Biography
Established in 1907, Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix des Bois (Little Singers of the Wooden Cross) rank among the globe’s longest-running children’s choirs. Paul Berthier and Pierre Martin, two students spending time at l’Abbeye de Tamie, launched the ensemble, which operated as a Paris-based touring group without ties to any single parish or cathedral. Under the leadership of Father Fernand Maillet the singers gained worldwide visibility through Vatican appearances and a role in the 1945 motion picture La Cage aux Rossignols; they maintained an active schedule across the entire twentieth century, counting among their alumni singer/songwriter Matthieu Chédid, Les Prêtres’ Charles Troesch, and Olympic rowing champion Adrien Hardy. When the centenary arrived, a France2 broadcast marked the occasion with collaborative performances involving Tina Arena, Lara Fabian, and Nolwenn Leroy, by which point the choir school had become a year-round academy that balanced standard coursework with an international touring calendar. After a series of legal disputes and landlord conflicts, the organization relocated from Paris to Yonne in 2011, the year it also released the successful album Il Êtait une Fois....