The choir of St Margaret's & Blessed Sacrament church, in Saugus, Massachussets, in the USA, sings at the 11:00am mass on Sunday 3 July. The choir is directed by Benjamin J. DiScipio.
About the Choir
Over the past 13 years, the Adult choir of St. Margaret’s Parish in Saugus has grown from a size of 10 choristers to it’s current size of 25-30. It is a strong spiritual force within a thriving collaborative 2-parish community in Saugus, MA. The St. Margaret’s/Blessed Sacrament choir sings weekly on Sundays which routinely draws a full church in attendance. In addition, the choir performs 2 annual concerts for the town of Saugus and surrounding communities: a Christmas concert in December and a Spring Concert in May. Both concerts draw full audiences eager to listen to, and be inspired by, the choir’s repertoire of spiritual music.
About the Director
Ben has been involved in the music ministry of the Catholic Church since the age of 8, singing with the St. Pius Boy’s choir in Lynn, MA. At the age of 13, he served as organist for St Joseph’s Parish in Lynn, MA, studying organ under the tutelage of Reverend David Gallagher, himself a renowned organist in New England. At the age of 17, he took over as principal conductor of the St. Jean de Baptiste Men’s Choir of Lynn. With that choir, he performed throughout New England and, at the age of 22, took the choir on a tour of France and Italy, culminating by singing at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Altar of the Chair at St Peter’s Basilica. In the intervening years, Ben has served as Music Director at several parishes in the Boston Archdiocese.
Following his undergraduate work at The College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester MA, Ben studied in graduate programs at the New England Conservatory, Boston University School for the Arts, and the Julliard School in New York City. He has conducted choral ensembles and Orchestras at each of those schools as well as at Harvard University in Cambridge. An accomplished pianist and organist, he has performed solo recitals at Boston’s Jordan Hall and the Boston University School for the Arts as well as several other venues throughout New England.
As a singer, Ben studied at New England Conservatory’s prestigious Opera Studio. He also has studied opera with Richard Morrison and Susan Clickner. He has performed professionally as a singer throughout New England, as well as New York City and Florida and has sung with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and several other regional orchestras.