Joining the Schola

Anyone can join the schola as long as they are keen to sing! There is no need to be able to read Gregorian chant notation. We will teach you how to read the the notation, how to develop fluency in Latin pronunciation, etc. Plainsong is very easy to sing and given patience and experience anyone can sing even the more complex pieces.

Members will need to commit to a rehearsal each Thursday evening lasting for two hours and around six Saturdays a year for the deanery Masses.

Membership of the schola is also restricted to men. Gregorian chant has always been sung by single sex choirs since it was developed by monks and nuns. We don’t have the resources to run a ladies' schola, but we are committed to encouraging both men and women to sing chant in our work to promote it throughout the Archdiocese. We hope that women will be able to support us by joining us for our liturgies throughout the year.

If you are interested in joining please contact us using the details to the right - and if you have any questions about joining please do not hesitate to drop us a line.

Supporting the Schola

Even if you are not able to sing in the schola for we would very much appreciate your support. Please get in touch with us if you feel you can offer us anything useful – perhaps you have some old chant books which we could put to better use, for example?

If you would like to join our mailing list please send us an email at the address on the right with “Mailing List” as the subject. We will send you updates about our latest events and other information from time to time.

Thursday Evening

Owing to various other commitments in the Cathedral diary, Thursday has been chosen as the evening for our weekly rehearsal and Vespers.

Therefore, the first rehearsal will take place on Thursday 5th February. Please drop us an email or leave a voicemessage if you intend to join us.

We will gathering each week in the Cathedral porch between 18:00 and 18:15 before walking over to the house and will be finished by 20:15. If you cannot attend the first rehearsal or do not hear about it in time, please also get in touch with us. We hope you will be able to join us for our second rehearsal on the 12th.

Our first Vespers will probably take place on 19th or 26th February, depending on our progress - we will confirm this by 13th February.

NEW DATE for First Vespers

Due to diary commitments, our first public Vespers will now take place on 19th March 2009 at 6.45pm, which will be Solemn Vespers for the Feast of St Joseph.

We look forward to seeing you at the Cathedral.

Forthcoming Events

Our recent Vespers for the Feast of St Joseph was a great success and special thanks are due to Fr Neil Ferguson OP for officiating on that occasion.

The Schola has decided to sing Vespers monthly for the time being and our next liturgy will be on 30th April and will be First Vespers for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker.

Looking further ahead there will be Vespers on 21st May for Ascension and on 18th June there will be First Vespers for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

All liturgies will begin at 6:45 pm at St Mary's Cathedral.

Spring Events

Thursday 30th April
Feast of St Joseph the Worker
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers
and Benediction

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Thursday 21st May
Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers

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Thursday 18th June
Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Solemn Sung Latin Vespers
and Benediction

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All liturgies begin at 6:45 pm at St Mary’s Cathedral