Spotlight on… Our choristers

John Conway, Provost at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral and a Trustee of the School, describes the crucial relationship between School and Cathedral.

“Most of the primary pupils at St Mary’s Music School, and between a quarter and a third of the total pupils, are choristers, so they remain a crucial part of the School make up. At chorister auditions we look for potential, a basic musicality, but not the finished article. We have worked hard to increase the diversity of our chorister intake, so that any child with a passion and flair for singing can undertake that transformational journey.

Choristers perform as part of a high-level choir on a daily basis from day one – that is an unrivalled experience, which leads to a life of music making and appreciation. As they progress and become senior choristers, they develop the confidence to contribute significantly and tackle a huge range of choral repertoire. It is one of the privileges of my job to watch that transformation of children, through the discipline of singing, into confident, articulate young people.

The music the choristers sing has a transcendent purpose –it exists to express, lift and transform the human spirit. The choristers quickly become aware of the seriousness of what they offer, but it certainly doesn’t preclude them having fun! They realise, however, the potential for music to express things in ways that words alone cannot. And they realise too that it’s something done jointly, in concert with others. There are solos for them to sing but they arise out of, and are in service to, the whole. So singing is an exercise in community, in listening to others, and in together creating something of real worth and purpose.

When the School moves to Calton Hill, it will be a big change and it’s important that the choristers still feel the Cathedral is their home, alongside the School. It will be vital that that connection with the Cathedral, and with the tradition of rehearsing in our amazing Song School, is not lost. However, the opportunity for the choristers to be part of a world-class institution, and to develop the connections with wider music making that the School enables, is to be cherished.

As I often remark, the Cathedral and the new school will, between them, embrace the whole of Princes Street and the heart of our wonderful city – and that is an opportunity to be celebrated.”