Andy Munns
A New Year and new choristers are needed at Salisbury Cathedral
After a year in which concerts at Salisbury Cathedral have often sold out and recent Christmas services were attended by thousands, the music team are now turning their thoughts to the New Year and chorister recruitment.
The task of selecting young candidates to take the choir forward into the future begins in earnest on Saturday, 20th January, when the Cathedral will hold Voice Trials for Girls. Boys Voice Trials take place the following week, on Saturday, 27th January.
Voice trials (or auditions) are a way for David Halls, Director of Music at the Cathedral, to get to know and hear each child sing, testing their natural musicality. First, each candidate is asked to sing a song of their choice.
David Halls, Director of Music, said: “The song doesn’t need to be complicated, just something that has been sung at school, with friends or at church. A hymn or a carol will do – or a popular song. The important thing is that the youngster enjoys singing it and feels confident doing so.”
There are aural tests as well, such as clapping back a rhythm, picking notes out of a simple chord and singing back a melody played on the piano.
The music team runs the auditions in a relaxed environment because they are looking for potential talent rather than seasoned performers, and they want to get to know each child as an individual. Being enthusiastic and keen to be part of the team are as important as the singing.
David Halls, Director of Music, said: “I always tell children that being a member of the choir is like being on a sports team. You train together, you perform together, and you get together in the ‘club’ room – or school and Cathedral in this case. It’s a group effort, it can be hard work, but it is great fun.”
Any child lucky enough to be offered a place in the choir receives a bursary and a place at the Cathedral School, and both the school and Cathedral work hard to ensure that no child is prevented from taking up a place in the choir because of lack of funding.
Both Susie Lamb’s children sang with the choir, and as the Director of Music at the Cathedral School, she is well aware of the musical opportunities offered by the unique combination of choir and school: “The musical education offered here and as part of the Cathedral Choir, is second to none. We have a wide range of instrumental as well as vocal specialists, and of course David and his team are experts in their field.
“Singing with a choir develops a lot of other skills too – organisation, concentration and the ability to collaborate. Choristers learn very quickly not to be afraid to stand up and sing confidently in front of a congregation of up to 1,700 people. That is quite something.”
To find out more about the Voice Trials or to request an application form, contact Catherine Mitchell at musicofficer@salcath.co.uk.
Feature Image: Finbarr Webster
