Area youth participate in 2005 National Catholic Youth Choir

"Spreading the Catholic Faith through Great Music" is the motto of the National Catholic Youth Choir - and that's exactly what the group did during their 2005 concert tour. The National Catholic Youth Choir, founded by Rev. Anthony Ruff, OSB, is a youth program of Saint John's School of Theology-Seminary on the grounds of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, MN. The choir brought together 46 high school students from across the U.S. for an intensive two-week summer camp of choir rehearsal, music and religion classes, prayer and recreation. The conductor of the choir is internationally renowned conductor Dr. Axel Theimer of the music department at Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict.

The theme of the 2005 concert tour was "My Song is Love Unknown." The choir sang music ranging from Gregorian chant to pieces by Christopher Tye, Allesandro Scarlatti, Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Bell, and Monsignor Giuseppe Liberto, director of the Sistine Choir in Rome. In addition to singing on the Saint John's campus for the Feast of Saint Benedict on July 11, the choir sang at liturgies and concerts in Tracy, MN, Des Moines, IA, and Peoria, IL.

Participating in the choir from the Diocese of New Ulm were: (pictured top) Daniel Dieter from Tracy, and (l-r) Kathryn Bontjes from Spicer, Celia Brockway from Tracy.

Anyone interested in participating in the 2006 National Catholic Youth Choir contact Rev. Anthony Ruff

(320) 363-3233, www.CatholicYouthChoir.org.