Co-curricular activities welcome likeminded students and staff to nurture passions and indulge interests, forging friendships which span across classes and year groups. Our current provision is extensive, numbering at over one hundred and fifty options, with more growing each year. Each week, we seek to celebrate one of the many clubs and societies that form part of the rich fabric of Merchant Taylors’.
This week we look at Choir Club, a space for friendship, singing and fun!
The School Choir is one of the oldest and largest co-curricular activities at Merchant Taylors’, having been established in the 1870s and numbering around 90 boys. The choir sings a wide range of music for a variety of occasions, the highlight this academic year being the Triennial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in October. Members of the School Choir, led by Mrs Stubbs, meet twice a week, once for a sectional rehearsal (either trebles and altos, on Thursday afternoons, or tenors and basses, on Wednesday mornings), and once for a full rehearsal, during the Hour on Fridays. At the moment we are preparing for a performance of Handel’s oratorio Messiah, which we will perform at the end of term. For this concert, we will be joined by singers from Merchant Taylors’ Prep, St John’s, and St Helen’s, in addition to some parents. The summer term usually heralds lighter repertoire, as we look towards the Summer Serenade at the end of the academic year. A number of teachers sing in the choir, finding it a welcome relief from other more frenetic aspects of school life.
Why should you join choir? Singing alone is enjoyable, but doing so surrounded by friends and peers is even more fun! Nothing can truly beat the experience of singing in a large choir in a building such as St Paul’s – and although we only sing there every three years, the Great Hall is not such a bad space to sing in! You’ll meet boys from all different year groups, working together to sing great music. If you can sing and want to sing together, join the School Choir!
