Croydon Minster is to stage one of the most prestigious church choral events of the year
By DAVID MORGAN
Fancy having a singing career like Ed Sheeran’s? Think you may have a voice to match Katherine Jenkins?
Then an event being staged at Croydon Minster later this month could be something that you really don’t want to miss.
Croydon’s parish church has been chosen to host one of the Royal School of Church Music’s flagship events to encourage and develop singing in young people, with the event taking place on Sunday, September 19.
Choristers at the Minster are no strangers to big events. Praised for their singing on the BBC television’s Midnight Mass in 2019, this December will see selected choristers sing in the John Rutter Christmas Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by the venerated composer himself.
The invitation came about because John Rutter was watching the Christmas service on television and was so impressed at what he heard that he asked Minster musical director, Dr Ronny Krippner, to select young singers for the music extravaganza in December.
Impressive: Croydon Minster choristers on the BBC’s Midnight Mass at Christmas 2019
BBC Radio 3 will soon be returning to Croydon, too, when the Minster choir will broadcast Choral Evensong live on Wednesday December 22, as well as recording a service for future broadcast.
The Royal School of Church Music event is open to all young singers, whether they currently sing in a church choir or not. The afternoon is designed to give singers an opportunity to sing with other youngsters who have had the chance to sing with top choirs, as well as having professional tutors lead different sessions. Singers are expected to come from all over London and the south-east, and booking is essential.
Details of how to book can be found on this flyer.
Some singers from the Minster choir have developed their musical skills throughout their school days and used them to gain places in universities. Choral scholarships can be an attractive proposition, with singing in a college chapel alongside everyday academic study.
Even if the singing skills are not used in later life, the discipline and team work needed to be part of a choir are vital elements for any career. Sir Alistair Cook, the former England cricket captain, was a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral. Alexander Armstrong, of TV’s Pointless, sang in St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh before taking up a choral scholarship at Trinity College Cambridge.
And Ed Sheeran nurtured his musical talent when singing with his local parish church choir in Ipswich. Katherine Jenkins sang with the Royal School of Church Music choir in her youth.
The RSCM event in Croydon on September 19 might just discover another talent a little closer to home…
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