Service. “We’re celebrating our links with Britain and the Royal Family, but also we’re celebrating our common tradition of music and liturgy.”

When the Chapel Royal choristers weren’t visiting popular New York City tourist destinations, they were rehearsing with the St. Thomas Choir School choristers in preparation for special performances on April 19 and 21.

St. Thomas Church houses the St. Thomas Choir School, which is one of only three all-boys boarding schools in the world that exclusively educate treble choristers. The other two schools are the Escolania de Montserrat in Spain and the Westminster Abbey Choir School in England. St. Thomas Choir School was founded in 1919. Today, 28 students from across the United States in third through eighth grades are enrolled at the school, which has 15 faculty and staff members. The students sing five worship services each week and perform around the world. 

“[These boys] learn early on about teamwork and commitment and dedication and giving back, and that’s the hallmark of the life of a chorister,” Turner said.

Established in 1135, the Chapel Royal choir is one of the oldest extant musical organizations in the world. Today, the choir consists of 12 boy choristers who sing regular services at the Chapel Royal. They also perform wherever and whenever requested by the reigning monarch. In May 2023, the choristers sang at King Charles III’s coronation. Samuel Strachan, Chapel Royal’s longest-serving chorister, greeted the king at the start of the coronation. Notable Chapel Royal alumni include Baroque composers George Frideric Handel and Henry Purcell.

For the first time since its establishment in 1135, the Children of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, based at St. James’s Palace in London, England, made its inaugural visit to the United States in 2024. While there, the Chapel Royal choristers joined the St. Thomas Choir School choristers in New York City for special performances on April 19 and 21. Photo: Scott Heins

The Chapel Royal choristers are also known for their distinctive red and gold uniform dating back to the British monarchy’s 1660 restoration.

The April 19 Evensong performance included choral music by Philip Moore, Charles Callahan and Edward Bairstow. The choirs also sang on April 21 in the morning during the solemn Eucharist and later in the afternoon during the Festal Evensong. Choral music performed during the Festal Evensong included works by Arthur Li, Philip Moore, Herbert Howells and George Frideric Handel. The Gentlemen of the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, St. Thomas Church’s professional men’s choir, sang with the St. Thomas Choir School and Chapel Royal choristers during all three performances. Altogether, 40 men and boys performed on the 19th and 21st. All performances were livestreamed on St. Thomas Church’s YouTube channel.

The special collaboration with the Chapel Royal choir took place one month after St. Thomas Church announced that its Choir School is in danger of closing as early as 2025. St. Thomas said in the announcement that its investment practice over the century has become “unsustainable,” and the unrestricted general endowment fund to balance the budget has been “depleted.” However, Turner said the Royal Family funded the Chapel Royal choir’s visit to the United States, so “it’s not been a financial burden.”

Turner said the announcement was made before the situation became a “crisis” and to ensure transparency. All current choristers are re-enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year, but the church’s vestry plans to decide by October whether to keep the school open beyond 2025.

“It is very expensive, and we are overdrawing from our reserves. If nothing changes, it will run out,” Turner said. “It’s our fiduciary responsibility to say we have to either find new revenue streams and also increase the endowment, or we have to change the model in some way whilst trying to preserve the most unique choral tradition in the whole of North America.”

The $4 million annual operating cost is 29% of St. Thomas Church’s $14 million budget. Most of the church’s $138 million endowment is restricted for uses that can’t be spent on the school. Tuition is $20,570 per year, but most students receive financial aid averaging $15,303. The average tuition cost for a boarding school in New York state is $70,228 per year.

Midtown Manhattan is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York City, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Because of this, Turner said he thinks many people assume that St. Thomas is one of the richest churches in North America, “but we’re actually not. We’re asset rich but cash poor.”

Despite the financial concerns, Turner said the St. Thomas Church and choir school community have much reason to celebrate. For one thing, the church celebrated its bicentennial in October 2023. The choir school celebrated its centennial in 2019.

Additionally, “our connection with the Chapel Royal is strong and we wanted both sets of boys to sing together and strengthen those ties as bonds of affection across the Anglican Communion, the Church of England and The Episcopal Church, and also to raise awareness of our own choral tradition here in New York,” Turner said.

“At a time of heightened tension in the world, every morning when you listen to the news, you wonder what else is going to be happening. Here are children who are not just performing; they’re teaching us how to worship and they’re teaching us how to live in the Beloved Community, and I think that is priceless.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.