8 features features 9 My gap year led to a career in West End musicals Exploring faith and liturgy led to my ordination GABRIEL Vick’s experience in the 1950s and stars TV comedian my craft and we even enjoyed a tour the end of the year in the nave. I IT was a chance for Jamie of musical life before going together with integrity. priests in the Church of Portsmouth led him to a career in the Catherine Tate. to Caen. I sung with military bands love the fun and freedom of a capella Hawkey to explore faith away up to Cambridge as an “I enjoyed so much England. West End – and to the premiere of a It all started when he came to and even paraded behind a donkey on singing. I’m a bit of a theatrical from home – and it led to a undergraduate choral scholar. about it. The tour to Estonia “Without the gap year musical that he has co-written. Portsmouth Cathedral back in 2001- Palm Sunday. I enjoyed David Price’s show off so it suited me down to the call to ordination. “I got so much out of it! will always stay with me scheme, it’s quite likely that He signed up to the gap-year 02 to be a choral scholar and teacher. can-do attitude – I once enquired how ground!” Jamie spent his gap year Musically, my sightreading – especially the beautiful I would never have ended scheme when the trend was to spend “I wanted the real world he was going to pay for a proposed Gabriel studied at Christ Church, on the choral scholar scheme came on in leaps and bounds, gratitude and hospitality from up in Portsmouth, and in St a year working abroad. He devoted experience of what it is like to work revamp to the music school. He Oxford, and then went to the Royal at Portsmouth Cathedral in but more than that I made people who had little, and who Mary’s parish, which was the a year to teaching and singing in in a job and live independently,” he simply smiled and said ‘faith’. Academy of Music to study musical 1997-98, and it was a pivotal some magnificent friends, had been through so much. place which taught me more Portsmouth instead. said. “I worked as drama assistant “David encouraged us gap year theatre. Since then, he’s appeared in a at Portsmouth Grammar School and students – me, Simon Day, Andy “The year in Portsmouth helped year for him. He came back to grew in my faith, and But the day-to-day singing of than anywhere else how to variety of West End shows over the sang as a tenor in the choir. Ford and Will Ings – to start our own with confidence and life experience,” our diocese nine years later as found myself really loving the liturgy was also essential be a priest. And the rhythm a curate at St Mary’s Church past 10 years, including Avenue Q, “There was a lot of joy and happy close harmony group called Mind he said. “The close harmony group Portsmouth diocese. for me. of a choral liturgical life has Cabaret, A Little Night Music, La memories. In the school, I learnt The Gap which was a real joy. I definitely kept alive my love of stage in Fratton. Since then he has “David and Kitty Price “Portsmouth was remained very important to Cage Aux Folles, and Chariots of how to be responsible for a group was personally inspired by the visit performing. In Miss Atomic Bomb, worked at Westminster Abbey became lifelong friends, somewhere where I was able me.” Fire. He played Feuilly in the film of children on my own and create to my school of the Kings Singers you will find plenty of a capella close and is now dean of a college at and I got to know Bishop to explore my faith away from He became precentor at version of Les Miserables. and carry out lesson plans. I directed and desperately wanted to sing the harmony moments – and now you Cambridge University. Kenneth. He became quite my home context. When I was Westminster Abbey and is The new musical comedy Miss shows and put on and judged pupils’ arrangements I had heard. know where that came from!” He said: “I wanted an inspirational figure for ordained some nine years or now dean of Clare College, Atomic Bomb, which he wrote with events. One of my former pupils, “We practiced regularly after Miss Atomic Bomb is being something which would give me as I explored a call to so later, I went to serve as Cambridge, director of studies Adam Long and Alex Jackson-Long, Glynn Jones, is now a stand up Evensong and began to get gigs with performed from March 7 until me a year’s experience of the priesthood, and began to a curate at St Mary’s with in theology for the college, and is now being staged at St James’s comedian! those associated with the cathedral, April 9. For more details, see www. singing almost every day, think about how pastoral and Bob White, one of the most assistant diocesan director of Theatre. It’s set in Las Vegas in “In the choir, I continued to hone and put on a fabulous concert towards stjamestheatre.co.uk Gabriel Vick and to expand my horizons academic work could be held tremendously gifted parish ordinands for Ely diocese. The Rev Jamie Hawkey Pioneer has played in cathedrals all over the country Best cathedral gap year scheme JAMES Davy’s year working at play it since. It was a lot of our cathedral was a pioneering responsibility. one – he was the first gapper to “It did help me to think be an organ scholar. about whether I wanted to do He went straight from this as a job, and it gave me a school, after experience of taste of what it would be like.” inT is 25 years sincecou the very ntry marks 25 years being a chorister, to be organ James went on to be organ first choral scholars began scholar in 2000-01. It helped scholar at Durham Cathedral arriving at our cathedral him to decide to pursue for three years while he was I music as a vocation, and he studying at university there. for their gap year. is now organist and Master He also ran a chapel choir in These were young singers and of Choristers at Chelmsford his second year. Then he was musicians who wanted to spend a