The Singing School

Why Our School Campuses Need More Singing

When I first heard the term Schola Cantorum—“singing school” in Latin—I didn’t hear it in a classical Christian classroom. I heard it on a university choir tour as a graduate student. And yet, I couldn’t shake the thought: why shouldn't that phrase describe the heart of every classical Christian school?

A Singing School is more than a poetic idea. It’s a culture-shaping vision. In a time when music is increasingly compartmentalized or treated as a luxury, I want to argue that singing belongs right at the center of our schools, not just in the choir room, but throughout the entire school day.

A School That Sings

Imagine what prospective families hear when they visit your campus. Is it quiet? Busy? Orderly? I hope they also hear singing in the classrooms, chapel, and hallways.

That’s the sound of formation. Not just students learning notes or techniques, but children being trained as image-bearers of a singing God (Zephaniah 3:17). It’s what I call “musicianship between the ears,”an internal understanding and love of music that saturates the soul before it ever touches an instrument.

Music Is Not an Elective

I’ve seen it time and time again: the schools that bear lasting musical fruit are the ones that treat music as core curriculum, not a bonus class or afterthought.

Music is a language, and like any language, it requires immersion from the earliest years. We would never expect fluency in Latin or English if students only studied it once a week or as a middle school elective. Why do we expect otherwise from music?

We must teach our students to speak music through singing before we ask them to perform it on stage. Instruments are wonderful, but they’re not the foundation—singing is.

When a School Is Tuned Around Song

A Singing School doesn’t merely “offer music.” It sings. Everywhere. All the time. And as it does, something beautiful happens:

• Joy takes root. It’s hard to stay sullen when you’re singing, even if it’s just a memory jingle.

• Traditions are formed. Singing before lunch, singing at assemblies, and singing to close out the school day become the shared liturgies of a joyful student body.

• Taste is trained. The music we learn to sing becomes the music we come to love. And we want our students to love what is truly lovely.

• Students become servants. In a Singing School, music is not performance for applause but an offering for others. From chapel services to nursing homes, students learn to bless with song.

Start Small, But Start

If your school doesn’t yet have a formal music program, don’t wait for ideal conditions to begin. Start singing anywhere and everywhere you can.

• Choose a school song or anthem. Sing it at every major event. Make it part of your identity.

• Incorporate short hymns or rounds into daily routines: morning convocation, lunch, even clean-up time.

• Equip your teachers to sing in the classroom. The music teacher isn’t the only music educator.

You don’t need a music wing or budget overhaul to begin. You need a willingness to sing—and to let that singing shape your culture.

A Note to School Leaders

As someone who’s walked the long path of building a Singing School, let me offer a word of encouragement: don’t despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). Plant a seed of song and tend it with joy. Over time, it will bear fruit far richer than any elective catalog could promise.

If we want students who love what is good, true, and beautiful, we must give them songs worth loving and sing them together.

Let your school be a Schola Cantorum, a Singing School. The next generation will thank you.

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This article is adapted from Chapter 4, The Singing School, in my book Raise the Song: A Classical Christian Guide to Music Education.
You can purchase the entire book in print or Kindle format here: https://a.co/d/7RDNjpi