Category: News

The Boys’ Choir depart for Rome on Thursday 24th July in a tour undertaken jointly with St Giles’ Parish Church Choir.  The itinerary sees them sing in all four of Rome’s basilicas (including the world-famous St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City), alongside a programme of leisure activities, expertly organised by Dr Nicholas Prozzillo, Director of Music at St Giles’ Church.

Tour updates will be posted on the choirs’ Facebook and Twitter pages, plus members of the tour party will be tweeting using the hashtag #wcctour. (NB. This feed may also contain tweets posted by those not part of the tour party, and such tweets are not endorsed by Worcester College)

If you are in the Rome area, we would be delighted to see you at one of these events:

Performance Itinerary

Saturday 26th July

11.15am: Concert in San Paolo fuori le Mura

6pm: Mass in Santa Maria Maggiore

Sunday 27th July

12pm: Mass in San Giovanni in Laterano

4pm: Mass in San Pietro in Vaticano

Worcester College is delighted to announce the appointment of Thomas Allery as Director of Chapel Music. Thomas held the Organ Scholarship of Worcester College between 2007 and 2010 and has since held posts at Canterbury Cathedral, St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge and Magdalen College, Oxford, alongside undertaking further study at the Royal College of Music. Thomas will work with both choirs and the organ scholars to further develop the chapel’s music. We are looking forward to welcoming Thomas when he joins us in September.

This has been an extraordinarily busy year for the college choirs, who have celebrated the college’s tercentenary with a series of special events.

A recording celebrating Worcester College’s composers is to be released in October.  The disc, recorded in April in the chapel of Keble College, features music by Rubbra, Leighton, Sherlaw Johnson, Saxton, Hyde, Pritchard, Pickard-Cambridge and McKie.

The college’s Tercentenary Concert took place in St John’s Smith Square in May.  Nicholas Cleobury directed the current mixed choir, augmented by a chorus of alumni, alumni soloists and the period orchestra Charivari Agréable in Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Handel’s Dixit Dominus.  Nicholas Freestone directed the current mixed choir in Robert Saxton’s At the round earth’s imagined corners and our tercentenary commission, Deborah Pritchard’s setting of the Benedicite.  The performances were excellent, and this was a fantastic way to celebrate the college’s tercentenary.

Both college choirs took part in a BBC Radio 4 Sunday Worship recording on 15th June in a service celebrating Trinity Sunday.  The service is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8.10am on Sunday 7th September.  The choirs sing music by Archer, Tallis, Hildegard, Pritchard and Halls, whilst the Chaplain preaches on ‘The Harmony of the Trinity’.

The Mixed Choir’s year ended with recording sessions for a new release with Resonus Classics.  A follow-up to the critically acclaimed This Christmas Night, this will be a second volume of contemporary carols, featuring the music of Francis Pott, Richard Rodney Bennett and Gabriel Jackson, among others.  The recording will be released on the Resonus Classics label in time for the festive season, and will be available via direct download.

The Boys’ Choir conclude their year by touring Rome at the end of July, in a tour joint with St Giles’ Parish Church.  The choir will sing concerts and services at San Paulo Fuori le Mura, Sancta Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano and St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.

A huge thank you to all our singers, our organ scholars and our Chaplain for making these events possible.

Tickets are still available for our Tercentenary Concert at St John’s Smith Square on Friday 2nd May.

Former Organ Scholar Nicholas Cleobury directs performances of Haydn‘s Nelson Mass and Handel‘s Dixit Dominus. The chorus made up of the current Mixed Choir and alumni members.  Soloists are alumni members of the Worcester Chapel Choir who are now enjoying a professional singing career.  The performance is accompanied by Charivari Agréable (“one of Oxford’s classiest baroque bands”).

The current Mixed Choir also perform contemporary works, celebrating Worcester College’s commitment to composition teaching, a rich heritage of Fellows of Music who are eminent composers, sparking many fine student composers who have gone on to enjoy professional careers.  The choir performs the current Fellow of Music, Robert Saxton‘s setting of the John Donne poem At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners and joins with leading trumpeter Simon Desbruslais to perform the première of the college’s Tercentenary Commission: Benedicite by Deborah Pritchard.

Tickets are available from the St John’s Smith Square Box Office:
http://www.sjss.org.uk/events/choir-worcester-college-oxford
020 7222 1061
£20, £15, £10 (concessions 20% off)

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If you are interested in becoming a Choral or Organ Scholar at Worcester College, you are advised to attend the University Open Day, which takes place on Saturday 26th April.  Further information may be found at the Music Faculty’s website.

We are holding an Open Evensong on this date: rehearsal at 5pm, service at 6.15pm.  All are welcome to sing or listen.

