Premier League Stuff…
It seems incredible that the Cathedral Choir at Lincoln has been in its new ‘Song School’ home in Minster Yard for a whole year and that it was six months ago when the internationally-renowned composer John Rutter officially opened the building with such a flourish!
There have been many musical highlights during the year for the choir: a concert to celebrate the return of the Father Willis organ following work on the cathedral’s north transept roof; five performances of The Snowman, Handel’s Messiah, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with harp, a Christmas broadcast with BBC Radio Lincolnshire, the annual Carols by Candlelight concert, an Evensong with brass from RAF Cranwell in their 100th year, Vivaldi’s Gloria with The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, a Jazz Mass and a Duke Ellington concert as part of the LincolnSHIRE Jazz Week 2018, singing from the cathedral’s west front on Ascension Day, two concerts at the International Bomber Command Centre and the recording of a new CD to be released on November 14th. This is of course all in addition to the 274 sung services given this year as well!
July is always a slightly sad time as the choir says farewell to those who are finishing their time – sometimes as much as seven years – as choristers. 1 girl and 4 boys have left us this year and we wished them all the best for their futures. At the same time though, this is an exciting period for the Cathedral Choir because we have welcomed 13 new chorister starters (9 boys and 4 girls) coming to us each morning from 8 different local schools! This is great news and we can look forward to some wonderful music in the next few years.
The last year has been outstanding for the choir. There is a real buzz about it all. As John Rutter put it when he spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire: “Lincoln Cathedral Choir is Premier League stuff, it really is”!
