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This week
Music at St Michael’s (05/05/2024)
The motet this morning is Ubi caritas (“where charity and love is, there is God”). Both its words – thought to have been written in France in the 10th century – and the style of Gregorian chant that inspired its music, are very ancient. But it was in fact composed in 2001 by the Norwegian composer, Ola Gjeilo. Gjeilo was born in 1978, and studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, and the RCM in London. He currently lives in Laguna Beach, California. The motet is sung this morning by our senior and junior choristers.
To read about the choir’s visit to Portsmouth Cathedral – the first of our recent cathedral visits to include junior choristers – follow this link to Ann Scott Russell’s report:
The pictures opposite show the choir from the Easter Family Service, and Esme (7), receiving her RSCM White Medal that day. The choir included our junior choristers, and some previous members of the choir, who were visiting Southampton for Easter
Join our Junior Choir
Our Junior Choristers start from Year 3 and Youth Singers from Year 7.
find out moreHalf-Term Singing Days
Open singing days run during half terms for those in years 3 and over.
find out moreListen to the Choir
Listen to audio and video recordings of the St Michael and All Angels’ Choir.
find out moreAbout us
We sing Choral Eucharists Evensongs, Carol Services,
The Family Service…We rehearse on Wednesdays from 7.30–9.00pm (6.30–7.45pm for younger singers) and before services. The choir doesn’t sing at St Michael’s immediately after Christmas and Easter, or during the school summer holiday, when cathedral visits are sometimes arranged.
Director of music: Andrew Hanley
The Choir and COVID-19
During COVID times, it was hard to keep singing! Yet as a choir, we found it more important than ever. We worked hard to keep a choral sound available, and keep practising. Virtual anthems and hymns were produced for services. We ran a “virtual pub” after Zoom-based choir practices, complete with the occasional “pub” quiz, and birthday and special occasion celebrations. From the first service featuring our recordings (Palm Sunday, 2020) through to the end of the second lockdown in May 2021, well over 100 recordings of our hymns, anthems, and psalms were used in our services.
You can view the recordings of these virtual anthems on the YouTube “NSABparish” channel. virtual anthems on YouTube