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Chester Cathedral Choir is the resident choir of Chester Cathedral, Cheshire, England. In common with most British cathedral choirs, the choir sings evensong daily during term time.
The Lay Clerks (alto, tenor and bass) sing both with the boys and the girls. In common with many other British cathedral choirs, the choir sings every day during the week and weekends (except for Wednesdays) together with a busy schedule of broadcasts, tours, recordings and concerts. There is also a mixed-voice adult choir - the Nave Choir (the longest-running cathedral voluntary choir in the country) - which is directed by the Assistant Director of Music, and sings a service of Compline regularly on Sunday evenings during term time.
Since 1997 the cathedral choir has recruited girl as well as boy trebles, both front rows singing regularly with the lay clerks. Occasionally, the girls and boys combine for special events.
The choir is directed and accompanied by Philip Rushforth (Director of Music), Benjamin Chewter (Assistant Director of Music) and Geoffrey Woollatt (Assistant Organist).
Notable recordings of the choir include: The Water of Life (2002); Love Eternal (2003); the Sing for Joy collection; and the Festival Evensong (2007). The choir also broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, and also recorded a concert for a broadcast on BBC Radio 2 during Christmas 2007. Their most recent recording is 'Glory to the New-Born King' (2012), which was released on the Priory label and attracted wide critical acclaim, notably in Gramophone magazine. In July 2012 the choir sang a live broadcast of Evensong on BBC Radio 3 as part of the Chester Festival; this included the first broadcast performance of The Chester Service by Francis Pott.
Chester Cathedral Choir toured the United States for the first time in October 2007 and toured France in the summer of 2012 (performing in the cathedrals of Troyes and Albi, and the basilica of St-Sernin, Toulouse).
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St Albans Cathedral Choir is an English Cathedral Choir based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is made up of around 20 boy choristers aged 7–14 and 12 adult lay clerks. In 2003 it appeared in the coronation scene of the film Johnny English.
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Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word vesperas as æfensang, which became 'evensong' in modern English. It is now usually applied to the Anglican daily office but can also refer to the pre-Reformation form of vespers or services of evening prayer from other denominations.
The Choir of Somerville College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, is mixed voice and is led by a Director of Chapel Music, currently William Dawes, incumbent since 2017. In conjunction with the organ scholars, the choir is central to the musical life of the college and, in its present form, was founded by Francis Knights and Sam Bayliss in 2001. Previous Directors of Chapel Music include David Crown, who directed the choir between 2007 and 2015. The choir sings in Somerville College Chapel every Sunday during term and performs regularly in concerts organised by Somerville Music Society. The organ of the college chapel is a traditionally voiced instrument by Harrison & Harrison. Somerville offers up to five Choral Exhibitions each year to applicants reading any subject.
