First female choristers welcomed as members of The Choir of St John’s

“Extending membership to talented female singers creates an exceptional new musical opportunity for women and girls”

The Choir of St John’s has made history by admitting girls and women for the first time – making it the only Oxbridge choir to have both male and female members among the children and the students.

Three girls and one woman joined the internationally renowned choir as full members this week.

Founded in the 1670s, The Choir of St John’s has a rich, warm and distinctive sound. Known internationally for its broadcasts, concert tours and more than 100 recordings, the choir is made- up of around 20-25 choristers, who join from the age of eight, and around 16 adult choral scholars who are largely students at St John's College, one of the 31 constituent Colleges of the University of Cambridge.

Like all new choristers, the girls – Amelia, 10, and Ingrid and Martha, both nine, have started as probationers and will begin their world-class musical education by attending choir rehearsals. At first they do not sing in services but will soon join the choristers on the top line.

The girls are pupils at St John’s College School and Nina Vinther, the first female alto, is an MPhil student in European and Latin American Cultures at Trinity College. Nina, who is writing a dissertation on Schubert's song cycle Winterreise in a warming world, will join the other choral students in the training of the choristers.

Andrew Nethsingha with the new choir members
Andrew Nethsingha with the new choir members.

The Choir of St John’s sings at daily Evensong services and Sung Eucharist on Sundays during university term. They rehearse before school five mornings a week.

The admission of girls and women to the choir means it is unique in a Cambridge or Oxford College – no other choir of its kind combines the voices of males and females in both adults and children.

“Our much loved choir continues to make a highly valued contribution to the musical life of St John’s and the wider world”

Next term another two girls are expected to join the choir, the numbers will continue to gradually increase until the proportion of boys and girls in the choir are equal. The alto parts in services will now be sung by both male and female choral scholars.

Andrew Nethsingha, Director of Music and former organ scholar at St John’s, hailed the arrival of Nina, Amelia, Ingrid and Martha as ‘joyous’.

Nethsingha has a reputation for encouraging young singers, championing contemporary music, and commissioning new work from established and emerging composers. He spearheaded the move to admit girls and women to the choir and previously said: “Providing an opportunity for girls and women to sing as members of The Choir of St John’s is a very exciting development for the choral tradition of the College. Choral singing is a specialised art form, and our choir has played a formative role in the careers of many globally recognised musicians.

“Extending membership to talented female singers creates an exceptional new musical opportunity for women and girls, as our much loved choir continues to make a highly valued contribution to the musical life of St John’s and the wider world.”

The choristers come to Cambridge from a wide variety of backgrounds and generous scholarships are provided to support their education – the aim is that no child is prevented from joining the choir on financial grounds.

  • Evensong at St John’s College, Cambridge, is sung daily at 6.30pm during university term-time. It is free and open to all.
  • The latest album from The Choir of St John’s has just been released – Eastertide Evensong is a live recording of a full Evensong service with music by Anderson, Leighton, Howells, and Taverner. Listen 

 

Published 29/4/2022

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