News
Dates for our upcoming 2026-27 Season
The Notre Dame Children’s Choir is excited to announce dates for our upcoming 2026-27 Season!
FALL 2026 Rehearsal Schedule
- First day of Liturgical Choir rehearsals- Monday, August 24 (**Email ndcchoir@nd.edu if you are 10+ y.o. interested in joining!)
- First day of Rehearsals …
Notre Dame Children's Choir
We are pleased to announce that the Notre Dame Children's Choir under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Doerries won Second Place in the national American Prize in the category of Youth Choral Ensembles…
Mark Doerries on Podcast "Public Worship and the Christian Life"
Mark Doerries joins host Kristen Verhulst on the podcast Public Worship and the Christian Life, part of the Calvin Institute of Christian Studies at Calvin College, to discuss the Notre Dame Children's Choir and the future of children's choral programs in worship. To listen to the episode,…
New release of Christmas Album
We are pleased to announce the release of our newest Christmas album, A Ceremony of Carols: Christmas with the Notre Dame Children's Choir! Recorded in June of 2021 in Reyes Choral and Organ Hall of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the album includes Benjamin Britten's A…
Black History Month event explores the sounds of African-American jazz, classical and gospel music
“Unsung: The Exploration of the Sounds of Black Folk” featured performances by vocalist Calesta “Callie” Day and pianist and composer Isaac Cates, in collaboration with Emorja Roberson, doctoral student in Sacred Music; Alex Mansour, senior in the Music Department; the Notre Dame Folk Choir and director J.J Wright; the Notre Dame Children’s Choir; and a community choir composed of area church members.The Sacred Music Program, in collaboration with Campus Ministry, the Graduate School, the Department of Africana Studies, the Office of Community Relations and the Program of Liberal Arts, hosted an evening of African-American jazz, classical and gospel music Feb. 8 (Friday) as part of Black History Month celebrations at the University of Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Children's Choir Performs at Walt Disney Hall
Students and faculty from Sacred Music at Notre Dame had a full schedule of performances in South Bend and California the week before Christmas.…
Notre Dame Children’s Choir to perform with Arturo Sandoval in Los Angeles, celebrating release of new Christmas album
The guest appearance is part of Sandoval’s “Swinging Christmas with the Sandoval Big Band” concert at 8 p.m. on Dec. 21.
Grammy-winning jazz musician Arturo Sandoval records Christmas album with Notre Dame Children's Choir
An internationally acclaimed jazz and classical musician and composer, Arturo Sandoval has received 10 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award and is a 2013 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this nation’s highest civilian honor. Sandoval will headline a festive Christmas in September event featuring the Notre Dame Children's Choir, Notre Dame Symphonic Winds, and the Notre Dame Jazz Ensemble. His album Arturo Sandoval's Christmas at Notre Dame, recorded last year in the Leighton Concert Hall, will be released Sept. 28.
Lilly Endowment awards $1.6 million grant for Sacred Music at Notre Dame program
The University of Notre Dame has received a $1.6 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support the Sacred Music at Notre Dame (SMND) program and its transformative work with graduate students and the community. This is the program’s second grant from the Lilly Endowment — a private, philanthropic foundation that supports the causes of religion, education, and community development — following a $1.9 million grant in 2012 that helped launch SMND.
Children’s Choir album tops Billboard’s traditional classical album chart
The album is a blend of sacred music and jazz improvisation, featuring renditions of Advent and Christmas texts and melodies.
ND Children's Choir Album Tops Classical Music Charts!
Sacred Music at Notre Dame is excited to announce that the Notre Dame Children’s Choir’s recording O Emmanuel debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Music Chart!
Review: "O Emmanuel": Oh, Not Just Another Christmas Album
The new album from Dynamic Catholic is J.J. Wright’s bold experiment with a Christmas album that both surprises and challenges. It also brings unexpected delights of jazz to the season.
By: Christopher S. Morrissey
Register Now For Our 2016–17 Season
The University of Notre Dame's Sacred Music Academy will hold open auditions for singers up to age 17 to join the Notre Dame Children's Choir. NDCC is comprised of several ensembles with singers divided by age and ability. Learn more about our choirs here.
A New Movement for Sacred Music
The goal of Sacred Music at Notre Dame is to keep alive great musical traditions of the Western world. By training young people in the history and breadth of sacred music, the program aims to reinvigorate Christian churches through a new generation of parish musicians that can help lead liturgical services and also create new music.
New Lyric Choir Welcomes Singers with Special Needs
The Notre Dame Children’s Choir has initiated a new choir for singers with special needs, the Lyric Choir. For children ages 9 to 13, the Lyric Choir focuses on singing and experiencing sacred music in a welcoming choral community, musical instruction specifically geared to meet the abilities of students with physical, social, emotional, and/or intellectual challenges.
Register for the New Elkhart Community Children's Choir
The Elkhart Community Children's Choir is a division of the Notre Dame Children’s Choir for singers ages 7 to 10 in the Elkhart community. The program is free to all involved. The Choir is hosted by Saint John’s Episcopal Church and sings for special community-wide ecumenical services in the afternoons near Christmas, Easter, and for the Notre Dame Children’s Choir’s Festival.
Notre Dame Children’s Choir Kicks Off National Tour in South Bend
On Saturday (June 13), the University of Notre Dame Children’s Choir will perform at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend at 4 p.m. The concert marks the start of a national tour that includes stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
NDCC Presents at Notre Dame TEDx Conference
The Chamber Choir of the Notre Dame Children's Choir presented a talk and performance as part of the 2015 Notre Dame TEDx Conference titled: "What if children were more than cute."
Notre Dame Adds New Children's Choir
The voices of 40 children will be added to the University of Notre Dame’s internationally renowned choirs this fall.
According to Mark B. Doerries, conductor of The University of Notre Dame Children’s Choir, “Our program is geared toward three populations: the children of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s, and Holy Cross faculty and staff; children from local Catholic and Protestant churches that do not currently have children’s choirs; and home schooling families who may not have access to artistic children’s programs.” Participation in the ecumenical choir is free, and information on auditions and registration is available online.