Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine short Bible readings or lessons from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns and choir anthems.
Sir Stephen John Cleobury was an English organist and music director. He worked with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, where he served as music director from 1982 to 2019, and with the BBC Singers.
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is præcentor, from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before".
The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's College, Cambridge, in 1441, to provide daily singing in his Chapel, which remains the main task of the choir to this day.
Ralph Allwood, is a British choral conductor, composer and teacher, who currently holds the appointment of Fellow Commoner advising in Music at Queens' College, Cambridge. He was previously the Precentor and Director of Music at Eton College between 1985 and 2011. He had previously headed the music departments at Pangbourne and Uppingham.
Malcolm Archer is an English composer, conductor and organist. He combines this work with a recital career. Archer was formerly Organist and Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral, Wells Cathedral and at St Paul's Cathedral and Director of Chapel Music at Winchester College. He married Alison in 1994, and they have a son (b.1997) and a daughter. (b.1999)
Alan Gray was an English organist and composer.
The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge is a mixed choir whose primary function is to sing choral services in the Tudor chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. In January 2011, Gramophone named the choir the fifth best choir in the world.
The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge is considered to be one of the finest collegiate choirs in the world. It is part of the English cathedral tradition, having been founded to sing the daily liturgy in the College Chapel, though it is set apart from other English choirs of this tradition by the frequent inclusion of Continental works in its repertoire and its emphasis on polyphonic interpretations. Alongside the choir of King's College, Cambridge, it is one of the two most famous collegiate choirs in Cambridge, having had over 90 recordings published.
Andrew Nethsingha, FRCO, ARCM is an English choral conductor and organist, the son of the late Lucian Nethsingha also a cathedral organist. He is the Director of Music at St John's College, Cambridge, where he was previously the Organ Scholar. He was also the President of the Cathedral Organists' Association. He has performed in the UK, North America, South Africa, the Far East and many European countries.
Mark Wardell was Assistant Organist at Chichester Cathedral from 1997 to 2009, serving for five of those years as Director of Music at the Prebendal School, the Cathedral Choir's School. He had previously held positions at Royal Holloway College, University of London, St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and Christ's Hospital School, Horsham.
David John Chandler Price is a British choral conductor and organist.
The Choir of Trinity College, at Trinity College within the University of Melbourne, is a collegiate chapel choir modelled on the choirs at Cambridge and Oxford universities. The choir consists of 27 choral scholars. Under the supervision of the director of music, the choir and organ scholars provide music for regular services of Anglican worship in the college chapel as well as a schedule of public concert performances and recordings for ABC Classics.
Sarah MacDonald FRCO is a Canadian-born organist, conductor, and composer, living in the UK, and currently holds the positions of Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of the girl choristers at Ely Cathedral. She has been at Selwyn since 1999, and is the first woman to hold such a post in an Oxbridge Chapel. In 2018 MacDonald was given the honorary award of Associate of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM).
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, is a mixed-voice choir whose primary function is to lead services in the chapel of Clare College, Cambridge. Since its founding in 1972, the choir has gained an international reputation as one of the leading university choral groups in the world.
Jonathan Vaughn has been Assistant Organist of Wells Cathedral since September 2007. He has also held musical posts at St George's Chapel, Windsor and St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Matthew Jorysz is an English organist.
John Robinson is an English organist and choral conductor. Currently, he is the Director of Music at Blackburn Cathedral. Robinson is active as an Organ Recitalist, having performed in venues across the US and Europe, and recorded for Priory, Herald, Hyperion and Ambisonic. He has led choral festivals for various organisations including the RSCM and Pueri Cantores.
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.
William Fox is an English organist, currently Sub-Organist of St Paul's Cathedral.
