A privilege and a great opportunity: Chamber Choir sings at Christ Church, Oxford

QE’s Chamber Choir teamed up with a pair of Old Elizabethan choral scholars to sing Evensong at Christ Church, the historic cathedral in Oxford.

It was the latest prestigious booking for the choir, who have in recent years sung in some of the country’s most iconic settings, including Westminster Abbey and King’s College, Cambridge.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was a tremendous privilege and a great opportunity, and I am glad to say that the Chamber Choir rose to the occasion. They sang impressively, with poise and discipline, accompanied by our own Noah Morley, of Year 12, on the organ.”

Having sung its first-ever Evensong at Barnet parish church as recently as the autumn of 2022, the Chamber Choir has, in addition to Westminster Abbey and King’s College, since sung at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and Southwark Cathedral,

The Evensong marked a further deepening of QE’s ties with Christ Church, which enjoys the unique distinction of being both a college of the University of Oxford and the cathedral church of the city, the only dual foundation of its kind in the world. Earlier this year, 45 boys from Years 7 & 8 visited the college, which is the Borough of Barnet’s partner college at Oxford.

The choristers were joined by Old Elizabethans Arjun Patel and Nikhil Mark, both now choral scholars at Oxford, who not only sang alongside the boys, but also provided tours of Merton College and The Queen’s College. Arjun took up his place to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Merton in October 2024, having completed his A-levels that summer. Nikhil (OE 2018–2025) is reading Materials Science at The Queen’s College.

Dan Clark, Founding Principal of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, which is due to open this summer, joined the Headmaster in the congregation. Also there was Old Elizabethan Isher Jagdev (2017–2024).

Noah played throughout the service, except for the anthem. Seated at the cathedral’s Rieger organ, he also played the pre-service and post-service music: Eventide by Hubert Parry and Sun Dance by Bob Chilcott. Noah performed these pieces in his recent Grade 7 examination, for which he scored 141/150.

The service was redolent both of the traditions of Oxford and of Evensong in the Church of England.

In keeping with Christ Church’s observance of historic Oxford time, five minutes west of Greenwich, Evensong began at 6.05pm BST.

The boys sang the works of three English composers closely associated with English and Anglican choral music:

• The Tallis Responses, from Preces and Responses by Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis
• Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D minor by 19th-century organist and composer Thomas Attwood Walmisley
• I am Alpha and Omega by John Stainer, published in 1878.

The cathedral stands on the site of an ancient Saxon church, founded in the eighth century by Saint Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford. The present building was constructed in the 12th century as an Augustinian priory.

In 1524, just prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Cardinal Wolsey gained permission from the Pope to close down St Frideswide’s Priory to use the land to build a vast new college for the university. Following Wolsey’s fall, the college was duly opened in 1546 in the name of Henry VIII.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “This visit exemplified the transformational experiences the Music department provides. We are very grateful to Arjun and Nikhil for singing with us and for inspiring potential future choral scholars to follow in their footsteps.”

Afterwards, some of the boys also reflected on the day. Sixth-former Leo Sellis, who has just been offered a choral scholarship at Jesus College, Cambridge, said: “I enjoyed how we were able to explore Oxford with the OE tour guides and then have a guided tour of Christ Church Cathedral before we did the service, meaning we could learn about the building (and the city) that we were singing in.” The choristers included another sixth-former with a choral scholarship offer: Adam Liang has been offered a place at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Julius Collins, of Year 8, said: “The performance was outstanding and I am very grateful that I was able to take part in it, as I managed to develop my skills as a singer in an ensemble and demonstrate these in a formal setting with more resonant acoustics.” Year 9’s Krish Bhatia was impressed by the buildings:  “Some main highlights were visiting The Great Hall at Christ Church, which really fulfilled my inner ‘Hogwarts’ experience. I also thoroughly enjoyed the tour given by the OEs and learning different types of traditions and customs there, as well as seeing all the fascinating architecture. Overall, our visit to Oxford was nothing short of brilliant.” And Rishi Watsalya, of Year 12, added: “I really enjoyed the guided tour of Oxford with Nikhil, who also gave specific advice about the application process and his experience in Oxford as an OE. I also really appreciated the opportunity of, once again, singing in such a beautiful and historic cathedral.”

The Evensong was led by the Sub-Dean, Revd Canon Peter Moger. The Psalms for the service were numbers 126 and 127.

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