The Madeleine Choir School (Salt Lake City, Utah): A Contemporary American Choral Foundation

Abstract

This document chronicles the work of the Madeleine Choir School, founded in 1996 by Gregory Glenn as a ministry of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah. The school teaches children in pre-kindergarten through grade eight the choral arts as practiced within the sacred liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the cathedral setting, offering students the opportunity to participate daily in the Cathedral's Opus Dei, or "work of God." Part I of this document provides a general history of cathedral choir schools in the European tradition, focusing especially on Westminster Cathedral Choir School in London (the model for the Madeleine Choir School), before proceeding to recount the founding and flourishing of the Madeleine Choir School under Gregory Glenn and the cathedral rector and renowned liturgist, Monsignor M. Francis Mannion. Part II focuses on the musical education provided to the cathedral choristers and their work in the Cathedral Choir of the Madeleine. Finally, this document argues for the school as a model for the Christian education of youth.