His responsibilities included providing young musicians for church services in Leipzig.

From the 800-Year Anniversary Celebration in 2012 the Thomanerchor and St. Thomas School has been part of Forum Thomanum, an internationally oriented educational campus.

It was run as schola pauperum, meaning a free school intended to benefit the poor, by the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.

All members (Thomaner) of the boys choir (Thomanerchor) attend the school along with other pupils.

During Johann Sebastian Bach's time as Thomaskantor these buildings were extended; in 1829 they were reconstructed.

The then-rector, Günther Ramin, decided to move the choir boys to the Königlich Sächsische Fürsten- und Landesschule Sankt Augustin school in Grimma.

Because of this, and because most of the older students were enlisted, the University of Leipzig was allowed to use the school's building for its own purposes.

The rector's decision to move the choir boys was proved right during the bombings of 20 February 1944 when the school's buildings were destroyed.

Since 2008 the school offers its students mathematics, natural sciences, music, and linguistic courses.