Introit: God grant we grace Tallis
Responses: Reading
Canticles: Howells in G
Anthem: O Radient Dawn MacMillam

Friday 2nd May, 7.30pm

St John’s Smith Square, London

Tickets available today from St John’s Smith Square Box Office

Nicholas Cleobury conducts great large-scale choral masterpieces by Handel and Haydn, with Nicholas Freestone conducting the current chapel choir in music by Saxton and the world premiere of a new commission for the choir by Worcester alumna Deborah Pritchard, one of the most exciting young composers in Britain today.

Worcester College Chapel Choir with Charivari Agréable
Period Instrument Orchestra

Nicholas Cleobury and Nicholas Freestone, conductors
Simon Desbruslais, trumpet
Robyn Allegra Parton, soprano
Anna Crookes, soprano
Gwendolen Martin, soprano
Anna Harvey, mezzo-soprano
Adam Smith, tenor
Robert Lomax, tenor
Matthew Cheung-Salisbury, bass
Jonathan Arnold, bass

Deborah Pritchard Benedicite (world premiere)
Handel Dixit Dominus
Robert Saxton At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners
Haydn Missa in Angustiis, ‘Nelson Mass’

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Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

The Mixed Choir present a celebration of Worcester College’s composers past and present.  Featuring music by current Fellow and Tutor in Music, Robert Saxton, alongside former Fellows Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Kenneth Leighton and Edmund Rubbra.  Also featured is music by former college students, including Deborah Pritchard, Thomas Hyde (now also a college lecturer), Stephen Oliver and William McKie.

The concert takes place in the college chapel, beginning at 7.30pm.  Tickets will cost £5 (£1 concessions), including refreshments following the concert.  Tickets will be available on the door, or can be reserved by emailing tickets@worcesterchapel.co.uk.

The Chapel and Choir are proud to be taking part in several special events as part of this tercentenary year for Worcester College.

Recording

The Mixed Choir will be recording a CD of music by Worcester College’s composers, directed by former Organ Scholar Thomas Allery.  Worcester College is proud of its commitment to new music, and has been the home of many composers, both Fellows and students of the college.  This recording will feature music by former Fellows Edmund Rubbra, Kenneth Leighton and Robert Sherlaw Johnson, alongside current Fellow and Tutor in Music, Robert Saxton.  Music by former students of the college, including that of Thomas Hyde (also a current college lecturer), Deborah Pritchard, Stephen Oliver and William McKie, will also be featured.  The recording sessions will take place in April, and the disc will be available to purchase from the early Summer.

Tercentenary Concert at St John’s Smith Square

The Mixed Choir, augmented by alumnus members and under the baton of former Organ Scholar Nicholas Cleobury, will perform a very special tercentenary concert in St John’s Smith Square, London on Friday 2nd May. Cleobury will direct performances of Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Handel’s Dixit Dominus.  The choir will be accompanied by Charivari Agréable (“One of the classiest baroque bands” – The Observer) and the solos will be sung by former members of the college choir who now enjoy professional careers.  In addition, the current Mixed Choir will perform music by Robert Saxton and Deborah Pritchard.

Tickets on sale from 17th March, via the St John’s Smith Square box office.

Tercentenary Evensong Series

We will also celebrate Worcester College’s composers by performing their music in the context of Choral Evensong, as part of the Mixed Choir’s weekly round of services.  This occasional series will begin on Monday 10th February, where music by Drakeford and Prichard will be performed, and will continue throughout the year.  All are very welcome to these services, which will be advertised through our Facebook and Twitter pages and this website.

‘Let Us Now Praise Famous Men’ – Hilary Term Concert

The Mixed Choir will perform a selection of music by Worcester College composers in concert on Saturday 8th March at 7.30pm in the chapel.  To include music by Saxton, Sherlaw Johnson, Leighton, Rubbra, Hyde, Pritchard, Oliver, McKie and Pickard-Cambridge.

Tickets (£5/£1) are available by emailing tickets@worcesterchapel.co.uk or on the door.

We wish all our readers a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

This Christmas Night (A collection of contemporary carols sung by the Mixed Choir – BBC Music Magazine’s Christmas Choice 2012) is available to purchase as a digital download from Resonus Classics.

Noël (Traditional carols sung by the Boys’ Choir) is available to purchase from the Porter’s Lodge.

Thank you to everybody who has played a part in the life of the chapel in 2013. We look forward to a very exciting 2014, when we celebrate the college’s tercentenary.

The chapel celebrates the coming of Christmas and the ending of the University term during events this week.

The college’s Carol Service will take place at 5.45pm on Sunday 1st December, featuring congregational carols alongside performances from both choirs.  There will also be readings and prayers under candlelight.  Following the service, minced pies and mulled wine will be served in the cloisters.

A Festival of Readings and Carols will take place at 6pm on Thursday 5th December.  Once again, both choirs will perform alongside congregational carols and a selection of festive readings.  Minced pies and mulled wine to be served afterwards in the cloisters.

Both of these events are very well attended, so please arrive early to guarantee your seat.

Facebook event: Carol Service

Facebook event: Festival of Readings and Carols