Life as a Chorister An introduction for boys and girls 2013-2014 An incredible tradition … “Boy choristers have sung the daily liturgy in education, it also teaches some of the most English cathedrals and collegiate churches important lessons for life, such as self- for fourteen hundred years. They are discipline and working together as a team. treasured as a unique part of our religious In September 2006, to build on the 800 year and cultural heritage, unmatched anywhere history, Lichfield Cathedral School launched else in the world.” an exciting new choir for talented girl Alan Mould, ‘The English Chorister’ singers. The choir developed quickly and extended the Cathedral School’s existing This world, however, can seem quite alien to reputation for musical excellence. Last those looking in on it from the outside and September the choir was installed as part of we seek to explain some of the wonderful the Choral Foundation, so they are now qualities of this life in the following pages. Lichfield Cathedral Girl Choristers. Lichfield Cathedral has had boy choristers as Please read on and get in touch should you part of its history for over 800 years and this desire further information or if you are tradition still thrives today. Life as a chorister interested in a relative or friend becoming a in the cathedral can be challenging, chorister. rewarding and exciting – all at the same time! Whilst offering a first-rate musical What makes a chorister? Take a normal child Give them individual singing lessons Add regular rehearsal with others Add discipline Add team work Add commitment and dedication Add several different languages Add a huge wealth of music and styles You have a peak performer – a chorister! Practice makes perfect With the boom of reality television programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing on Ice, we see that practice makes perfect. The hours that go into perfecting one routine alone are enormous. The choristers in our Cathedral choir are essentially normal everyday children and they have to work hard at their singing. If you are a champion diver, you would get up early every morning to train and this is exactly what our choristers do. This commitment of both time and effort, combined with the support of the skilled musicians who direct them, means that our choristers are effectively professional singers before they hit their teens. If you think about this in relation to other musical bodies, then it is truly amazing. Can you imagine an 8 year old in a professional symphony orchestra? Probably not! Yet if you think about it, in choirs across the country there are 8 year old children working alongside professional adult singers. This is almost unique in the musical world. A week in the life of a chorister Boys’ timetable Girls’ timetable Day/Time Activity Day/Time Activity Monday Monday 7.45am-8.45am Rehearsal 7.50am-8.45am Rehearsal 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day, then prep 6.00pm-7.15pm Rehearsal 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal in Cathedral Tuesday 5.30pm-6.15pm Choral Evensong - Girls’ Voices 7.45am-8.45am Rehearsal Tuesday 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day 7.50am-8.45am Rehearsal 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day 5.30-6.15pm Choral Evensong - Full Choir Wednesday Wednesday No choir activity – to coincide with the School’s Men’s voices only – no choir activity – to coincide with main sports fixtures day the School’s main sports fixtures day Thursday 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day 7.50am-8.45am Rehearsal 4.00pm-bedtime Parents may take choristers out 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day Thursday 7.45am-8.45am Rehearsal 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day Saturday Once each half-term 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal 5.30pm-6.15pm Choral Evensong - Boys’ Voices 5.30pm-6.15pm Choral Evensong – Full Choir Friday Sunday Once each half-term 7.45am-8.45am Rehearsal 9.25am-10.20am Rehearsal 8.45am-4.00pm Normal school day 10.30am-12noon Choral Eucharist – Full Choir 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal 12noon-2.30pm Lunch in school and recreation 5.30pm-6.15pm Choral Evensong - Full Choir 2.30pm-3.20pm Rehearsal 6.15pm-6.55pm Full Rehearsal in the Cathedral 3.30pm-4.15pm Choral Evensong – Full Choir Saturday* 8.15am-8.45am Music Theory lesson 8.45am-10.30am Rehearsal 10.30am-4.15pm Parents may take choristers out 4.45pm-5.20pm Rehearsal 5.30pm-6.15pm Choral Evensong – Full Choir 6.30pm-8.55pm Parents may take choristers out Sunday* 9.20am-10.20am Rehearsal 10.30am-12noon Choral Eucharist – Full Choir 12noon-2.30pm Parents may take choristers out 2.40pm-3.20pm Rehearsal 3.30pm-4.15pm Choral Evensong – Full Choir 4.30pm-bedtime Parents may take choristers out *An exeat weekend, when the Girl Choristers will sing the weekend services, occurs once every half-term. Choristers go home straight after evensong on Friday evening and return on Sunday evening. Activities beyond the normal routine Christmas Since the mid-1980s, the boy choristers have toured abroad with visits to Holland, At the end of the autumn term, the boy Germany, France, Italy and the USA. It is choristers go home, then return for hoped that there will be at least one tour Christmas Week to perform services and during a chorister’s time here. The girl concerts up to and including Boxing Day. choristers have visited Dublin and have a A programme of entertainment is laid on for fruitful exchange programme with the periods when they are not singing – these Limburg Choir in Germany. usually include a party at the Deanery and various mystery tours such as mountain Tours are set up on the basis that, whilst biking, sledging and cinema trips. This is a no one is paid for the trip, no one has to hugely entertaining time and there is a pay for it either. Therefore, a certain superb sense of community amongst the amount of fund-raising is necessary and boys, their families and staff. The boys return choristers and parents throw themselves home after our main carol service on Boxing into this with aplomb. Day for a well-deserved break before term Instrumental lessons starts again. Boy choristers learn at least two musical The girl choristers continue to sing Monday instruments, of which one is the piano. evensong in the week leading up to Practice is supervised in school on each Christmas and are involved in the morning instrument at different times of the day, service on Christmas Day. and most make very swift progress. While it is not a requirement, many girl choristers Holy Week/Easter also play instruments and both boys and Depending upon when Easter falls, the boys girls perform in ensembles, orchestras and may stay after the end of the Easter school bands at the school. term to sing services until Easter. If it falls in the middle of the holidays, the boys finish with the rest of school and then return for Holy Week services up to and including Easter Monday. If the latter is the case, an entertainment programme (similar to Christmas) is arranged for them. Again, the girl choristers continue to sing Monday evensong in Holy Week and are involved in the morning service on Easter Sunday. Tours and Recitals In addition to its work in the Cathedral, the choristers undertakes a certain amount of work away from Lichfield. The boys and the girls make several visits a year around the Diocese to give concerts, designed to strengthen links between the Cathedral and local parishes and to bring music to some places where there is none. Who’s who? – The Musicians Benjamin Lamb Cathy’s recent organ recital appearances have Director of Music, Lichfield Cathedral included College Chapels of Emmanuel, Magdalen, King’s , Girton and St. John’s (Cambridge), the Ben started his musical career as a chorister at Cathedrals of Gloucester, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral. His interest in church music Westminster, Derby and Winchester, the Minsters of continued as a scholar at Bryanston School, after Southwell and Wimborne, Christchurch Priory, which he spent his gap year in Truro as Organ Tewkesbury Abbey, St. Mary’s Church, Redcliffe Scholar at the Cathedral under David Briggs with (Bristol) and the Albert Hall (Nottingham). In addition the intention of going into the Cathedral Organ to playing the organ, Cathy enjoys singing with (and world after university. sometimes accompanying) the Sarum Voices, as During this time a Salisbury-based choir; she is the organist on three of wrist injury made their CDs. Her first solo CD, recorded on the organ by playing the organ B. C. Shepherd & Sons at St. Alphage, Burnt Oak impossible, and (London) was released in 2003. over the next three Part of her current role involves directing the years at Manchester Cathedral’s exciting outreach project entitled University Ben MusicShare, funded initially by Sing Up and now by moved his focus LCS. Cathy also founded the Lichfield Cathedral towards Young Voices - the Cathedral’s non-audition conducting and choir training. After gaining a PGCE Saturday morning choir for 7-15 year olds - which at Bath Spa University College he returned to currently has about 60 members. Salisbury to teach music, initially as Assistant Director of Music at the Godolphin School, then as Head of Music at La Retraite Swan School. In the late 1990s he founded Sarum Voices (a semi- professional choir based in Salisbury) and this led to a more serious approach to his own singing and understanding of vocal technique.