Welcome Joshua Harper 

Registration for Summer Sing 2026 is now closed

Fees (additional Eventbrite fees may apply): 

• Adult Singer Registration*: $50

• Student Singer Registration*: $25

*includes cost of vocal score for you to keep!

• Optional Lunch Voucher (6/20): $10

• Optional Dinner Voucher (6/20): $20

High School/College Students: 

A number of waivers are available for registration and meal vouchers. Before you register, email summersing@arcadiachorale.org if you would like to be considered for student financial assistance. 

All Interested Singers:

• Please review Summer Sing details on this webpage for full schedule, participation expectations, etc. prior to registering. 

• Due to personnel and repertoire costs, we are unable to offer refunds for Summer Sing.

• Registrations are limited to 100 singers.

Location & Parking 

All Summer Sing activities will be held at Covenant Presbyterian Church,  550 Madison Ave, Scranton, PA 18510. The church has two parking lots:

• One on Olive St. (beside the church) and one on Madison and Vine (end of block). 

• There is also free street parking around the church.

Schedule

Friday, June 19: 

(3:30–5:30pm Soloist and orchestra rehearsal: No Chorus)

6:00–7:00pm Singer Registration/Orientation

• sign in & settle in at Covenant

• greet old friends, meet new ones! 

7:00–9:30pm Chorus rehearsal (full choir and sectionals)

Saturday, June 20: 

9:00am–6:30pm Rehearse with Summer Sing Chorus and orchestra

• sectionals and full choir, including dress rehearsal

• breaks will be given for snacks, lunch and dinner

• Check back here soon for more details on Saturday's schedule

6:30pm Group warm up

7:00pm Performance

• open to the public – invite family and friends!

Scores

• We will be using the Boosey & Hawkes Choral Suite edition of The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.

• The Choral Suite is derived from the full piece, consisting of five movements from the larger work:

  • Kyrie, Sanctus, Hymn Before Action, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei 

• Your registration fee covers the cost of the vocal score for you to keep!

Get Your Score

You'll be asked to indicate how you would like to receive your music when you register. Please help us keep mailing costs low if you can!

Options:

1. Pick up score from Catherine Carter, Arcadia Chorale Board Secretary:

   • M-F between 11:30am–3:30pm.  Call ahead: (570) 346-6400    

   • Covenant Presbyterian Church Office, 816 Olive St., Scranton, PA 18510

   • Note: Church closed May 25.  

2. Arrange pick up/delivery with any Arcadia Chorale member

   • If you are planning to attend Summer Sing with friends, please help us distribute scores to your group.

3. U.S. Mail

   • Please provide your mailing address on the registration form if you would prefer we mail your score to you. 

Need help learning your music?

There are a number of online resources to help! Here are some options:

Cyberbass.org: The Armed Man

• Cyberbass is a great resource to help you learn your part: It offers  rehearsal aids with the ability to adjust the playback speed and change the balance of your part vs. accompaniment (bringing out your part slower or louder as needed). 

• When using Cyberbass, you'll need to find the movement you want to listen to and then click on your part to hear the aid. 

• Click here to be taken to the Cyberbass page for The Armed Man.

Another free rehearsal aid can be found on Mathias Charton's YouTube channel. The sound of some of these rehearsal aids is a little  interesting but the videos follow along with a score and are helpful if you need more reinforcement:

Kyrie

• Tutti

• Soprano

• Alto

• Tenor (note: only Tenor I; listen to Cyberbass to hear both tenor parts )

• Bass

Sanctus

• Tutti

• Soprano

• Alto

• Tenor

• Bass

Hymn Before Action

• Soprano

• Alto

• Tenor

• Bass

Agnus Dei

• Soprano

• Alto

• Tenor 

• Bass

Benedictus

• Soprano

• Alto

• Tenor 

• Bass

Please note: 

• These are rehearsal aids only: Our conductor will give the choir markings for tempi, articulation, etc., at rehearsal.

• Bring a pencil to Summer Sing!

The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace

(Choral Suite movements: audio)

• Kyrie

• Sanctus

• Hymn Before Action

• Agnus Dei

• Benedictus

Other resources:

• Playlist of the full work  (13 movements) on Karl Jenkins' YouTube channel

• Virtual mass singalong: Stay at Home Choir (2020)

  • includes brief interview with the composer

Context:

There are multiple audio and video recordings featuring movements from The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace readily available online. 

