Saint Stanislaus Church
Nashua, New Hampshire
Traditional Latin Mass
Sacred Music at Saint Stanislaus
Saint Stanislaus has three vocal ensembles that provide music for High Masses:
Chant Schola​
The Saint Stanislaus Chant Schola sings at the 8:45 a.m. Mass on Sundays, and on various Holy Days. Rehearsal takes place 45 minutes prior to Mass (e.g. 8 a.m. on Sundays). The repertoire primarily consists of Gregorian chant Mass parts, supplemented by Gregorian chant hymns. Men of the parish are invited to contact the Music Director, John Arnold, at music@latinmassnashua.org if they are interested in participating.
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Parish Choir
The Saint Stanislaus Parish Choir sings at the 11:15 a.m. Mass on Sundays, and on various Holy Days. Rehearsal takes place on Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., as well as 45 minutes prior to Mass (e.g. 10:30 a.m. on Sundays). The repertoire primarily consists of Gregorian chant Mass parts, supplemented by traditional hymns, as well as choral motets and choral Mass settings. For the 2025-26 year, men and women of the parish age 16 and up are invited to contact the Music Director, John Arnold, at music@latinmassnashua.org, if they are interested in scheduling an audition.
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Children's Choir
The Saint Stanislaus Children's Choir sings once per month during the academic year (September - May), typically for the 11:15 AM Sunday Mass or for a designated Holy Day. Rehearsal takes place each Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. At rehearsal, children focus on learning the basics of reading music (chant notation and modern notation), learning the most common music of the Church (Mass responses, common settings of the Ordinary, simple Propers, Gregorian hymns), and developing healthy singing technique.
Participation is open to boys and girls approximately 7 years of age to approximately 14 years of age (or until a boy’s voice drops). Newcomers are welcome. Every new child entering must complete a voice placement to determine the child's voice range and to make sure that the child is capable of basic musical skills such as matching pitch. To schedule a voice placement and to enroll, please contact the Children's Choir Coordinator, Tristan Smith, at tsmith@latinmassnashua.org.
​The Pipe Organ
St. Stanislaus is blessed with a very fine mid-to-late-19th century pipe organ of unknown origins. Traits of our organ’s construction make clear that it was likely built around 1870 for another church, and later moved here to St. Stanislaus. Most agree that our organ was installed in 1950 by the Rostron Kershaw Organ Company of Chelmsford, MA as there was a vague contract with this company listing “a pipe organ prepared for St. Stanislaus Church”. It seems that Kershaw rebuilt a nearly century old instrument, though we still cannot be certain where it originally came from. It is clear that whoever the original builder of our organ was, they were very fine craftsmen. The pipework is beautifully constructed and exquisitely voiced. We hope to one day uncover who the mystery builder was, so as to give them due credit!
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Two curious pieces of evidence in our search for the original 19th century builder of our organ:
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One Sunday in Lent of 2019, the nameplate of 19th century Boston organ builder William Stevens showed up on our organ console. It was not there on Saturday afternoon, and nobody has been able to tell where it came from or how it came to be on the organ console. There seems to be little physical evidence that our organ was originally a William Stevens instrument, making this even more curious.
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The low C pipe of the 4’ Octave in our organ is engraved “Nashua”, and many have said the script looks older than 1950. So perhaps our organ was originally built for another church in Nashua before being moved here in 1950.
Organ Restoration
Though our pipe organ is a fine instrument, it is sadly in very poor mechanical condition. Pipe organs use pressurized air to produce sound as it flows through pipes. Our pipe organ’s mechanism is what organ builders call “electro-pneumatic action”, meaning that the process that sends air into the pipes involves both electrical signals and pneumatic devices to make the organ work. Both the electrical and pneumatic components of our organ are far beyond their expected lifespan.
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Since being installed in 1950, our organ has had no restorative work and very minimal maintenance. The 1950 electrical components are very unreliable, and are a borderline fire hazard. Many of the electronic controls at the organ console no longer function at all. The pneumatic mechanisms of the organ are various leather-covered valves, pouches, and reservoirs, which are barely functioning on borrowed time. Leather is a perishable material that dries, cracks, and tears with ages. All of the leather mechanism in our organ is from 1950, and all of it is rapidly failing.
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Though the 1,173 pipes in our organ were beautifully constructed, they are choked with 71 years of various dust, debris, and plaster, and many are in need of repairs. Between the mechanical issues with the organ and the current condition of the pipework, our organ has many notes that do not speak at all, and many more that struggle to speak or stay in tune.
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Our pipe organ, after 71 years of use and little maintenance, is long overdue for a thorough rebuild. The goal of the rebuild would not only be to make what we have work, but also to make it more serviceable for its next 100 years of life. After a thorough rebuilding project, the pipe organ at St. Stanislaus would be one of the finest instruments in New England. This is a major investment into the life of the Parish, ensuring that the voice of our church is able to provide beautiful music for the glory of God for generations to come.
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