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About the Choir
St Louis Cathedral, USA Tour 2010
New College Choir is one of the most
celebrated and acclaimed choral groups of the UK. It comprises around thirty voices, including
its famous boy choristers. It has been around since the late 14th
century, when William of Wykeham set up a choral foundation within his ‘New’
College. Since then it has regularly
sung chapel services, and continues
to do so during the University terms (you can drop into Evensong any night of
the week – bar Wednesday – and listen). What has changed rather more dramatically over the years is the Choir’s
outreach: now its singing is heard the world over, through broadcasts
(including regular webcasts of
chapel services) and recordings. The Choir has also built up an enviable discography, numbering over one hundred
CDs, presenting choral music from all corners of the repertory. Indeed, the range of music sung by the Choir
is one of its defining features, making involvement in its work particularly
rewarding for singers. It frequently tours, and in the last two years has
visited the USA, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Cyprus. From time to time, the Choir teams up with
leading instrumental ensembles for live and recorded performances. The Choir has built up a timbre and style
which are instantly recognizable, and in which the treble voices are a defining
feature (listen to them on The Art of
the Chorister).
A new 2012 series takes a look at Oxford's renowned choral scene, including New College Choir.
Recent Tours
New College Choir is
often ‘out and about’ on tour. It has
literally been across the world: Australia, Japan, Brazil, USA and all over
Europe. In the last 18 months the Choir has been to Italy on three seperate occasions, spent a week in a very sunny Cyprus, and also performed in France, Belgium and Germany. You can read about these and other trips in our tour blogs.
A Short History of the Choir and Music in New College
