Our Carmelite Monastery experience

On Friday October 24th, 2025, the Camerata Singers joined with the Santa Catalina School choir for the 100th year celebration of St. Thésèse of Lisieux. When our conductor, Mark Purcell first joined us as our new Artistic Director, he mentioned the possibility of Camerata Singers' participation in the Carmelite Monastery’s Centenary Jubilee celebrating the life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

Accompanying 16 Camerata Singers and the Santa Catalina choir members were extraordinary accompanists Lucy Faridany, piano; Amalia, Diaz, violin; and Janneke Hoogland, cello.

Mark expertly guided our choral offerings throughout the mass, ushering a choir of diverse faiths into one body, offering praise, prayers, blessings, holiness — sacred.

Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the memory of this once-in-a-lifetime, beautiful and stirring mass will live in our hearts and minds, as well as in those of the hundreds of those in attendance.

St. Thésèse, only twenty-four when she died, was wise beyond her years. She left a legacy extolling the virtue of "Little Ways”— growing in holiness by doing small, ordinary things with great love.

This event, we shall long remember.

This is was not a Camerata Singers event, but to learn more about it please follow this link for more information on our performance and other 100th year anniversary activities.