Virginia Girls Choir

Virginia Girls Choir

Online application

The Virginia Girls Choir is a community-wide choir for girls in grades 3-12. Choir members participate in Sunday worship twice a month, a weekly Evensong service, concerts and special appearances, trips and tours. Girls also earn stipends and receive voice lessons.

No prior musical training is required--we are looking for girls who love to sing!

Auditions: To schedule an audition, please fill out the online application, and contact Stephanie Auld. (Please ignore the dates on the form under "Event Information." These are for internal use only.)

Information sheet: An information sheet on the choir with FAQs is available for downloading and printing here (PDF file).

About the Virginia Girls Choir

The Virginia Girls Choir, founded at St. Stephen's in 2008, is an auditioned group of girls in grades three through twelve who come from across the greater Richmond area. The girls work to sing with spirit and understanding in a variety of musical styles, with the music of the Anglican tradition taking pride of place in their repertoire. They have performed under the direction of noted choir trainer Dr. Barry Rose, and have performed with recording artist and composer Ana Hernández. Their director is Dan Moriarty.

At St. Stephen’s, the choir sings Evensong every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., and on alternating Sunday mornings. The choir has also sung concerts and worship services at Chester Presbyterian Church; River Road Church, Baptist; St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, Richmond; The First Lady’s Luncheon and for the National Association of Women in Business awards, both at the Omni hotel, Richmond; at the Diamond for Flying Squirrels games; Epiphany Church, Danville; Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg; St. Paul’s Church, K St., Washington, DC; Washington National Cathedral; St. Bartholomew’s Church, NY; St. Luke’s Church, East Hampton, NY; St. William the Abbot Catholic Church, NY.

On tour in England in 2012, the choir sang with the Girls Choirs of Lincoln Cathedral and the of All Saints Church, Northampton. They also sang at Eye Church, the East Anglia Children’s Hospice, and for the Mayor of Ipswich at the Ipswich Cultural Center. (Summer 2012 Tour blog)

The choir released their first CD in 2010, a Christmas recording made in collaboration with Ana Hernández, called “An Unexpected Christmas.” With 16 original arrangements of familiar carols, as well as several new tunes, the CD received airplay in both the U.S. and Canada, and led to appearances on Lite 98’s “Wake Up Show” with Bill Bevins and Shelly Perkins, and WCVE’s “Virginia Currents” TV show with May-Lily Lee.

While singing in a choir of great renown is, by its nature, a reward, choristers grow in confidence, poise, self-esteem, collegiality, as well as gain deep awareness and appreciation for the disciplined study of poetry, music and the arts. To support the sense in which the founding members of the Virginia Girls Choir understand professional commitment and skill, each girl earns a monthly stipend.

While the choir is in residence at St. Stephen’s Church, choir members come from every part of the city. Some are St. Stephen’s parishioners, though many choir families come from other faith traditions and congregations.

Dan Moriarty, Director

Dan Moriarty is the full time Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Among his responsibilities is the direction of the Virginia Girls Choir which he founded in 2008.

Dan previously was Director of Music at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and Associate Organist of St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. Dan was the founding director of Saint Bartholomew’s Boy and Girl Choristers, now in its 18th season.

Dan has made numerous recordings, as organist, choral director and singer. The most recent of these recordings is the 2012 recording, Sanctuary: Music for Compline, and the 2010 CD, An Unexpected Christmas, with the Virginia Girls Choir and Ana Hernández. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he majored in Organ Performance. He also has a B.A. in English from Villanova University.

Dan lives with his wife, Christina, and their two daughters in Richmond.