I'd ask for a priest to come to the loft and distribute. The GIRM states, at the end of paragraph 86, that "Care should be taken that singers, too, can receive Communion with ease." Sending a priest to the loft would be, in my opinion, the most appropriate way for this to be fulfilled.

So would this work: sing the Agnus Dei, then I sing the proper while everyone else heads down to receive, then after the proper I get down as fast as I can to receive after them?

When I, as a chorister, happened to sing in the choir loft, we received after Mass.

At Dublin Cathedral when I spent a month there (in 2012), if my memories don't deceive me, the choir was part of the entrance and recessional processions, and they sang otherwise in the choir loft. At Communion, they got down in reverse order of the processional order, i.e. the men first, then the boys, after they had finished singing and/or while the congregation sang a hymn (I don't remember). Then they stayed in the side aisles, standing, after Communion, to take part of the recessional procession in good order (boys first, then men). They were all vested in blue cassocks and all these processions were beautiful to see. The Introit (or was it an Entrance Hymn ?) was really impressive since they sang it while walking down the aisle just after the altar servers, and then got up to the loft, in good order and singing with the congregation.

The schola I sang with received after Mass. It was very efficient.

In the OF, effort should be made for the choir to receive Holy Communion during the Mass itself, as envisioned by the GIRM (that part of the GIRM is about the rite of Holy Communion during Mass, not outside of Mass).

I have our tenors and basses sing the proper. The sopranos and altos receive communion. Then the sopranos and altos sing a hymn and the tenors and basses receive. We are in a very large parish, so there is lots of time.

We sing the Communion antiphon, then go downstairs to receive at the back of the church, there are always a couple of EM persons there. It takes them as long to get to the back as it does for us to get downstairs and receive before the congregation. Meanwhile the organist improvises until we get back up. He is not RC so doesn't mind.

I think the best thing is to go down after singing the Agnus Dei, and having the organist improvise until the choir gets back. Priests wandering around with the Blessed Sacrament and with no server with a bell is really irritating.

Communion after Mass is a good idea and traditional!

(Charles uses purple to conceal the reformers he's been channeling recently?)

(Charles uses purple to conceal the reformers he's been channeling recently?)

I think the last real reformer in my church was St. John Chrysostom.

What we do:
Choir goes down to receive immediately after the Agnus. I (and any not receiving) do the communion antiphon with one verse. By that time, the schola is back up, and we do our motet.

I've seen afterwards work too.

My previous OF gig had an EMHC in the loft. As soon as the motet was done, there'd be the distribution. It always seemed chaotic and irreverent to me; YMMV.

CharlesW may someday have a drone programmed to arrive in the loft, programmed to recognize and hover at the proper level for each member to receive - standing, kneeling or somewhere-in-between.

Now that we have a younger priest who can climb stairs, we usually get a priest who comes to the choir loft. Occasionally a deacon if one of the priests is away. We have done away with extraordinary ministers. No drones and we are not moving the choir to the front, but staying in the loft.

>> We have done away with extraordinary ministers

Charles W, you have made my day. Thanks ! ! !

We don't need...

If only that were reason enough (which it is)!
Sometimes I think that priests are worried about hurting the feelings of those long-time EMsHC.

Also, I keep my music. Not because I'm forgetful or anything, and it isn't out of order, as I have a 3-ring binder with A-Z dividers, and I keep my propers in the front. I just don't like having to move music around multiple times per week, when I could simply turn to exactly where I know each motet is located..

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This past Midnight Mass for Christmas I was playing an oboe solo, with the organ, of Jesu Bambino. Just as I had finished the 2nd full phrase, the music stand went crashing down and my music went flying everywhere. If I hadn't been so shocked, I probably would have played on from memory. Since the plan had been to skip the 2nd verse, I got it all back together in time to come in at the last "Venite Adoremus" and to finish the piece.
My mother (who was sitting with my kids) mentioned that she thought I played less than normal (but hey, the last time she'd heard it was a year or so before), but that it all still made musical sense, and that she hadn't heard the crash.

We have done away with extraordinary ministers

Now only if Rome will follow suit

It wasn't a matter of tuning, but taking the pipe apart and repositioning the reed. It had slipped and was sideways inside the pipe. It could be tuned after re-seating the reed. To get to that trumpet rank, you have to go into the swell chamber, have someone turn the power off to deflate the bellows, and crawl across the top of the bellows on your back. Then you can tune or whatever, then turn the power off and come back across the bellows to get out. At Midnight Mass, I didn't even want to attempt it.