Category: News

  • Schools Week

    This week the chapel and choir were delighted to welcome two school choirs to sing evensong jointly with the chapel choir.

    On Monday, the chamber choir of Bradfield School enjoyed filling the chapel with music by Philip Moore, Stanford, and Richard Shepherd. On Thursday, the choir of King Edward’s School joined the mixed choir with a service of music by Stanford and by former Organ Scholar Sir William McKie. 

    It was particularly enjoyable for the chapel community to hear solo singing from members of the visiting choirs. We thank them for their hard work and for taking the time to come and join us. 

    Students from the visiting schools enjoyed meeting and speaking with choral scholars. 

    Prospective students and applicants for choral awards and welcome to contact the director of Chapel Music, Thomas Allery, at any time for advice and to arrange an informal meeting. He may be contacted on thomas.allery@worc.ox.ac.uk 

    Bradfield School Chapel Choir
    The Chapel Choirs of Bradfield School and Worcester College, Oxford.

  • Oxford and Cambridge Singing School

    The chapel community at Worcester College were delighted to welcome 60 children from across Oxfordshire to Worcester at Christmas time. Children of between the ages of 7 and 13 participated in a two day singing course in the chapel and enjoyed learning new carols alongside more well known ones. In addition to tuition in singing, children also enjoyed taking part in classes on music theory and listening, where they composed descants, wrote their own carols and learned about how carols are incorporated into larger pieces. 

    The course was directed by Edward Wickham, Director of Music at St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge, Thomas Allery of Worcester College, and Ghislane Reece-Trapp. 

    This made a joyous final musical offering in the chapel before the College closed for Christmas. 

    Watch out for more singing courses with the Oxford and Cambridge Singing School on their website: 

    http://www.thecambridgesingingschool.co.uk/

    Oxford and Cambridge Singing School 1

    Oxford and Cambridge Singing School 2

  • Concert in Faversham – 'A Babe is Born'

    The mixed choir rounded off the Michaelmas term by travelling to Faversham in Kent, where they presented a concert of Christmas and Advent music in the Parish Church of St Mary of Charity. They performed music by Macmillan, Duruflé, Rutter, and Mathias.The choir enjoyed meeting members of the church and were grateful to the local residents of Faversham for their warm welcome and for their hospitality. 

    Regular choral services will resume in January. 

    A Babe is Born Concert Poster

    The choir rehearse before the concert.
    The choir rehearse before the concert. (Photo: Matthew Cheung Salisbury)

  • Harpsichord Concert

    On Wednesday November 25th, Thomas Allery will give a pre-dinner harpsichord recital in the College Chapel. All are welcome to attend the performance which begins at 6:00 and lasts for approximately 45 minutes. 

    Thomas will play music by Frescobaldi, Bach, Handel, Rossi, and Byrd. 

  • Victoria Requiem in Concert

    The mixed choir gave a performance of Victoria’s requiem of 1650 in the beautiful Queen’s chapel of the Savoy this week. Performing to a full audience, the choir began the concert with a series of English pieces including music by Howells, Stanford, Harris, and Elgar. Now in the fifth week of the term, the choir is now looking toward preparation for the Christmas and Advent services.

    The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy
    The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy
    IMAG0497
    The choir enjoyed a lively meal at Pizza Express before the concert!

    Worcester Choir between tube stations
    Worcester Choir between tube stations

  • Chorister Promotions

    Sunday October 11th marked the first Sunday of the Michaelmas term. The combined forces of Worcester’s choir of boys trebles and mixed voice choir sang the service of choral evensong, featuring music by Batten, Stanford and Wood.

    For our boy choristers it was an extra special occasion as we inducted two new probationer choristers, promoted five probationers to full chorister status, and inducted a new head chorister in his final year. 

    Chorister Promotions

    Chorister Cake

  • Gaudy Evensong, Saturday 3rd October 

    tab iconThe chapel community is looking forward to welcoming old members back on Saturday for an evensong sung by the mixed choir as part of the Gaudy weekend.

    All are welcome to attend the service which begins at 6:00.

    Members of the public are warmly invited to attend any services in the chapel throughout the year.

    For more information about the music performed by our choirs, see the music list. 

  • Boys' Choir Visit to Bristol, June 2015

    Worcester College Boys’ Choir, Oxford

    Bristol, 26th-27th June 2015

    Bristol1The boys of Worcester College Choir enjoyed a short visit to Bristol to sing a tea-time concert in one of the city’s largest central churches: Christ Church, Broad Street. Unlike their regular services, this concert comprised of upper-voices repertoire, without the Alto, Tenor and Bass Choral Scholars of Worcester College, thus presenting the boys with the challenges of independent singing. The two days of the trip also allowed for plenty of other activities besides singing.

    Friday 26th June

    The boys set off to Bristol following a normal school day, accompanied by a select group of parents, some of whom met us in Bristol and also attended the concert. Arriving in Bristol in the early evening, everybody enjoyed a meal in Bella Italia. We were met and welcomed there by Jonathan Price, Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church, whose excellent knowledge and hospitality was greatly appreciated throughout the weekend.

    Saturday 27th June

    The morning Bristol2was set aside for non-singing related activities. After a short walk around the city centre of Bristol (taking in the Cathedral and the area around Millennium Square), the boys spent the morning exploring the At-Bristol science museum. Following lunch in the museum, in the afternoon we rehearsed in Christ Church itself before the tea-time concert. The programme consisted of music by various English composers, interspersed with solo pieces on the historic 18th Century organ. The fine acoustic of the building complimented the polished performance given by the boys. Well-attended and with refreshments provided afterwards, the concert was a fitting testament to the ability of the boys, and a reflection of their hard work over the past year.

    Bristol3Many thanks are due to Richard Murray of Christ Church Cathedral School, and the team of parents who helped everything run smoothly, along with the local knowledge and organisation of Jonathan Price. The trip was an excellent way to round off the year for the boys.

    — Dan Mathieson, Junior Organ Scholar.

     

  • Brandenburg Choral Festival of London: Victoria Requiem

    Worcester College Chapel Choir will be performing as part of the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London 2015 Autumn Series.

    The concert, entitled ‘Victoria: Requiem‘ will also include Howells: Hymn to St. Cecilia and Stanford: Three Motets.

    Monday 9th November 2015, 7pm, The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy, Savoy Hill, Strand, London, WC2R 0DA.

    More information can be found at the Brandenburg.org website, and tickets can be purchased from the box office by calling 07528 776625 or visiting the website.

     

    victoria-flier

  • Choir Tour to Puglia

    Next week the chapel choir of mixed voices will be touring to Puglia, South Italy.

    The choir will perform concerts in Monopoli, Polignaro a Mare, Ugento, and Bari. The music for the concerts includes music by Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Gibbons, Hyde, Bruckner, Parry, and Clemens non Papa.

    You can follow the choir’s progress on twitter @worccollchoirs and Facebook. 

    Puglia Choir Tour 2015