Summer 2010 - Summer 2011

The Schola sang at Michael Gormally’s Retirement Mass in Westminster Cathedral. This was a very moving occasion for us all, and Michael’s support of the Schola over many years has been so crucial to the flourishing of the choir. Fr Tony Pellegrini, a former headmaster, and our own School Chaplain, Fr Dominic Allain gave moving tributes to him which were richly deserved.

The Schola Trebles have had a particularly busy year. The boys were invited to sing in the Monteverdi Vespers at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms 2010. The concert was conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the boys sang alongside the Monteverdi Choir and His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornets. The performance marked the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi’s Vespers (1610) and was broadcast live on BBC 4 and BBC Radio 3. The various spaces in the Albert Hall were used to recreate the effect of the spatial acoustics of St Mark’s, Venice, so the boys sang both from the main stage as well as from the upper gallery, coping admirably with the difficulties of time delays. The performance was repeated twice, once at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, and finally in Durham Cathedral, the boys singing on both occasions in front of capacity audiences.

As a result of the success of the Prom, the French composer Alexandre Desplat, asked us to record part of his soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1). The sessions took place in Studio 1 at Abbey Road. In November we gave our own performance of the Monteverdi Vespers with the full Schola and His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornets at St James’s, Spanish Place. The candlelit Carol Service took place at Our Lady of Victories, Kensington, as usual filled beyond capacity and beautifully prayerful and atmospheric.

At the start of the Lent Term 2011 the Schola sang a Saturday Vigil Mass at Westminster Cathedral. In February we went on tour to Rome. During the tour I gave an interview about the Schola to Vatican Radio which you can listen to here. In May the Schola performed the Mozart Coronation Mass with Southbank Sinfonia at the Wathen Hall, St Paul’s School. I thank the boys for their hard work and commitment throughout the year, my wonderful colleagues in the Music Department, Mr Price and Mr Evans, and the Parents for their enduring support.

Charles Cole

Director, Schola Cantorum

© The Vaughan 2011