Anyone have a DS in a cathedral choir?

Our DS is in a cathedral school and choir and none of us are even slightly religious. We all find it interesting and often discuss (normally at very random moments) things that are mentioned in services.

I do wince at their schedule, make no mistake it is a massive commitment but it brings so much that is positive into DS's life.

He is part of a team, the choir is treated as one voice, he is part of a tight group of boys across a range of ages. They do some amazing things and the musical education is second to none. His confidence is high, his reading amazing and hearing his voice develop is great.

I do get upset at Christmas but they have a ball and more chocolate than I have ever seen!

The child has to want to do it, then the family has to realise that this is what comes first. Alot of compromises are made across family life but in the end it is worth it.

I second everything that ReadingTL said. Good luck!

Hello. Hope you don't mind me posting as I don't have direct experience of your situation but I sang a LOT as a kid, including in cathedral choirs (although as a girl it was never as time intensive as with boys - sexism starts young huh?!), added together with other musical stuff, by 11 I was doing music 5-6 days/week and I carried on doing church-related music until quite recently when I had DS. I have never been religious and my parents were atheists (as am I now but they never forced it on me). I still get a massive buzz out of being in a church listening to singing- but from a purely musical perspective. The church is where the vast majority of music happened until the 19th Century, so all the great classical music came from there. I think it's a fabulous musical education to give to your son and - by extension - I honestly believe that it helps with other areas of education too. I did music as a serious hobby all the way through childhood. It taught me many many things and (to be blunt) it kept me out of trouble during my teen years which definitely had a contributory factor to how I did elsewhere. I didn't study music but have been able to enjoy it as something on the side ever since.

I would love for DS to be in the position to your DS is in one day but who knows whether he'll be talented in that area.

I would completely understand if you didn't have the energy to do the running around that 2-4 evenings a week would require (I'm not sure I would!!) but I would certainly see it as a massively positive experience and one that he can build on in many other ways.

My DS is also eight, and is a chorister at one of the big cathedrals (and at the relevant cathedral school). It is a massive commitment - far more than 2-4 evenings per week! It is indeed a lot for an eight year old to take on.

But: does he want to do it? My DS lives and breathes music. He isn't that enthusiastic about getting into his school uniform at 8am on Sundays, and was grumpy in advance of Christmas Day (though when it came to it, he was very cheerful about 'going to work' on C'mas Day).

How easy does he find school work? He will need to find homework pretty easy as fitting everything in around choir is very tight, and would be impossible with a child who struggles academically.

And how supportive do you want to be/are you able to be? I Do you have other children whose needs also have to be considered? We can do it because we are both work from home, so one of us can "do" the chorister while the other looks after the other DCs and makes sure their lives are as normal as possible (bar C'mas Day and the run-up to it, when we were all in the cathedral for most of the time!)

I am a complete and utter atheist. DH is a bit wavery. DS (the chorister) is also an out-and-out atheist. It matters not a jot. The building is beautiful; the music is fabulous; it's all part of a tradition, even if you think the God stuff is mumbo jumbo. I don't feel in the slightest bit uneasy about it. I don't believe, and other people there do. All the prayers are, to me, just words. It is not a big deal.

For the right child, it's utterly marvellous.