During a child’s years in the choir, they will be trained to professional standards in performing. They will acquire a sense of purpose, of self-discipline and an awareness both of adult standards and of glorious music, words and architecture. It is a training which sets a child up for life, in whatever field they may eventually choose.

Schedule:

Girls – the girls rehearse on Monday, Wednesday and Friday before school and sing for evensong every Thursday after school.

Boys – the boys rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday before school, and there is a full choir rehearsal on Friday evenings. The boys sing two services every Sunday, with a morning Eucharist and evensong in the evening.

Choristers sing during term time, and for some additional days during the run up to Christmas and Easter. Choristers also have fun in plenty of non-musical activities such as cricket, ice skating, outdoor pursuits and the annual trip to the pantomime, and every three or four years the choir undertakes a trip abroad.

Abbey Choristers are paid as a recognition for their hard work. There are several ranks within the choir, from Probationer to Head Chorister. With each higher grade comes greater responsibility—and higher pay!

Free individual singing lessons are available for all choristers with our assistant director of music, Charlie Gurnham.

The alto, tenor and bass sections of the Abbey Choir are made up of singers based in and around Sherborne, together with Sherborne School Choral Scholars who sing in the choir for a year, usually between leaving school and going to university.

The commitment is one practice, held on Fridays evenings from 7.15pm to 9.15pm, two services on Sunday – 9.30am Sung Eucharist and 6.00pm Choral Evensong, and evensong on Thursday. In addition, there are occasional weddings and other services coinciding with the major events during the church year: Christmas, Lent and Easter.

Each year The Abbey, in conjunction with Sherborne School, appoints three gap year Choral Scholars and one Organ Scholar. Ideally, the choral scholars will be one each of alto, tenor and bass voices, though there is some flexibility.

Interviews for scholarships usually take place in February each year. Further information and details for application can be found at:

Choral Scholarships.

Director: James Henderson

Organists: Peter Bray, Daniel Blaze, Guy Hepher and Arthur Hope Barton

Track listing:

1. My beloved spake, Patrick Hadley
2. Blessed be the God and Father, Samuel Sebastian Wesley
3. Beati quorum via, Charles Villiers Stanford
4. Justorum animae, Charles Villiers Stanford
5. Magnificat in G, Charles Villiers Stanford
6. Nunc dimittis in G, Charles Villiers Stanford
7. Toccata in F, BWV 540, Johann Sebastian Bach
8. Kyrie (Missa Brevis), Matthew O’Donovan
9. Gloria (Missa Brevis), Matthew O’Donovan
10. Sanctus and Benedictus (Missa Brevis), Matthew O’Donovan
11. Agnus Dei (Missa Brevis), Matthew O’Donovan
12. Final (Organ Symphony no. 1), Louis Vierne

Recorded 2024 in Sherborne Abbey

Director: James Henderson

Organist: Daniel Blaze

Track listing:

1. Once in royal David’s city, arr. David Willcocks
2. A spotless rose, Herbert Howells
3. Benedicamus Domino, Peter Warlock
4. Wachet auf, BWV 645, Johann Sebastian Bach
5. O little town of Bethlehem, arr. David Willcocks
6. In the bleak midwinter, Harold Darke
7. Sans day carol, arr. John Rutter
8. Joys seven, arr. Stephen Cleobury
9. The holy boy, John Ireland
10. E’en so, Lord Jesus, Paul Manz
11. Noel nouvelet, arr. Steven Jackson
12. Lully, lulla, Kenneth Leighton
13. Hark! the herald angels sing, arr. David Willcocks
14. Silent night, arr. Philip Ledger
15. O come, all ye faithful, arr. David Willcocks
16. In dulci jubilo, BWV 729, Johann Sebastian Bach

Recorded 2023 in Sherborne Abbey