year Cathedral. assistant organist at Winchester working at our cathedral, helping with the “It was a terrific College, subsequently organ vast array of services and concerts. experience,” he said. “It was scholar – and latterly acting It would allow them to devote a year of my first real experience of assistant Master of Music – at their lives to serving God through music, cathedral music from the St Albans Cathedral, and then and also help them to decide whether to inside, apart from being a was appointed to his first paid make music a career. Typically, it would chorister. It was good to see position as assistant director of be their gap year between school and behind the scenes. It also music at Blackburn Cathedral, university, although some choral scholars started me off on the journey where he stayed for six years have been postgraduates. to where I am today 16 years before moving to Chelmsford. Since the scheme started in 1991, a later. “I hope to come to the total of 103 choral scholars have spent a “Portsmouth was a good reunion,” he said. “There gap year working at the cathedral. Many place to be, because they gave have been lots of changes in have gone on to become professional Memories from 25 years of gap year choral scholars: (top left) Mind the Gap singing on board HMS Warrior; (centre) on a tour to Belgium in 2010; (top me a lot to do – I wasn’t just personnel, but David and Kitty singers, organists and musicians, in right) choral scholars Chris Hann, Tim Burtt and Mike Bunch singing; (below): Oli Jones singing for the 60th anniversary of D-Day Money makes the the traditional office boy Price are still there, and there churches, cathedrals and in the secular themselves enormously, they are learning English, maths and lots of other subjects. “The year can be life-changing for a we hold auditions means that we can making the tea. It was my are some men in the choir who world. a lot and that they can think of no better “One of the reasons the scheme has lot of them. Six of the 103 have become select the best. world go round first regular experience of I know. And next month, our cathedral way of spending that precious year.” become popular nationally is that they priests, which is similar to the proportion “We are expecting more than 70 ...does it? accompanying choristers “I’m enjoying is hosting a special 25th anniversary Dr David Price, our cathedral’s recognise they can get experience behind of choristers who become ordained. Many of them for the reunion. Many of the for weekly services, my job here in celebration, gathering together as many of organist and Master of Choristers since the scenes both in the cathedral and in of them go on to make a living out of scholars formed themselves into smaller and I learnt how to Chelmsford. It’s a those former choral scholars as possible. 1996, inherited the scheme from his a school. And of course, they often get music, and as professional musicians, singing groups while they were here, so Listen to Share Radio accompany the Psalms, small cathedral, but They’ll meet up on Bank Holiday Monday predecessor Adrian Lucas. experience of travelling abroad with the they talk about the scheme in the right we expect different groups to sing close to help you decide among other things. very active. Music is – May 2 – for a reunion that will include “When I started, there was only one choir when we go on tours. circles and encourage others to apply. harmony while we have drinks. And it “In my second well supported and Evensong, dinner and the chance to look choral scholar each year, but the new “It is always a bit of a shock every “Most of them come from somewhere will be great to catch up with them all!” shareradio.co.uk term, I played for I’ve been able to at old photos and share memories. headteacher of Portsmouth Grammar September, as half of the back row of else in the country to be with us – those The reunion will include refreshments a service with a build on the work It’s a scheme that has been praised School, Tim Hands, arrived and we the Cathedral Choir changes, and that who start as a chorister with us and then and rehearsals before Evensong with Retune your DAB digital radio 15-minute anthem, here. There have by many of those involved with music agreed to increase it to five or six each new team has to blend together. But it’s join us for their gap year are exceptions. Portsmouth Cathedral Choir at 5pm, to Share Radio or download which was the biggest been appearances on around the country. year,” he said. great to have some fresh blood coming They used to be housed with choir drinks in the nave at 6pm, and a formal the Share Radio App thing I’d ever done. radio and TV Ralph Allwood, who was director of “Now there are up to seven each into the choir each year, and one of the families, but now they live in cathedral dinner in the Royal Naval Club from I had to learn it and at the music at Eton School for 26 years, said: year. They all sing every day for us, and most satisfying things about this job is to accommodation and so they are all living 7pm. There’ll also be a chance to look then, which Edinburgh “I am very pleased to recommend the they all have jobs at the grammar school share the cathedral with them, and mould only about 500 yards away. at old photos and hear close harmony means Festival.” gap year scheme at Portsmouth. Every in different departments. There’s always them into a new team – before waving “And because the scheme is so singing after Evensong. I’ve been single person I have recommended it to one in the music department and often them goodbye and seeing them excel popular, we have had more and more For more details, see www. radio able to sharing ideas about money has reported to me that they are enjoying one teaching sport, but they also teach elsewhere. people apply in recent years. The fact that portsmouthcathedral.org.uk/music.