Time Commitment Expand Life as a chorister is action-packed and incredibly rewarding but it does require a considerable commitment. The choristers sing at regular intervals through the school week before or after the school day, and around every other weekend. They will be busy during the run-up to Christmas and Easter, including services to a packed Cathedral on Christmas and Easter Days. Choristers spend their first year or so on a reduced timetable. What you ‘put in’ as a chorister family, you ‘get out’ – making a commitment like this is an investment in your child’s future and can be transformative for your child’s life. The summer holiday is uninterrupted, and the choristers have a clear week off at half terms, and around two weeks around Christmas and Easter.
Auditions Expand Entry to the choir is by a simple audition. The best piece to sing to us is Happy birthday! There will also be some voice exercises as well as rhythm and note-pitch games. We are not looking for trained musicians but for children who love to sing, have a spark, and are quick learners.
What is a Chorister? Expand Choristers are usually children with treble (unchanged) voices who sing the top (soprano) line in the cathedral choir. They rehearse regularly and sing for services. At weekends they sing with professional adult singers – the adult altos, tenors and basses of the choir, known as the 'lay clerks'. Alongside regular services, choristers take part in concerts, they have the chance to take part in concert tours to other countries and make recordings and sing on radio and television broadcasts. Most of our choristers start at the beginning of year 4 and they all leave at the end of year 9. Unlike other cathedrals, St Albans has no 'choir school': all the choristers attend local schools, and form part of the Cathedral Choir around school hours. We are able to open up this amazing opportunity to local children without asking them to change schools.
Why be a Chorister? Expand Cathedral choirs in the UK are the finest in the world, and no other nation has the same tradition of training children to sing in cathedrals. A St Albans chorister’s musical education is second to none, producing young people who are organised, focused, hard-working, and often with a lifelong love of music, not just choral music. Choristers enjoy a wealth of opportunities and experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Not only do they benefit from some of the finest musical tuition available, they perform regularly on a par with professional adult musicians. Most of our choristers start at the beginning of year 4 and they all leave at the end of year 9. It’s definitely hard work, but it gives children many useful skills that will never leave them. Choristers often go on to become remarkably successful in a wide variety of fields due to the valuable arts of self-discipline, focus and organisation learnt ‘on the job’.