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Music & Song
at the Priory: The Priory Choirs
The
Priory has a choral tradition going back over many
years. Currently there are three choirs; The
Priory Choir of Men and Boys led by Andrew Post, Master
of the Choristers, The Priory Girls Choir led by Catherine
Lamb and The Priory Singers led by Mary Goodman.
Priory Choir of Men and Boys
Priory Girls Choir
Priory Singers
The Priory Choir of Men and
Boys
Commitment
There is evidence of a choir
of boys and men at Christchurch from around 600 years
ago up until the present day – so
it is a huge tradition. There are currently about
20 boys and 12 men.
It is a fairly large commitment to be a chorister
at Christchurch, here is what the job entails:
Thursday nights:
3:45pm-4:45pm Rehearsal
Friday nights:
6pm Probationer rehearsal
6:45-8:30pm Rehearsal
Sundays:
The boys alternate some services
with the girls. They
nearly always sing for the Eucharist and in addition
evensong and matins are shared between the boys and
girls. These are the times for those services:
Eucharist (every week for the boys)
9:10am Rehearsal
9:45am-11am Eucharist
Matins (Every week they are not singing Evensong)
11am Tea break (after Eucharist)
11:15-12:15am Matins
Evensong (Every week they are not singing Matins)
5:55pm Rehearsal
6:30pm-7:30pm Evensong
Payment:
The choir does not cost anything
for the chorister as the church covers all costs – and
even pays choristers to come and sing, which is a
bonus.
Activities:
There is usually at least one outing a term for the
boy choristers including trips to the cinema and occasionally
theme parks such as Thorpe Park!
Further information:
If you are at all interested in your son joining the
boys choir then do not hesitate to contact Andrew Post
on 07971 280 495 or via the Vestry on 01202 485 804.
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The Priory Girls Choir
Commitment
Taken during filming for the Meridian Tonight Television
Broadcast
The Priory Girls’ Choir was founded in September
2005, so it is a very new venture! At present
there are 20 girls aged between 8 and 13.
The commitment is quite a large one as you can see
below:
Friday nights (in term time):
6:45-7:45pm Rehearsal
7:45pm-8:30pm Film Club – this is optional – but
good fun!
Sundays:
The girls alternate with the
boys and so one week they sing for matins, the other
for evensong. These
are the times for those services:
Matins (Every week they are not singing Evensong)
10:15am Rehearsal
11:15-12:15am Matins
Evensong (Every week they are not singing Matins)
5:55pm Rehearsal
6:30pm-7:30pm Evensong
Every so often the girls sing for Eucharist, for which
the timings are as follows:
Eucharist
9:10am Rehearsal
9:45-11am Eucharist
Payment:
The choir does not cost anything
for the chorister as the church covers all costs – and
even pays choristers to come and sing, which is a
bonus.
Activities:
There is at least one outing
a term for the girl choristers and so far they have
been to play skittles and to a pantomime – again
these trips are paid for.
Further information:
If you are at all interested
in your daughter joining the girls choir then do
not hesitate to contact Cathy Lamb on 07747 444 047
or cathylamb@btinternet.com.
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The Priory Singers
A mixed-voice choir which sings
services on about five Sundays a year. We also sing
for other services such as Midnight Mass and Corpus
Christi. Rehearsals are held once a fortnight.
We welcome new members from mid-teens
upwards. Please ring Mary Goodman on 01202 474655.
You
can listen to the Priory Choir of Men and Boys and organ by clicking here
Recruiting for both girls, boys and adults
is ongoing and if anyone would like more information
please contact Andrew Post on 07971 280 495 or via
the vestry on 01202 485 804 or Catherine Lamb on
07747 444 047.
Andrew Post, Master of Choristers
Catherine Lamb, Assistant Director of Music
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