Cambridge Choral Summer Course 2023

You are invited…

Join us to experience the vast riches of the most concentrated square mile of choral music-making on earth. The Cambridge Summer Choral Course welcomes conductors and choral enthusiasts for a unique educational venture, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Cambridge.

This seminar-based course features lectures, observations, singing, and interactions with some of the leading conductors and choirs in the world. Course members will be in Cambridge while various collegiate and cathedral choirs are still in residency.

This course finds its roots in a similar course from the 1980’s, initiated and run by Joanne Rutter. We are grateful to Joanne and John Rutter for their support and encouragement in reviving the opportunity for choral musicians to again spend their summers studying in Cambridge.

Instruction

Studies will cover a variety of topics, including conducting, vocal pedagogy, chant, music history, etc. Members will attend rehearsals, observe demonstrations, and hear from conductors and scholars in interactive lectures. The famed King’s and St John’s College Choirs will be in residence during the course.

Course members will form a choir to sing and study – honing their voices to sing Evensong and Compline during the week—a conductor from Cambridge will lead in lecture-rehearsals to prepare. A conducting masterclass will provide insight into the art of conducting as a few students learn from a master conductor.

We will venture outside Cambridge – to London and Ely. In London, we will be based at St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We will also visit the magnificent cathedral of Ely.

The course will conclude with a banquet – in Cambridge called ‘Formal Hall’. Enter into the life of Cambridge fellows and students to participate in this venerable tradition.

In Residence

Course members will reside here in Gonville and Caius College and enjoy the full immersive experience of student life in single en-suite modern accommodation. Breakfast will be taken here at Caius while lunches and dinners will be served around town, including college dining facilities.

Fees and registration

The cost for the 2023 Cambridge Choral Summer Course is $3300 USD (or £2650 GBP). After arrival in Cambridge, this course fee is comprehensive including course instruction, day-trip coach travel, lodging, and meals (a few meals will include wine).

Each participant is responsible for their own travel to and from Cambridge.

Visit the event website to register.