Auditions announced for trailblazing Girls’ Choir

Monday 30 May 2022

The Girls' Choir at St Catharine's is looking for new recruits. Girls in Years 3 and 4 (or equivalent) who love to sing are encouraged to register for auditions, which will take place at St Catharine’s in central Cambridge on Sunday 10 July.

Founded in 2008, our Girls' Choir was the first college-based choir for girls in the UK, breaking with 900 years of tradition and setting a precedent that has been followed by several other institutions both in the UK and abroad. The choir provides a unique and invaluable musical experience for girls aged 8 to 15, which includes weekly rehearsals and services in the College chapel, complemented by singing and theory lessons.

Dr Edward Wickham (2003), Director of Music at St Catharine’s, explained the audition purpose and set-up:

“The choir is open to girls from any school; and we do not necessarily expect auditionees to have formal choral experience. Rather, we are looking for children with a good musical ear and a passion for singing. We understand that an audition can potentially be an intimidating experience for a child, so we treat the session more like a vocal 'consultation', which we hope will be of benefit whether or not they ultimately join the choir.

“Girls should bring to the audition a simple song which they have prepared. They will work on this with me and our singing teacher, Helen Groves, as well as trying out some vocal exercises and ear tests. After the audition, we will give written feedback to all auditionees.”

Joanna Barrett auditioned for the Girls’ Choir when she was 11 and sang with the choir from 2015 until 2019. Now 17 years old, she has accepted an offer to study music at university, which she attributes to her experience with the Girls’ Choir:

“I had always liked singing but joining the Girls’ Choir at St Catharine’s convinced me that it could be more than just a hobby and something I might actually be able to pursue as a career. I was also lucky to meet friends for life through the choir and made special memories, from singing live on BBC Radio and meeting Joanna Lumley in the green room before our performance, to our singing tour of California. So, if anyone is thinking about auditioning, I’d recommend going for it! You won’t know unless you try and my time with the choir was a lot of fun.”

To find out more, visit www.caths.cam.ac.uk/girls-choir or contact Dr Wickham at music@caths.cam.ac.uk. In advance of the audition, girls are welcome to sit in on a rehearsal or service; again, please contact Dr Wickham for details.