In the first week of July we will be going on our most ambitious foreign tour so far: We will be performing three full-length evening concerts, two services and one organ recital in churches and cathedrals in Washington D.C., Delaware and Massachusetts.

Details of all our performances in the USA are now listed on the tour page. Full programmes and publicity material will be added to the page over the course of the next few weeks.

The concerts and services will feature 20 members of the Choir of Somerville College, David Crown (conductor) and Robert Pecksmith (organist).

This US tour, which we have been organising since last summer, was made possible by the generous support of Somerville College and our friends.

On Friday at 6pm the Choir of Somerville College and Somerville Music Society will be presenting West End Favourites and Film Music, a gala concert in aid of the choir's US tour.

Members of the Choir of Somerville College, Robert Pecksmith (organ/piano) and special guest star David Crown (baritone) perform a selection of favourite show tunes and film music. The concert features extracts from The Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Cats, Star Wars and Show Boat as well as 'One Day More', the rousing finale from Act I of Les Misérables. See the Facebook event for full details of the programme.

Performers:
Ruth Akinradewo (soprano), Ian Buchanan (tenor), David Crown (baritone/conductor), Katie Jeffries-Harris (mezzo-soprano), Matt Kerr (baritone), Douglas Knight (piano). Christoph Schnedermann (bass), Stefan Schwarz (baritone), Robert Pecksmith (organ/piano), Alexandra Worrell (soprano), Emily Winkler (soprano), Orly Watson (piano)

Admission is free. There will be a retiring collection in aid of the choir's summer tour.

On Saturday, 26th April 2014, the Choir of Somerville College will be offering a workshop and a short concert as part of the university's annual Choral Open Day.

At 5pm potential applicants can join our rehearsal with David Crown (Director of Chapel Music) and Robert Pecksmith (Organ Scholar). We will be preparing a concert performance of Fauré's Requiem, which will start at 6:15pm. The concert is open to the public and admission is free.

The workshop and the concert will be an excellent opportunity to work with one of the university's leading mixed-voice college choirs and to find out more about Oxford's only non-denominational chapel. Its interfaith ethos gives the choir a unique advantage: Unlike other Oxbridge choirs, the Choir of Somerville College is not restricted to the Anglican liturgy, but sings a much wider range of sacred choral works from all kinds of religious traditions as well as secular music.

Prospective applicants who want to find out what it's really like to be a choral scholar at Somerville, should read the short profiles of three of our singers. Potential future organ scholars may want to have a look at the organ specification and the sample recordings of the chapel's fine Harrison organ on this page as well as our current organ scholar's website.

At the end of Hilary Term the choir will be singing two performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Johannes-Passion, BWV 245. The concerts will feature the Musicians of the Dreaming Spires, an Oxford-based professional chamber orchestra, and soloists from the Royal College of Music, London. Tickets (£10) are available from our online ticket shop.

Click here to download the programme.

1st Performance:
Friday 14th March 2014, 7:45pm, St Mary Magdalene Church, Woodstock
Click here to buy tickets

2nd Performance:
Sunday 16th March 2014, 7pm, Somerville College Chapel, Oxford
Click here to buy tickets

The Choir of Somerville College, Oxford
Musicians of the Dreaming Spires
Robert Peckmith, organ/harpsichord
David Crown, conductor

Soloists: William Wallace (tenor - Evangelist), Simon Grange (bass - Christus), Rebecca Hardwick (soprano), Victoria Pym (mezzo-soprano), Joseph Doody (tenor), Jerome Knox (baritone)

Our fundraising for the tour to the USA begins today! For the next 20 days we’re looking to you for donations to get to our goal of £6,000 in order to make this possible. 

If we succeed, it will be a landmark in our development and a fantastic opportunity for us to perform in world renowned venues across the east coast including Washington National Cathedral and Trinity Church, Boston.

We've been investing huge efforts and enthusiasm into this project, and your support will really give us the final push we need to make it happen: https://hubbub.net/p/somervillechoirtour

On Sunday 2nd February 2014 (3pm) the choir will be singing a concert at St Nicolas Church, Abingdon, as part of the Abbey Chamber Concert series.

The programme will feature a selection of accompanied and a cappella music by Farrant, Victoria, Byrd, Mozart, Pärt, Howells and Whitacre.

The choir will be conducted by David Crown and accompanied by Robert Pecksmith (organ and piano).

Tickets (£10/£9 concessions) are available on the door and 07775 904626.

Click here to download the programme.

Two extracts from our concert at Douai Abbey:

Gabriel Fauré: Sanctus (from Requiem, op. 48)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ph8TmL_eos

John Rutter: O clap your hands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU16Pu7U0I0

The Choir of Somerville College, Oxford
David Crown, conductor
Robert Pecksmith, organ

Today at 4pm we will be making our first appearance on Radio 3. The Choir, presented by Mary King, will include a live recording of our performance of Psalm, the result of our collaboration with composer Daniel Saleeb and poet Chloe Stopa-Hunt.

We sang the world premiere of this piece at the Britten in Oxford concert in the University Church last month. The recording features the Choir of Somerville College, Oxford, conducted by David Crown and accompanied by organist Robert Pecksmith.

The programme will be available for download from BBC iPlayer for the next seven days.

On Saturday the Choir of Somerville College will be singing a concert at Douai Abbey to celebrate the launch of our new album Advent Calendar.

The first half of the concert consists of a selection of seasonal anthems by Victoria, Pärt, Wood, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Rutter as well as organ music by Messiaen. The second half will be a performance of Fauré's Requiem. The concert will feature soloists Mary-Louise Aitken (soprano) and Robert Pecksmith (organ), who can also be heard on our new CD. We are looking forward to returning to Douai Abbey, where we recorded our first CD Requiem æternam in July 2011.

Saturday 30 November 2013, 7:45pm, Douai Abbey
Fauré's Requiem and a selection of seasonal anthems
The Choir of Somerville College, Oxford
David Crown, conductor
Mary-Louise Aitken, soprano
Thomas Guthrie, baritone
Robert Pecksmith, organ

Tickets: £10 (£7 concessions) from Newbury Corn Exchange

Click here to download the full programme.

Over the past few months the Choir of Somerville College has been involved in JAM's Writing for Voices project as part of the Britten in Oxford festival. Daniel Saleeb and Chloe Stopa-Hunt have written a piece called Psalm for us, a work for SATB divisi choir, SSA semi-chorus and organ. Click here to read an article about this project.

We will be performing this piece in a concert at the University Church next month (9th November, 7:30pm). Tickets (£10/£7 concessions) are available from Tickets Oxford and the Oxford Playhouse. The concert will be recorded by BBC Radio 3.