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The Choirs at St John's
The Choirs at St John's
St John’s places a high value on music as an important part of our regular worship. We have a strong tradition of choral music dating back many years and are fortunate to support two choirs, offering everyone interested in singing the opportunity to participate to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the commitment they are able to offer.
The Church Choir - Our trditional robed choir
Who are we?
Our Church Choir is a group of about 15 adults and children who sing at all but one of our Sunday morning services as well as a “Cathedral style” Choral Evensong on the second Sunday evening of each month. We also sing at the special services around Christmas and Easter, as well as at other important times throughout the church’s year.
What do we do?
We aim to bring of our best to worship and so our Church Choir works hard to bring music of a high standard in support of our church’s liturgy. The Choir’s musical repertoire is broad, ranging from plainsong through to the flowering of British choral music in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, right up to contemporary compositions. We prepare an anthem each Sunday morning as well as more extensive musical contributions during our Carol Services at Advent and Christmas, and of course our Choral Evensongs.
Who can join?
Our Church Choir welcomes junior members aged seven and above. We broadly follow the Royal School of Church Music’s Voice for life training programme and we encourage all our younger singers to enter external examinations for RSCM Bronze (Dean’s) Award or RSCM Silver (Bishop’s) Award (the green and purple ribbons awarded by the Diocese of Southwark). Training and requirements for these exams include:
- Musical skills and understanding - sing a psalm, hymn and anthem where they are tested on interpretation and musicality and also undertake an aural test;
- Choir in Context – answer questions on the bible, liturgy and ministry, belonging to the choir;
- Testimonial by the Director of Music on the candidate’s commitment to the choir.
We also welcome adult singers of any age, particularly those with previous singing experience and a love of church music, to form our Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass parts.
When we rehearse:
The Church Choir rehearses in the Choir Vestry each Thursday evening from 1930 – 2030. There is also a warm-up rehearsal before each service.
The come and sing choir
Who are we?
The Come and Sing Choir are very friendly and enthusiastic group who welcomes anyone who enjoys singing. We sing on our own at the fourth Sunday morning service of each month and join with the Church Choir on the second Sunday morning. No previous experience or training is necessary! This choir is particularly suitable for those who love singing but are unable to offer the commitment for membership of the Church Choir. Members sing whenever they can, we don’t keep a register!
Our Organist
Jonathan Musgrave
Jonathan has been an Organist at St Johns since 2003.
Jonathan Musgrave studied at the Royal College of Music as an undergraduate, postgraduate and Junior Fellow, gaining a first class honours degree and a Master of Music with distinction. In a solo role he has performed concertos by Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven, and taken part in masterclasses by Bryce Morrison and Artur Pizarro. As an a
Jonathan Musgrave studied at the Royal College of Music as an undergraduate, postgraduate and Junior Fellow, gaining a first class honours degree and a Master of Music with distinction. In a solo role he has performed concertos by Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven, and taken part in masterclasses by Bryce Morrison and Artur Pizarro. As an accompanist he has worked with instruments and voices of every kind, and his duo partnerships have led to engagements from the Kirckman Concert Society and Park Lane Group, to critical acclaim. He is also in demand as a repetiteur. As well as innumerable appearances in London (venues including the Purcell Room, Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall) and around the south of England, he has also performed at music festivals in Cambridge, King’s Lynn and Stratford-upon-Avon.