Musical Outreach at St. Brigid and St. James
Both St. Brigid and St. James actively promote the sacred arts, especially in musical outreach. Both parishes host performances by the Louisville area’s top vocal and instrumental ensembles in addition to concerts by each parish’s choirs and instrumentalists.
St. Brigid is home to concerts by the Louisville Chorus and Orchestra.
St. James is home to the Louisville Chamber Choir, an award-winning a cappella chorus. This ensemble has toured internationally, winning awards in international choir competitions. St. James is also home to the choirs of Bellarmine University. These ensembles have also toured Europe including a recent trip concertizing throughout Ireland. St. James is the host of the Sacred Heart Academy A Cappella and Madrigal Choirs annual Christmas concert. Additionally, the Madrigal Choir sings several times each year for the St. James Sunday evening 7 pm liturgy.
Both St. Brigid and St. James are blessed with excellent yet different acoustics, with St. Brigid being an ideal space for chorus and orchestra, and St. James, with its soaring dome and solid surfaces throughout, is unmatched for a cappella singing.
2026 Schedule:
Louisville Chamber Choir "American Heritage - 250 Years of Music" - February 22, 2026
Sunday, February 22, 2026 - 3 pm the Louisville Chamber Choir "American Heritage - 250 Years of Music" is at St. James. Tickets available at the door or here Purchase Tickets
Bellarmine University Oratorio Chorus - March 29, 2026
Sunday March 29 at 3 pm, The Bellarmine University Oratorio Chorus in concert at St. James.
Bellarmine University Schola Concert - April 19, 2026
Sunday April 19 at 3 pm, Bellarmine University Schola in concert at St. James.
Christmas Eve Music at St. Brigid Church - December 24, 2026 - 3:15 pm
The St. Brigid Choir will present their annual Christmas Concert beginning at 3:15 pm on Christmas Eve night, followed by Mass at 4pm. All are welcome!
Christmas Eve Music at St. James Church - December 24, 2026 - 10:15 pm
The St. James Singers Choir with organ, flute, brass, strings and percussion will present their annual Christmas Concert beginning at 10:15 pm on Christmas Eve night featuring music spanning four centuries. The program ends with the sung Proclamation of Christmas followed by Mass at 11 pm. All are welcome!
Pipe Organs at St. Brigid & St. James
St. Brigid Church boasts not one but two independent pipe organs, a 1917 Henry Pilcher’s Son’s (Louisville) in the choir loft and a 1995 Webber-Borne organ (Louisville) in the chancel. Both instruments may be played from either of two twin organ consoles.
The pipe organ in St. James, third largest in the Archdiocese of Louisville, was constructed in 1885 and installed in St. James in 1914. It was rebuilt by Henry Pilcher’s Sons in 1931. Between 2009 and 2012, Webber-Bourne Organ Co. began a restoration of the 41-rank instrument which continues to this day as funds or gifts permit.
Both the St. Brigid organs and the St. James organ have been featured in recitals for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians National Conventions (2011 and 2020) as well as recitals by the Louisville American Guild of Organists and out-of-town guest artists.
