CHOIR
The background music is Notré Pere by Duruflé from the church choir's CD entitled To This Temple, see Recordings
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CHOIR The background music is Notré Pere by Duruflé from the church choir's CD entitled To This Temple, see Recordings |
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The St Mary Redcliffe Choir upholds a long and distinguished tradition of Anglican Choral music. In the main choir are 20 boys and 16 men: the repertoire is broad and spans 500 years, from Tallis and Byrd through to Howells and Tavener. In addition to the three regular Sunday services, the choir performs concerts both in Redcliffe and in other venues. There are three other choirs in the church who sing on a less frequent basis - The Girls Choir with 24 members aged 8-16; the Redcliffe Chamber Choir (an auditoned adult SATB choir) and the Redcliffe Occasional Choir (voluntary choir) which sings during the school holidays. All four choirs add their distinctive part to the well established musical reputation of the church.
The Choir members are all amateurs. This gives their music making a distinctive quality whilst in no way reducing their commitment to high standards of excellence. The boys and girls in their separate choirs come from as many as ten different schools across the Bristol area. Regular recruitment ensures that numbers remain healthy. The men in the choir include teenagers, students from the universities, graduates, those in full time work, and those who have recently retired. Choral and Organ Scholarships up to £900 are available to students studying for undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications. The Director of Music is always pleased to arrange an audition for those who would like to join one of the choirs - please get in touch!
Former Organists at the church have included Ralph Morgan, Garth Benson, Bryan Anderson, John Marsh, and Anthony Pinel. We are ably assisted by a superb team of assistant organists: Graham and Claire Alsop; Nick Miller, our University Organ Scholar. There are also some young organ students. The magnificent four manual organ with over 4300 pipes was fully restored in 2009- 10 by Harrison and Harrison, the firm which built the organ in 1912.
The choir undertakes an annual summer cathedral tour to sing the services for the week: in recent years we have sung in Truro, Liverpool, Ely, Chichester, Lincoln, York and Salisbury Cathedrals. The last overseas tour took place in 2001 to New York and Washington DC .
The Choir has made several recordings: You can find out more by clicking on RECORDINGS. The Director of Music Mr Andrew Kirk is often looking for new recruits and he can be contacted at: |
