Members of Paris youth choir ‘are OK' after experiencing seizure-like symptoms during performance at Cambridge church
'As the news coverage of the concert last night grows, we have a happy update to share with you. As the fire chief expected, all of the singers from last evening's concert are OK,' Moran said in the message, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston provided to the Globe. 'They were all discharged from the hospital in good condition late last night. The choir will provide us with a statement as soon as they are able.'
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During the 6 p.m. performance, eight children reported feeling sickened by a smell, having trouble breathing, and experiencing 'seizure-like symptoms,' fire officials said in a statement.
Fire crews went to the church around 7:30 p.m. The ill
children were evaluated, treated on scene, and taken to local medical facilities, officials said.
A firefighter carried to a child to an ambulance Tuesday night.
Cambridge Fire Department/Facebook
Approximately 70 other people in attendance were not affected, fire officials said.
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The church was evacuated as a precaution, Cambridge's fire chief, Thomas Cahill, said Wednesday.
After members of a French youth choir at St. Paul's church were hospitalized last night by an unidentified illness before a performance, the area was quiet in the morning in Harvard Square on July 23, 2025.
Lane Turner/Globe Staff
Cahill said a 911 caller reported a child was experiencing 'seizure-like symptoms.' When emergency responders reached the church, they found seven other children 'complaining of similar symptoms, though not witnessed by our EMS crews on scene,' Cahill said.
Cahill confirmed that all eight children had been released from the hospital.
Cahill said the building was ventilated and the hazmat team used metering equipment to determine the hazardous odor was no longer present.
The choir originally planned to have a concert in Philadelphia on July 18 'but had a Covid breakout several days before and needed to cancel,' according to Amanda Schkeeper, director of advancement for the Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choirs.
Another concert scheduled for July 19 at the First Presbyterian Church of Moorestown, N.J., was also canceled due to COVID, the church wrote on Facebook.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at
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