St John's Voices

St John’s Voices

St John’s Voices is a new mixed-voice college choir which sings Choral Evensong each Monday during Full Term. In addition to weekly services in the College Chapel, the Choir also performs at College concerts and functions, and in time will undertake tours. The choir is open to all current students at St John’s, both undergraduate and postgraduate.

The College’s mixed-voice choir St John’s Voices consists of 30 singers across the Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass parts, and it is anticipated that each year there will be vacancies in all voice parts. The College offers a number of Choral Awards for members of St John’s Voices: award-holders receive financial help towards singing lessons, and perform occasional simple administrative tasks in support of the running of the choir. The choir rehearses on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5.15pm, and is therefore perfect for students whose academic and extracurricular activities preclude joining a choir with a greater time commitment. St John’s Voices is accompanied by organ and occasionally other instrumentalists, and each year the choir enlists the assistance of an Organ Scholar, usually from another College within Cambridge. St John’s Voices warmly welcomes both male and female singers from amongst the college’s students, as well as through the University Choral Award Scheme.

The Musical Director Graham Walker is the Musical Director of St John’s Voices and is very familiar with Chapel routines. He was first a Chorister and later a Choral Scholar of St John’s College, where he read mathematics. He subsequently studied cello at the Royal Academy of Music, and now directs a number of choirs and orchestras. Graham’s cello playing takes him around the world, notably to Latin America, where he was awarded a plaque live on Colombian National TV for his “outstanding contribution to Colombian Andean music.”

Repertoire St John’s Voices generally performs music from the Anglican choral tradition, with works by composers such as Byrd, Tallis, Stanford and Howells featuring heavily in the weekly evensongs. Alongside this the Choir has, during its first year, performed a premiere of a new Evening Canticles setting by Iain Farrington as well as music by Purcell, accompanied by a string ensemble, and by Rachmaninov in its original Russian language.

The Application Process Please contact the Admissions Department for more information on the academic application process (01223 338703). The choir is open to all current students at St John’s, both undergraduate and postgraduate, entry being by audition with the Musical Director, Graham Walker. (ghw22@cam.ac.uk). Students who have been offered academic places at St John’s will receive information about the choral awards application process; further auditions also take place once students arrive in Cambridge.