The Choir of Queens’ College Cambridge is a mixed choir of up to twenty-four singers and two organ scholars directed by Nicholas Morris, Director of Music, Bye-Fellow, and sometime Queens’ Organ Scholar.
Combining high-quality music making, ambitious and wide-ranging repertoire and commitment to detail with a friendly atmosphere and vibrant social life, the choir is an ideal environment for talented musicians who want to find a fulfilling balance between the commitments of a Cambridge degree and a high-calibre choral experience. The Choir sings three choral services each week during Full Term: Evensong on Sundays and Wednesdays, and Compline on Fridays. There are also occasional additional services and events, for special Feast Days, Commemorations of Benefactors, weddings and memorials.
Regular cathedral visits and recitals in Cambridge and beyond supplement the Choir’s core duties in the Chapel. Recent trips have included Hong Kong (2014), Hungary (2015), France (2016), USA (2017), Greece (2018), France (2019), and Amsterdam in 2023. The Choir also regularly sings joint services with other choirs, both as hosts and guests. The Choir has a large discography, gaining critical acclaim for recent recordings Flight of Song, Songs of Heaven and Earth, and For the Wings of a Dove, and in 2019 the Choir recorded a series of new pieces by UK composers. The Chapel Choir regularly performs new music by both early-career and established composers.
Services are held in the College Chapel and all are welcome to attend. They take place at the following times, during University Full Term only:
Weekly Daytime Services
| Sundays | 5.45pm | Choral Evensong |
| Wednesdays | 6.30pm | Choral Evensong |
| Fridays | 9pm | Choral Compline |
If you are interested in learning more about joining the Choir, please contact the Director of Music, Nicholas Morris, who would be delighted to provide more information, discuss entry into the Choir and arrange an audition or informal meeting as you wish.
There are three endowed choral scholarships in the Choir, donated through the generosity of alumni:
The Estelle Choral Choral Scholarship: Lily Krapichler (2025-26)
The Aliki Vatikioti Choral Scholarship: Lara Van-Hunen (2025-26)
The Cleevely Choral Scholarship: Jessica Brady (2025-26)
All choral scholars in the Choir receive the same renumeration, in line with the University Choral Awards.
We also have endowed two instrumental scholarships:
The Michael Williamson Instrumental Scholarships
During term time, the Choir sings three services per week in the College Chapel. Evensongs on Sundays and Wednesdays involve the full choir and organists, while Choral Compline on Friday evenings provide an opportunity to perform unaccompanied polyphony. The regular weekly timetable is as follows:
| Day | Time | Activity |
| Sunday | 16:00 – 17:00 | Rehearsal |
| 17:45 – 19:00 | Choral Evensong, followed by drinks in Ante-Chapel | |
| 19:30 | Formal Hall | |
| Wednesday | 17:10 – 18:15 | Rehearsal |
| 18:30 – 19:15 | Choral Evensong | |
| 19:30 | Formal Hall | |
| Friday | 17:10 – 18:45 | Weekly Rehearsal |
| 20:15 – 20:45 | Rehearsal | |
| 21:00 – 21:30 | Choral Compline, followed by drinks and doughnuts in the Antechapel |
Membership of Queens’ College Chapel Choir comes with many benefits:
The John Clough Memorial Fund was kindly given in memory of John Clough (Organ Scholar 1970-73) for the purpose of promoting musical life in the College, specifically that of the College Choir. The fund currently provides up to £200 for the Senior Tutor and Dean of Chapel to allocate each year, normally for musical tuition, courses or travel costs related to musical pursuits. Please contact the Tutorial Office for more information regarding this.
Tour to Switzerland and northern Italy (July 2024)
If you are interested in learning more about joining the choir, please contact the Director of Music, Nicholas Morris, who would be delighted to provide more information, discuss entry into the choir and arrange an audition or informal meeting as you wish, at any time of the year.
