The Chapel Choir consists of up to twenty-eight singers (10 sopranos, and 6 each of alto, tenor, and bass), most of whom are undergraduates or postgraduates at Selwyn and Newnham Colleges, with a few volunteers from other colleges. There is a vacancy in 2024-25 for a tenor. The Choir comprises Choral Exhibitioners (about three-quarters) and volunteers. The Choir is conducted by the Director of Music, who is assisted by two undergraduate Organ Scholars. All members of the Choir receive a generous subsidy for singing lessons, tours and Formal Hall. More information about the choir can be found on the college web site.
During term, the Choir sings services in the College Chapel, as well as concerts and services throughout the UK, recently in venues including St Paul’s, Southwark and Canterbury Cathedrals, and St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh and St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street. Its repertoire ranges from the 10th to the 21st century. It has broadcast services for BBC Radio, sung live on television, and every year undertakes an international tour (recent destinations have included the USA, New Zealand, France, Germany, Canada, Israel & Palestine, and Finland & Estonia).
The Choir regularly works with major international conductors, recently including Nicholas Cleobury, Stephen Layton, Sir David Lumsden, Christopher Robinson, Judith Clurman (the Juilliard School, New York), Grayston Ives and Andrew Carwood. In an on-going collaboration with London’s John Armitage Memorial Trust, Selwyn Choir has premièred new works by some of the UK’s most significant established composers, including Gabriel Jackson, Judith Bingham, Jonathan Dove, John McCabe, Thea Musgrave, and Paul Patterson.
The Choir has made over 25 critically acclaimed commercial recordings in the past 20 years, the most recent of which was released in November 2024. The choir’s activities for the 2024-25 year include concerts in London, Bury St Edmunds, and Cambridge, a summer tour to Denmark, and two CD recordings and a live broadcast on Radio 3.
For more information about the Chapel Choir, please contact the Director of Music, Sarah MacDonald, on seam100@cam.ac.uk, or by telephone on 01223 335877.