Shipton church has one of the few remaining four-part church choirs of children and adults in the area, and certainly one of the finest. We currently have spaces for more children and adult singers to join our ranks. It’s a happy, friendly choir, performing at the highest standards: we have frequently filled in for cathedral choirs during their holidays, including recent trips to Worcester Cathedral, Southwell Minster and the University Church, Oxford.
The choir sings for services in and around the Wychwoods every Sunday throughout the year, apart from when singing at a cathedral and during the summer holidays. That may seem like quite a commitment, but we do understand that sometimes other activities have to take priority and the occasional absence is fine. However, as we are always working on music a number of weeks ahead, we’d suggest an average attendance of at least 75% is necessary to keep up. There’s no mid-week commitment, as the choir practice takes place immediately before the Sunday service each week.
For adults joining the choir, it’s useful to have the ability to read music and to be capable of singing from sight, but children benefit from free tuition in reading music and music theory, as well as learning to sing well. Junior members also get paid for attending, on a scale that increases as the singers progress through the Royal School of Church Music’s “Voice for Life” scheme, and there’s the opportunity to go on free training courses, usually in the Easter holidays. (For parents of junior members, in exchange for making sure they get to the rehearsal promptly on a Sunday morning, there’s the opportunity to have a couple of hours’ peace and quiet!)
If you’re interested in trying out the choir, or would like to know more, please contact Dan Chambers ([email protected]), the Director of Music.
Hear the choir
These recordings were taken live during Sunday services: