:) Good thought! I was already taken to task for wandering far afield from original topic!!

I won't go into the full-blown history of the origin of our groups... but I will say that what was formerly known as a Latin Mass Schola (formed about 10 years ago) and the Latin Mass Choir (formed about 30 years ago) are for all intents and purposes synonymous at this point. There is a slight difference - we have members from other parishes in the schola - but practices and Masses almost always combined. The biggest difference is how I track attendance for schola-only members... but largely we use the terms "choir" and "schola" interchangeably.

This means ALL members are equally responsible for chant and for polyphony... Five books of chant and polyphony for our ultimate repertoire and a supplemental book of hymns. We typically sing mixed chant - perhaps alternating if appropriate - although I also build-in Masses where we do men-only or women-only propers.

For us, the season runs from typically the 2nd week of September through the end of June. Usually we end with the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, but if that falls on Saturday we would also sing the Sunday Mass the following day. We have an end-of-year meeting and then the choir is largely off through the summer. The exceptions are weddings (voluntary); Assumption (mandatory); and weddings as I mentioned previously.

The organist plays through the summer (getting a substitute as needed when she is out) and I sing the Masses for the 10 weeks or so that the choir / schola is off.


Very interesting that you relate the break with whether or not people come back!! Obviously there is turn-over in every endeavor. I've never had it happen (that I'm aware) because of someone taking the break... There are perhaps some that would prefer to sing through the summer... but they typically recognize my point about having a chance to pray and contemplate, to be with family, to set aside the challenges of singing for a period of time while batteries recharge.

I do a couple of things that I hope alleviate the chance of losing people from the break. One of the biggest is the end-of-year meeting. We go out to a restaurant - somewhere with a private room typically so we can actually meet. We enjoy a nice dinner (provided for the choir). We recognize the efforts that they make - the time they invest, the miles driven, the practices, the liturgies. I think that is important - they need that acknowledgement of what they do. The meal is not compensation - but it is a gesture that expresses an awareness that they make sacrifices through the year.

The major part of our meeting, though, is trying to develop a deeper understanding of WHY we do what we do. Why we make the sacrifices, why we ask the commitment. We talk about the nature of the liturgical choir - that we are not in the choir simply because we like this style of music in particular or because we have good friends in the group... that we have a privilege, an honor of contributing to the greater honor and glory of God through our efforts; that we have a chance to draw souls to Christ through the medium of our music. In that context, what we do is not only a privilege - it carries with it a sense of responsibility and duty. (Not trying to preach to the choir here, just being specific about what we discuss). I jokingly refer to this as a mini-retreat (but only somewhat jokingly).

From that discussion, I ask them to evaluate their participation in the group. Does that still resonate with what they want to do? If yes, I ask them to renew their sense of commitment. Part of that is expressed through attendance - so we talk about our attendance goal (85%) and why that is so important. I also ask them to draw action items for themselves. What will we do differently in the new season? What will we do the same - what will be build upon?

Most of the time I find that I've been blessed with choir members that "get it". People that make the connection between the spiritual nature of what we do and the need to use terms like "commitment" and "duty". So I've never had people leave because of the break per se. There are people who in the course of the season decide that the effort is too much or the "ask" is too strong, but that would happen regardless.

Not to answer the question, but to offer context: it can matter if you have a church with climate control or not. Where I live, there are still plenty of churches that have windows sealed to conserve winter heating costs but on the flip side can't be opened to provide air circulation in the summer. Those places tend strongly to have a summer break. And it won't typically end until schools are fully back in session around Labor Day.

The two main TLM choirs I've sung with have been year-round, with the implicit understanding that not everyone would be there for the summer. (We usually posted a list after Corpus Christi asking to sign up for Sundays when they would be available and planned music accordingly.) Now that my regular schola is starting to take off we'll probably have the same sort of set-up. Use it or lose it, always been my theory!

One of my criteria for choosing a parish is that the music ministry is year-round. That doesn't mean every group is year round, but the overall team provides that level of service. Why - because scripture doesn't record Jesus taking the summer off, so I don't see any reason for us to do so.

In my current parish, people take breaks when they need them. summer or any other time. This works because on average a team-member is serving approx once a month. That said, mostly breaks are due to health reasons, and so it's not really up to individuals to even choose when they need a one.

We don't "break" for the summer, but take semi-breaks instead. After Pentecost, we go to an every-other-week rehearsal schedule. Someone will always be on vacation during summer, but we work around them and without them, if necessary. In mid-September, we resume weekly rehearsals.

I once tried the summer long break, but found the choir forgetting too much of what they had learned. Also, their skills seemed to diminish. So now, it is every other week. We rehearse two weeks worth of music at each rehearsal and also work on a few other pieces for longer range use.

This is a very instructional comment for me, as there is a lot of food for thought here. We break for the summer. We are a choir of 15 to 18 rank amateurs (parts need to be pounded out repeatedly). Each Fall when we put the choir announcement in the bulletin, we find a few new members come to try the choir and we rarely lose those who join out of curiosity. We have moved from a choir exclusively for Christmas, the Triduum, and conferring of Confirmation to singing one Sunday a month as well. Most of you would shudder at our repertoire, but we are making slow progress. We have sung the Ave Verum Corpus on Holy Thursday quite successfully. I did not get my Christmas wish of a real tenor yet, but I am still hoping.

It's good to distinguish, as well, between there being a break for the choir, and there being a break from music completely at mass. I know more than my share of TLM parishes which switch exclusively to Low Masses, even for Sundays, after Corpus Christi (or even Pentecost!) Which, if you'll beg my pardon, seems lazy. All you would need for a sung mass is a cantor, maybe an organist - perhaps one in the same. And if you think the propers are too hard, it isn't like you can't use the Rossini or some other simplified edition. And it's always a great learning moment to encourage congregational singing to fill in the gap!! But to a lot of these parishes it's like the idea of a single cantor/organist is anathema - perhaps a prejudice carried over from past experiences with Novus Cantoring?

We sing through Assumption and then come back the week after Labor Day.