The original full work consists of 13 movements with settings of texts from various sources, including the traditional Mass; Jenkins later added a 14th movement. The Choral Suite was derived from this larger work in 2002; the Suite may be performed with keyboard accompaniment (plus solo cello), or with orchestra. Summer Sing will include orchestra!

Take a few moments to listen to get more familiar with the piece as a whole and as a Choral Suite. The audio recordings listed on Jenkins' YouTube channel come from the official recording released in 2001, but we encourage you to explore different interpretations as well.

REHEARSALS (including dress rehearsal)

• Singers may wear casual clothing for all rehearsals.  

  • Please bring a light sweater if you are sensitive to air conditioning.

• Masks are not required at this time; however, participants should feel free to wear a mask at any time during Summer Sing if they have concerns about their individual health.

PERFORMANCE

• Please bring a black folder to use during the Saturday night performance. 

• Singers should wear all black for the Saturday night concert.

• Formal wear is not expected! Appropriate attire includes a black blouse/button down shirt/polo shirt (short or long sleeves are acceptable) with black pants/skirt, or a black dress.  And black shoes that are comfortable enough to sing in!

• Please keep in mind that you'll be appearing as part of an ensemble when making your clothing choices: We ask that you not draw attention with jewelry or other accessories that may be distracting. 

• Please avoid wearing perfume or highly fragrant personal products (hairspray, deodorant, etc.) which may cause allergic reactions in your fellow singers. Please choose unscented products when possible. 

• Note: While we do not currently anticipate the need to require masks, if conditions change, masks may be required for singers at this year's Summer Sing. Singers who wear a mask for the performance on Saturday night must wear a black mask. If needed, Arcadia Chorale will provide black masks for those who do not have one.

Food & Beverages

• Lunch and dinner breaks will be provided on Saturday, June 20. 

• Snacks and meals may be eaten in Covenant's auditorium. Please do not bring food or drinks (other than water) into the sanctuary or other rehearsal spaces. 

• Arcadia Chorale will provide snacks (granola bars, fruit, etc.) and beverages throughout the Summer Sing, and will also offer Saturday: 

  • Boxed lunch: $10

  • Buffet dinner: $20 

  • Singers will have an opportunity to purchase Saturday meal vouchers when registering. See below for information.

• Participants may also opt to bring their own food (limited refrigerator space available at Covenant upon request), or may plan to patronize one of Scranton's many restaurants. Delivery may be your best option in that case: Please keep the rehearsal timeframes and parking considerations in mind if you plan to leave Covenant during meal breaks. 

After registering, participants who purchase meal vouchers will be sent an email to designate food choices from options below:

Lunch ($10)

Boxed lunch from HoneyBaked Ham Company*:

• Sandwich served with cheese, lettuce and tomato: 

  • • ham or turkey on Kaiser roll

    • Garden veggies on multigrain roll

• Potato chips

• Cookie

• Drink: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or water

• All boxed lunches come with mustard & mayo, straw and napkin

• Gluten-free roll available

Dinner ($20)*

A buffet dinner will be served with multiple options, including chicken and beef entrees, vegetables, rolls and a green salad.  Dessert will be provided by members and friends of the Chorale.

*Some items may contain wheat and/or dairy products

General admission tickets will available to the public for our Summer Sing Concert on Saturday, June 20 at 7:00pm.  Tickets available at the door or buy online now.

• Tickets: $10

• Admission for students is free

For updates:

• Check this page frequently!

• Follow Arcadia Chorale on Facebook and Instagram 

Still have questions? Contact the Arcadia Chorale:

• Phone: (570) 871-0350

• Email: summersing@arcadiachorale.org

Help more singers participate! Please consider donating to Summer Sing today.

Your donations allow Arcadia Chorale to:

• sponsor students in need: $55 provides one student registration waiver plus lunch and dinner

• keep registration and meal costs low for all participants

• contract outstanding instrumentalists, soloists and rehearsal assistants

• plan for next year's Summer Sing!

Summer Sing is sponsored in part by Arcadia Chorale's Dr. Steven Thomas Memorial Fund, which provides scholarships for student singers and supports the Chorale's special projects. To honor Dr. Thomas' legacies in music and education, the Chorale is directing the Memorial Fund's resources back into the NEPA music community.

Summer Sing donations are administered through the Dr. Steven Thomas Memorial Fund.