Many congratulations to former Head Chorister, Robbie Armstrong, Musical Director of a cappella group The Bristol Suspensions, who have been crowned UK champions of collegiate a cappella singing, and now go on to the world finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), in only their seventh year of existence.
The Bristol Suspensions are a 17-strong mixed a cappella group from the University of Bristol. The group also includes former chorister, Francesca Corr. The winning song was conceived under Robbie’s direction and leadership, and the group were also given a special award for the Outstanding Arrangement of their musical score.
The Bristol Suspensions haven’t been able to rehearse in-person this year due to covid, but have been working hard making music virtually. They plan on creating a professional full-length album this summer and are fundraising to do so with a number of online activities and events.
Robbie said: “We’re really happy to have won the UK competition this year, and feel we have done Wells proud!”
A video of their winning song performance can be viewed below:
What I Love About Being A Chorister
A fantastic new video from Wells Cathedral School has been created to accompany the brilliant news that all choristers will now be entitled to a 50% reduction on boarding fees.
The School will be offering places in a newly refurbished boarding house for children in Years 4 to 8, which will be opening in Sept 2021 (read more here).
Do watch and share!
New Chorister Bursaries Announced
Wells Cathedral School has today announced that all cathedral choristers will be entitled to a 50% reduction on boarding fees.
The places will be offered in a newly refurbished boarding house for children in Years 4 to 8, which will be opening in September 2021.
Wells Cathedral Choir is a world class choir, gracing one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, offering equal opportunities for boys and girls between Years 4 and 9. Alongside performing in regular services and concerts, this award-winning choir makes regular recordings, TV and radio broadcasts, and has toured the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Beijing in recent years.
Announcing the move, Head Master, Alastair Tighe said:
“In these difficult times, we know that so many schools and cathedrals have been struggling financially, and have been forced to reduce their provision. We also know that many parents have been finding it hard to cope.
Wells is larger than many cathedral schools, with 700 pupils aged 2 to 19, and we are in the very fortunate position of continuing to thrive as we celebrate our 1,111th birthday. I’m therefore absolutely thrilled to be able to make this offer.
All of our choristers already receive a 25% discount on their tuition fees. Many of them also benefit from significant additional bursaries and funding – which we either provide ourselves or help them to obtain from third parties such as the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust – and on average end up with around 50% off tuition fees. We also support choristers for the remainder of their school life at Wells Cathedral School with a ‘pension bursary’ which reduces fees after they leave the choir. I’m delighted that we can now go even further, and add this 50% reduction for our boarding fees.
We hope that this will encourage parents from across the country and beyond to consider sending their children to join our wonderful, friendly community, and to benefit from the astonishing range of opportunities that are open to our choristers – not to mention being part of what has been described as the best children’s choir in the world!”
The Dean of Wells, the Very Reverend Dr John Davies DL, said:
“The Chapter of Wells welcomes this announcement as we seek to open up this terrific opportunity to more gifted young people. Both the cathedral and its school are committed to the flourishing of music and the arts as contributors to the well-being of wider society.”
Wells Cathedral School was founded in AD 909 to educate cathedral choristers, but has grown significantly over the centuries, and now offers specialist programs in music and maths, as well as exceptional sport and outdoor learning. Wells is rated among the top 10% all independent schools for academic “added value”, with its pupils enjoying exceptional results at GCSE and A-level, and was named Independent School of the Year 2020 for Performing Arts.
Choristers normally join Wells Cathedral School Choir in Year 4, but applications into later years will always be considered.
To find out more about chorister life at Wells, please visit https://wells.cathedral.school/choristers.
To make an informal enquiry or to arrange to meet the cathedral’s Director of Music, Mr Jeremy Cole, email admissions@wells.cathedral.school
The Choristers Sing for Hollywood
You’d be forgiven for wondering why, at this current moment in time, we’re looking forward to the release of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster about a crisis engulfing the world… The reason for our enthusiasm is that the Wells Cathedral Choristers feature prominently and wonderfully in the movie’s soundtrack!
Hollywood composer and former Wells Chorister, David Buckley flew in from LA just before the first lockdown in March 2020 to record the Choristers’ tracks with Director of Music, Jeremy Cole conducting (see here).
The Choristers provide what Buckley describes as the ‘choral theme’ in the film, and you can hear that theme here in this track from the score:
David explains: ‘The choral theme was intended to provide a sense of innocence lost. All parents want to shield their children from danger, but this becomes impossible when you have a comet hurtling towards earth; parents become as helpless as children, governments become as helpless as parents. Wealth and power buy you nothing. Catastrophic events such as those in Greenland are massive levelers to society – no one is immune from the fallout. So I wanted this theme to have a universal feel to it which can sound like the voice of one small child or the whole of mankind.’
