Choir of Girton College, Cambridge Historic Brass of the Guildhall & Gareth Wilson
Biographie Choir of Girton College, Cambridge Historic Brass of the Guildhall & Gareth Wilson
Girton College Chapel Choir
is an international-prize-winning choir of some 28 members, which has grown in prominence over the last ten years, due to its impressive musical standards, regular recordings, and ambitious, exciting touring schedule. One of the main attractions to students is the combination of low time commitment and high musical standards.
During Full Term, the Choir's principal function is to sing the liturgy in Girton's Chapel. This includes Choral Evensong every Sunday, and Compline (a beautiful, meditative evening service) on alternate Tuesdays. For this, the Choir rehearses just twice a week.
Recent foreign tours have included Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Germany, Slovenia, France, Ireland, Switzerland and Spain.
Girton Choir also offers a welcome opportunity to escape the stresses of Cambridge term through its visits to major churches throughout Britain; recent visits have included the cathedrals of Lincoln, Canterbury, Exeter, Norwich and Lichfield, and Westminster Abbey. This year the Choir will sing services on trips to York Minster and Salisbury Cathedral.
The Choir has recorded several CDs, often recording whilst on tour; the most recent recording was made on tour in the USA in summer 2010, and the Choir has recorded in places as far afield as Hong Kong, Switzerland and Japan.
The Choir contributes significantly to College life, often singing at College occasions such as the Foundation Dinner and the College Feast; dining at these functions is another of the perks for the Choir.
The Choir also benefits from collaborations with musicians from professional ensembles such as the London Mozart Players, Xacona, members of the Gabrieli Consort and the Cambridge University Collegium Musicum; the Choir also collaborates regularly with eminent guest directors such as Christopher Robinson, Sir David Willcocks, Judith Clurman, Tim Brown and David Lowe. There are plans this year for the Choir to work with members of the Sixteen, Magnificat and I Fagiolini, as well as enjoying ongoing collaborations with, and invaluable support from, the College's Musicians in Residence.
For details of Choral and Organ Awards at Girton and for information about various aspects of the Choir's history and activities, please click on the links in the side bar.
Gareth Wilson
studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Edinburgh University (BMus) before undertaking postgraduate performance diplomas at the Royal Academy of Music in London (receiving the DipRAM for an outstanding final recital) where he became a Fellow, and subsequently lecturer, in Academic Studies between 2000-2004. At the same time, he joined the Music Department at KCL where he teaches Techniques of Composition and Orchestration and is director of the Symphony Orchestra Chorus. He also lectures for the Royal College of Organists and, in addition to freelance work as a choral conductor, is Director of Music at Christ Church, Chelsea, where has been responsible for the composition, commissioning and directing of over 100 new works for the Anglican liturgy as well as playing a leading role in the installation of the church’s new Flentrop organ.
Between 2007-2011 he undertook postgraduate degrees in Theology and Philosophy from London University’s Heythrop College before embarking upon doctoral research in the Theology department of KCL, where he is researching the contribution of music to the growth of atheism in 19th-Century Europe, combining this with his interest in early 20th-Century Jewish-Christian relations. In 2011, he was nominated for a KCL Teaching Excellence Award by the students of the Music Department.
