St John's Voices
St John's Voices was the secondary choir of St John's College, Cambridge, alongside the College choir of St John's. Founded in 2013 to allow female members of the college to take part in the college's choral tradition, it was a mixed voice adult choir, comprising around 30 singers.[1] As well as singing Choral Evensong in the College chapel, St John's voices gave frequent concerts, and toured internationally. The choir's outreach extended to Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The choir has also produced critically acclaimed recordings under the Naxos label, of works by William Mathias and Pavel Chesnokov.[2]
Reactions to disbandment
[edit]In March 2024, the choir received written notice from the college that St John's Voices would be disbanded by June 2024. They stated that the decision was made "to adopt a broader approach to the provision of co-curricular opportunities in music for our students, including in different genres". This decision caused widespread controversy, due to the reduction of opportunities for female singers. Despite the fact that St John's College choir has admitted women since 2022,[3] it does not include soprano voices.
Members of St John's Voices initiated a campaign against the disbandment, condemning the decision as "regressive" in an open letter which received over 14,000 signatures.[4] They stated that the admission of female singers into the Choir of St John's College had been "weaponised against the very existence of another ensemble, supposedly in the name of broadening opportunities".[5] The open letter received national media attention from The Guardian,[6] The Daily Telegraph[7] and The Independent,[8] with notable supporters including Rowan Williams, Simon Rattle, Sarah Connolly, Gareth Malone, Alexander Armstrong, Anna Lapwood, and John Rutter.[9]
In response to the protest, the college released a statement saying that the move was made to "redirect the significant resources currently devoted to St John's Voices", highlighting that the choir has recently expanded to include members from other colleges.[10]
In October 2024, the Cambridge University Schola Cantorum "emerged from the embers" of St. John's Voices.[11][12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ "St John's Voices". St John's College Cambridge. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Recordings by St John s Voices | Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Girls and women to sing as members of The Choir of St John's | St John's College, University of Cambridge". www.joh.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ "St John's Voices launches petition against 'fundamentally regressive' disbandment". Classical Music. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Bakare, Lanre; Arts, Lanre Bakare; correspondent, culture (21 March 2024). "Axing of Cambridge mixed choir 'regressive move for women', say supporters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
{{cite news}}:|last3=has generic name (help) - ^ Bakare, Lanre; Arts, Lanre Bakare; correspondent, culture (21 March 2024). "Axing of Cambridge mixed choir 'regressive move for women', say supporters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
{{cite news}}:|last3=has generic name (help) - ^ Berkeley, Michael (24 March 2024). "The St John's Voices choir must be saved". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Scrapping of Cambridge college mixed choir 'regressive' for women". The Independent. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Lebrecht, Normal (25 March 2024). "John Rutter savages St John's Cambridge". Slipped Disc.
- ^ "Music in College at St John's – a statement | St John's College, University of Cambridge". www.joh.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Cambridge University Schola Cantorum". cambridgeschola.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "St John's Voices 'reincarnated' as the Cambridge University Schola Cantorum". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "A new choir for Cambridge University announced". Gramophone. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
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