The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-12-12
A coLoREo BOY CHOIR.
A Very Melodious One In Supplies at Sc
Philips Church.

A Very Melodious One In Supplies at St
Philips Church.
New York boasts OF the largest sur
pliced colored boy choir in the United
States, and, so far as Is known, in the
world. Such choirs are not numerous,
and are to be found only in large cities.
| There are two IL New York-one belong
ing TO a Roman Catholic and the other
to Protestant Episcopal church. The
latter is the one here meant, and as the
music of the Episcopal is so different
| from that of the Roman Catholic church
| no comparison between the two can be
| drawn.
st. Philips church in West Twenty
| fifth street, between Sixth and Seventh
| avenues, is one Of the oldest colored
| congregations in America. The present
building is an ordinary affair Of brick
and was once used by Methodists. Up
to few months ago the music at St.
| Philips was furnished by an ordinary
| mixed choir OK colored singers. Some
months before Easter it was decided to
change to boy choir, such as are to be
found in Trinity, st. Agnes, St An
| drews' and other more or less "high"
churches in the city. The present or
| ganist, Mr.. L. b. Kinney, was engaged
to organize the choir, and the first serv-
ices under the new order Of things were
heard on Easter Sunday. Mr.. Kinney,
| however, found the task Of organiZa-
ton difficult one. He discovered that,
50 far as the constant desire to have fun
| and play pranks with one another was
concerned, there was not much differ
| ence between cOlOred and white bows.
And as the choir consisted of thirty
boys, in addition to twenty men, he had
| to keep his eyes open. In time the
youngsters began to submit fairly well
to discipline and are now quite tracta-
bic. Of course there was no trouble
with the men.
The colored race is essentially musical,
both IN ear and voice, and this fact has
caused the choir of st. Philips to he
reckoned among the best boy choirs in
the city. Once the youngsters are in
terested they enter upon the work with
an earnestness that would put many a
white boy to the blush. In the choir
| there are several remarkably good So
| prano voices. Two little colored chaps,
| Prentice Hutchinson and Howard Brax-
ton, are regarded as especially fine, and
to them most of the solos are given. The
ages of the boys range from nine to six
| teen years.
Mr.. Kinney says that as far as he
knows he is the only white person con-
nected with the church, though the
rector, the Rev. II. G. Bishop, is fire.
quently assisted by white ministers. St.
Philips church is interesting for other
things than its choir. 1t has very
valuable chalice cup, made of gold,
which has been insured for $4,000. 1t is
studded with diamonds, pearls, rubies
and other precious stones. There is a
| legend that two of the diamonds, each
worth 500, were found in the bottom
of a trunk belonging to one of the
women members of the church and were
| given to a9Drn the chalice cup. The
altar is a handsome one and was pre-
scented by Dr. Ray, colored physician
of some note in this city. The organ is
small, but very sweet in tone.-New
| York World.