David’s connection to Wells stems from his time here as a chorister himself. In a recent interview for The Film Music Institute, David explained: ‘I recorded Wells Cathedral Choir, a group which has been in existence with only a few interruptions (one of them being now, during this pandemic) since the early 10th century. I sang in the choir as a boy chorister.’
Greenland was originally supposed to hit cinemas back on June 12th, 2020 but like many other movies was a casualty of the current pandemic, instead releasing on streaming services. The film will be available in the UK soon (see https://www.greenlandfilm.co.uk for more details).
The soundtrack to the film is now available.
Hollywood composer and former Wells Chorister, David Buckley
Virtual Carols by Candlelight
To donate and watch the concert, please visit the Wells Cathedral website HERE.
In an effort to bring the annual Carols by Candlelight concert to as many people as possible, the Cathedral Choir spent time in early December busily preparing and filming the entire concert for viewing online.
Now, after being premiered to a live audience on Thursday 10 December, you can enjoy this breathtaking performance from the comfort of your own home by clicking on the link above.
A Musical Advent Calendar!
The Choir and Organists of Wells Cathedral have spent the second lockdown recording plenty of music for online offerings during Advent, ensuring that there is a much provision as possible for those who won’t necessarily be able to visit the Cathedral in person this season.
One of these projects is a set of 25 pieces for 25 days – the perfect way to count down to Christmas! A new musical gift will be available every morning throughout Advent from 9am, so don’t forget to visit daily for a festive treat!
The trailer below will give you a wonderful taste of what is to come!
Online Advent Carol Service
The Cathedral Choir has spent time during this second lockdown preparing music for an online Advent Carol Service. The Choristers, Vicars Choral and Organists have worked hard to produce what is a wonderful celebration of the start of Advent, at a time when the hope of light out of darkness is particularly poignant for us all.
This very special offering can now be viewed here:
Candlelight Concerts 2020
This year there will be one Candlelight Concert on the 10th December at 7pm, and an online version available later in December on the Cathedral website. Together, these concerts are an unashamed festive fundraiser in aid of the Bounce Back Appeal as we seek to raise £8,000 to replace a small portion of the income lost through the second lockdown.
Tickets will be available from Eventbrite HERE from 9:30am on Monday 30th November.
Look out for news of the virtual concert here on our website soon!
Booking for Christmas Services
As we know, Christmas will be very different this year. The requirement to be socially distanced means that far fewer people can be seated at services than in previous years. Therefore, the Cathedral team must operate a booking system for most services from 20th December 2020 (Christmas Carol Service) through to 25th December (Matins on Christmas Day) to provide a safe experience and to manage expectations fairly and transparently. There will sadly be no entrance possible on the day without an online booking.
The Cathedral and Chorister Trust recognise this is far from ideal, and we really wish it wasn’t so. However, it would be irresponsible to do anything else. For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no charge per booking.
All services can be booked through Eventbrite HERE.
For more details, please see the Cathedral’s website HERE.
Celebrating the work of the Trust
Choral Evensong at Wells Cathedral this afternoon marked the work of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust. Directed by Jeremy Cole and accompanied by Alex Hamilton, the Cathedral Choir sang at full strength - Decani singing from the West End and Cantoris on the Nave Dias - and we were treated to a musical feast including works by John Rutter, Percy Whitlock, Gabriel Jackson, William Harris, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
During the service, thanks was given for the contributions of former supporters of the Trust, including Bill Baker, Iain Ball, Hon. Vice-Admiral Sir Donald Gosling, Sir Ronald Hobson, Janet Jones, and Angus Watson.
It was a particularly special service for the family of former Chairman of the Trust, Iain Ball, as the first Choristership in his name was awarded to Boy Chorister, George (pictured above, right).
Whilst it was sad not to be able to host the usual reception afterwards, it was wonderful to see so many of the Trust’s supporters present. Arnold Wills, the present Chairman, wrote the following in his preface to the service:
“Where children are unable to take up offered places to be a chorister, often through nothing more than a lack of funding, their voices may lost forever. Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust has a large and growing family of regular and occasional supporters, who appreciate and admire our Choristers. We would like you to be part of the WCCT family so that together we can all help to ensure that there are no ‘lost voices’.
Never has this been more true than now. Please do consider supporting us. You can find out more about the work of our Trust HERE and about our regular donor scheme HERE.