We welcome strong singers of any musical background. Some skill in sight-reading is an advantage, but don’t worry if you haven’t had much experience of choral singing before; regular rehearsals and services allow everybody to get up to speed rapidly. When applying you will be asked to sing a piece of your choice and will be tested on your sight-reading and aural skills. It’s a relaxed and friendly process focused on getting the best that we can out of you. We are also happy to arrange informal auditions to offer advice ahead of a formal application, and prospective singers are always welcome to attend a service or observe a rehearsal.
There are two types of membership in our choir, which combine to form a group of approximately twenty-four singers.
The core of the Choir is appointed using the University-wide Choral Award audition process, which allows prospective undergraduates to apply before starting their studies at Cambridge. If you enjoy singing and have a place at (or are planning to apply to) Queens’, we strongly recommend applying for a Choral Award. More information can be found on the music awards website. It is also possible to apply for a Choral Award if you hold an offer from another college.
Those who audition successfully through the Choral Award scheme are then offered a Choral Scholarship, which is held alongside their academic place. They are expected to give full commitment to the Choir for the duration of their scholarship, which is three years. Each Choral Scholar receives the standard University Choral Award stipend in addition to the standard benefits provided to all other Choir members.
There are also vacancies each year for volunteers, both from Queens’ and from elsewhere in Cambridge. While many of these are filled at the beginning of October, spaces sometimes become available throughout the year and auditions can be arranged at any time – it is always worth getting in touch! While these places don’t come with financial award, volunteers receive all other benefits of membership and are hugely valued members of the Chapel and College communities.
Queens’ is very proud of the training it offers its organists, and the magnificent three-manual Binns organ is an ideal instrument on which the learn the art of choral accompaniment. Many former organ scholars have enjoyed distinguished musical careers after graduation, such the composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1870-72), the internationally renowned symphonic and operatic conductor Richard Hickox (1967-70). The organ scholars are central to college music making, often conducting the MagSoc Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The organ scholars also traditionally organise the organ recital series that runs in the Michaelmas and Lent terms.
While most read music, organ scholars can study any subject and enjoy the same privileges as members of the Choir, including free Formal Halls (three-course meals) after Chapel services, and free singing lessons. In addition, the organ scholars receive a generous stipend each year towards organ tuition, conducting lessons and scores. Complementing his role with the Choir, the Director Music Nick Morris coaches the organ scholars in choral accompaniment. Nick also offers organ lessons, but encourages organ scholars to study with visiting teachers to allow them to consider other musical perspectives.
Through the Friends of Queens’ Music, Queens’ offers generous support for other musical endeavours and the organ scholars also benefit from fees for weddings throughout the year. The organ scholars are provided with rooms in College with pianos.
Both organ scholarships are endowed: the Senior Organ Scholar is known as the Aliki Vatikioti Senior Organ Scholar, and the Junior Organ Scholar is known as the George C. Phillips Organ Scholar.
The Aliki Vatikioti Senior Organ Scholar – Mr Zane Soonawalla (zs426)
The George C. Phillips Junior Organ Scholar – Mr Sam Trueman (sdt49)
If you are interested in learning more about becoming an Organ Scholar here at Queens’, please contact the Director of Music, Nicholas Morris.
Please note that these scholarships will not be available to those applying for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, and Queens’ does not offer Philosophy as a subject at Tripos level, so applicants for these subjects should not apply to Queens’ for Organ Scholarships.
The organ specification can be viewed on the National Pipe Organ Register website.
Queens’ hosts a regular organ recital series during Full Term, on Saturdays at 1.15pm.
Organ recitals are held on Saturdays during full term, at 1.15pm in Chapel. Entry is free (via the Visitors' Entrance on Queens' Lane if open, or else via the Porters' Lodge on Silver Street), and there is a retiring collection to help cover the costs of the series.
Saturday 24 January – Katherine Dienes-Williams
Saturday 31 January – Thomas Allery
Saturday 7 February – Mark Willuams
Saturday 14 February – Darius Battiwalla
Saturday 21 February – Katelyn Emerson
Saturday 28 February – Ed Gant
Saturday 7 March – Jeremy Lloyd
Saturday 14 March – Sam Trueman
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