Cambridge strikes a chord with gifted young vocalists

Talented young singers will experience the life of a Choral Scholar as part of an intensive course of musical training at St John’s College, finishing with a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 30 August. 

Some of Britain’s most talented young choristers will come to Cambridge University next week for an intensive course which will give them a chance to sound out life as a Choral Scholar.

The Cambridge Choral Course, held at St John’s College, enables young people with a passion for singing and music to spend a week in Cambridge, living in student accommodation at St John’s and visiting other Colleges in the University, to get a taste of Cambridge’s vibrant choral tradition.

The course will include rehearsals, concerts and vocal training workshops, and will culminate in a live recording on BBC Radio 4’s “Sunday Worship” programme, broadcast from St John’s Chapel on Sunday 30 August at 8:10am. There will also be a free concert held in St John’s College Old Divinity School on Saturday 29 August at 9:00pm, open to all.

Like most Cambridge Colleges, St John’s takes on a number of Choral Scholars every year. These are undergraduate students who, as well as studying for a degree, also sing in the world-renowned College Choir, performing regular services and concerts in the College Chapel and travelling to different countries on the Choir’s annual tour.

The Cambridge Choral Course attracts around 75 young choristers aged 16-20 from a wide range of backgrounds and is one of six courses which are run across the UK each year. The national course programme was started in 1980 by distinguished choral director Ralph Allwood, to help young singers develop their talents and potential. Over 7,000 young people have taken the course since its inception. 

While the initiative was initially set up to provide advice and preparation for young people applying for Choral Scholarships, and about 80% of Cambridge’s Choral Scholars have gone through the course, increasingly the scheme has attracted a huge variety of people who enjoy singing and performing, no matter what their future goals.

The course has a dedicated bursary scheme, which ensures that any young person who wishes to pursue a musical career can take part, regardless of financial background.

The week-long experience of attending the course is challenging but rewarding. Students receive individual lessons and workshops from world-leading singers and conductors as well as sessions in performance, sight-reading and vocal techniques.

St John’s College alumnus and celebrated counter-tenor Iestyn Davies will also lead the group in a Vocal Masterclass. Davies, who was a Choral Scholar himself, has become known as one of the greatest operatic singers of his generation and has performed at venues across the globe, including London, New York and Milan. In 2010, The Independent described him as “the world’s top counter-tenor” and in 2013 he performed in the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms.

“Having spent six years as a chorister at St John's the transition later on to become a Choral Scholar was undoubtedly thanks to taking part in a Cambridge Choral Course”, Davies said.

“The course combined an intense yet enjoyable atmosphere of learning and music-making, inspiring me to work harder and setting a standard to which I urged myself on to reach. I still feel I'm on that journey!'

Students taking part in the course also have the chance to experience life at Cambridge. As well as staying at St John’s, where they will take part in services at the College Chapel, they will also participate in recitals in other Colleges including Trinity and King’s.

For more information about the Cambridge Choral Course, see the course website.

For more information about Choral Scholarships at Cambridge, see the webpage here.

For more information about the Choir of St John’s College, see the Choir webpage here.