The Cathedral Chorale is made up of adults and teenagers from the Parish and neighboring communities. Entrance into the Choir is by interview/audition. The members, all of whom are volunteers, prepare weekly for the purposes of leadership in sung prayer for the Cathedral Parish liturgies. The singers are either professional musicians or trained choral singers.

The Schola consists of a small group of advanced members of the Chorale and some members of the Cathedral Parish music staff. The Schola prepares music of a higher level of difficulty and sings for some special liturgies and events.

The Cathedral Chorale was formed in 1980 for the purposes of including women’s voices as part of the singing ensembles in the Cathedral (an outgrowth of the Choir of Men and Boys). Entrance into the Choir is by audition/interview and is made up of trained volunteers from the Parish and neighboring communities. Previous directors include Paul LaMedica and Christoph Tietze.

In 1992, Michael Bower became the director of the Cathedral Chorale and sought to further develop this adult and advanced teen ensemble. The Choir has sung twice at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. as well as premiering Gyorgy Orban’s Missa Quarta in the Cathedral of Salzburg, Austria. In addition to singing regularly at the 11:00 Sunday liturgy, the Choir sings at some extraordinary liturgies such as Christmas and Easter. the Choir sings music of various styles from Gregorian Chant to Renaissance motets, to Baroque/Classical/Romantic/Contemporary masterworks and American spiritual music.

In 1998, the Choir performed John Rutter’s Gloria and Te Deum at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. To mark the Millennium, the Chorale joined with the South Shore Symphony to sing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In 2003, the Choir sang Handel’s Messiah, Parts I, II, & II and in 2004 they presented Mahler’s great Symphony No. 2 (the Resurrection). The Choir performed Mozart’s Requiem for the One Year Anniversary of the death of His Holiness Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2006. The Women’s Voices sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in the same spring! The Chorale was the demonstration choir for the Adult Honors Choir Festival with classes throughout the 2006-2007 year and culminating in the Festival on June 10. The Chorale recently premiered two new works. The group was featured at the Cathedral Music Directors’ Conference in the Cathedral in January of 2008 and performed Beethoven’s Mass in C, Opus 86 and other masterworks in a concert the same year. In the 2009 season, they sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the South Shore Symphony.

The Chorale performed Handel’s Messiah in December 2009 and at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., in April 2010 with Bishop Murphy presiding, along with the Bishops and priests of the Diocese.

As well as being a wonderful musical ensemble, this group is a collection of terrific human beings who take music ministry to a new level as a caring organization and outreach in the Rockville Centre Community.

The Cathedral Schola Cantorum consists of a small group of advanced members of the Chorale and some members of the Cathedral Parish music staff. The Schola prepares music of a higher level of difficulty and sings for some special liturgies.

The group performed a selection of 20th Century cappella choral music on February 13, 2008 here in the Cathedral.

The Schola Cantorum performed at the National Shrine of the Immaculate conception in Washington, D. C. in April of 2010 with Bishop Murphy.

The Cathedral Singers was founded on August 21 of 2006. The group is composed of eight gifted singers from the Cathedral Music program which includes the professional cantors and the section leaders from the Cathedral’s Choir of Men and Boys and the Cathedral Chorale.

The singers are marvelous soloists who also have a tremendous love for ensemble singing. This new ensemble specializes in a cappella music from the “Golden Age of Renaissance” choral music to 21st Century works. Their repertoire includes the great sacred music of the Church as well as Elizabethan madrigals and stunning arrangements of American and European folk songs.

Members of the Choir have studied and worked with notable ensembles and conductors, including the Tallis Scholars, Chanticleer, Anonymous 4, The Westminster Choir, Robert Shaw, John Rutter, Joseph Flummerfelt, John Scott, Stephen Cleobury, Daniel Moe, and Timothy Brown.

The Cathedral Singers made its debut in 2006 appearing on Telecare (Long Island Diocesan Television Station). They have also performed at a benefit concert for the American Cancer Society at St. Joseph’s Church, Garden City, and at the Lynbrook Library Performing Arts Hall.

Each Good Friday, the Cathedral Singers performs the famous Vatican Motet “Miserere Mei” of Allegri and “Hear My Prayer” of Henry Purcell.

Other engagements include the Cathedral Chorale Long Island Festival, September 11 Memorial Concert at Molloy College, St. Rocco’s Church Glen Cove, All Souls Mass in the Cathedral, and the Conference of Cathedral Music Directors.

More recently, the ensemble performed with Lutenist Sir Christopher Morrongiello (350th Anniversary of the founding of the Town of Freeport, Long Island), performed at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C., and the 10th Anniversary Remembrance of 9/11 at St. Agnes Cathedral.

The choir is presently directed by Michael L. Bower.