Alvin M. Keeling 
Friday November 26, 2021
Courtesy Photo / MCS
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Melanie Malinka leads the Cathedral Choir in a performance. For 25 years, the École du Chœur de la Madeleine has offered the gift of music, both in the liturgy and during concerts, to the Community of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
SALT LAKE CITY – This Sunday, November 21, the Madeleine Choir School will launch its series of annual concerts with a concert by Sainte-Cécile at the Madeleine Cathedral. This will continue the school’s 25-year tradition of reaching out to community through its music.
Since the school opened in 1996, its choirs have performed most daily Masses during the school year, as well as Sunday Masses.
“I think our most essential gift and the thing that is at the heart of our work is the cathedral liturgy,” said Gregory Glenn, one of the founders of the school, who now serves as a pastoral administrator. “It’s the heart of everything we do. Flowing from that would be the series of concerts that we offer and things like the Christmas carol – these are things that flow from this essential work of the liturgy. “
Performances open to the public include the school’s founders day concert in March, the Christmas carol service, a carol ceremony and a Good Friday “Stabat Mater” meditation. In addition, they participate in the Festival de la Madeleine.
“Concerts – the ability to preserve and promote the Church’s great treasury of sacred music – has always been part of our mission,” said Glenn.
Part of the school’s legacy is sharing the gift of music with the wider community through its choirs and performances, he said.
MCS choir director Melanie Malinka has also fostered collaborative relationships with professional arts groups such as the Utah Opera and the Utah Symphony. For example, in March, the school will perform “Tosca” with the Utah Opera.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the kids, but it’s also a gift to the community from the choir,” said Glenn.
For the opening of this 25th anniversary season, the school choirs will perform the “Requiem in D minor” by Gabriel Faure, a piece performed for the first concert of the Sainte-Cécile. Anton Bruckner’s “Te Deum” will also be on the program. All soloists will be alumni of the school, as well as parent Seth Keaton. Former student Ryan Condie will be one of the conductors.
The Madeleine Choir School also commissioned former students Nicolas Chuaqui and Jessica French to compose two new works for the Founder’s Day concert. These works will help “build a future treasure of sacred music,” said Glenn.
In February, the Cathedral Choir will travel to Washington, DC, to perform in services and concerts at St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. ‘Immaculate Conception, on the campus of The Catholic University of America.
