St. Mary's Liturgical Choir

"Precious Lord" was written by Thomas A. Dorsey based on a tune by George N. Allen.  It was Martin Luther King Jr.'s favorite song, and he often invited gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to sing it at civil rights rallies to…

This year, the Fourth of July fell on a Sunday, so we sang the Star Spangled Banner as a postlude to Mass.  Maybe we should try out for the Dragons?

Franz Peter Schubert 

Austrian Composer 

Born:  January 31, 1797, Himmelpfortgrund, near Vienna, Austria 

Died:  November 19, 1828, in Vienna, Austria 

Buried: Schubert was buried near his mentor Beethoven 

Franz Schubert was a 19th century Austrian composer who is noted for…

John Milford Rutter 

English Composer. Conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer of choral music 

Born:  September 24, 1945 London, England 

John Milford Rutter is a distinguished English conductor and composer, born Septermber 24, 1945 in London. He was educated at…

Ludwig Van Beethoven 

German Composer 

Born:  December 17, 1770, baptized in Cologne, Germany 

Died:  March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria 

HALLELUJA, from the Mount of Olives has long been a favorite piece of music played and sung by the St…

Here is some background about the composer of God So Loved the World, one of the pieces that we'll be singing at Easter this year.  A clip of our version is found below.

Sir John Stainer

English Musician and Composer 

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Click below for our version of one of the most famous pieces of sacred music.

"Ave verum corpus" is a motet composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1791. It is a setting of the Fourteenth Century Eucharistic hymn, "Ave verum…

Let's remember why we sing at Mass.  Here's a view of multi-platinum Irish composer and priest, Liam Lawton:

"Music is part of the symbolic language of worship. I also believe it to be a vehicle of God’s revelation. It…

In April 1977, St. Mary's Parish celebrated the fifty-year anniversary of its Music Director, Joseph P. Geiger.  Benjamin Kline wrote a wonderful article for the Daily News, as follows:

"Joseph P. Geiger climbs the steps in the southeast tower of…

Listen for this year's rendition of "There Were Shepherds," featuring Mariah Berryman, Soprano, as our soloist.  Here is a video of our version from 2019.

St. Mary’s has always been known for its great music.  

Any history of St. Mary’s Church is inadequate without the mention of the significant contribution made by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Bernard J. Beckmeyer. Father Beckmeyer led and reinvented St. Mary’s…