Saint Thomas Choir School

The Saint Thomas Choir School was founded in 1919 at the request of Dr. T. Tertius Noble, organist and choirmaster of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. Dr. Noble had previously been the organist and choirmaster at York Minster in England, where all of his boy singers were students at their choir school.

When the rector and vestry of Saint Thomas called Dr. Noble to New York in 1913, Dr. Noble accepted the position with the understanding that a Choir School would be necessary to achieve the musical standard desired for the parish. A new school opened in 1919 on 55th Street with 21 boys. The school remained at that site, with periodic renovations and additions, until 1987, when it relocated to its current location, a purpose-built fifteen-story building on 58th Street that houses the choristers and full-time faculty. In 1996, the school expanded to include third grade. It now nurtures and educates approximately 30 boys from grades three through eight.

The Saint Thomas Choir School houses, nurtures, and educates the boy choristers of Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue. We work together to cultivate a love of learning through challenging academic study and professional musical training rooted in the Anglican choral tradition. Our unique, familial environment fosters self-reliance and personal growth, preparing students to contribute productively to their communities.

The Choir School experience generally begins in the third or fourth. The curriculum for these new arrivals helps them make a smooth transition into our residential community. The academic focus in the third and fourth grade classroom is on comprehension through active listening and reading, collaboration in the shared pursuit of knowledge, and the communication of that knowledge through clear and well-constructed verbal presentations and written compositions.

Subject matter includes literary works such as the Narnia Series, history texts including the “Who Was …” series of biographies, and experiments and film clips to bring the science of sound and light to life. The Linguistic Skill Development part of the curriculum focuses on words as precision tools and grammar as a means of clear communication. Boys in third and fourth grades also have separate classes in mathematics, French, theology, and art. Their music curriculum is extensive and includes music theory, individual voice and instrument lessons, and choir.

Third grade mathematics curriculum is all about using curiosity and pattern discovery to solve problems. We use the Beast Academy series of illustrated textbooks to reintroduce math as skilled play. We make mathematics an adventure that requires a willingness to make mistakes on the way to discovering new principles and methods. Developing skills, mastering facts, and understanding operations are promoted in the excitement of solving engaging problems.