Choral scholars head to Paris

St Nicholas Cathedral Choir have just returned after a fabulous tour in Paris this half term.

The choir sang in some beautiful Parisian churches, including Saint Sulpice and The American Cathedral. A particular favourite was at La Madeleine with its amazing acoustics. The choir performed to a packed out audience and were received with great applause. 

“We sang in various different churches and had time to explore Paris too,” said William P, year 6 student. “The thing I enjoyed the most was climbing up the Eiffel Tower – the view was amazing. I also liked going to the Louvre and seeing the Mona Lisa.  We did a “flash mob” on the way back at Charles de Gaulle airport, singing “I got a robe” to the waiting passengers, which was fun.”

Year 7 pupil, Josh M-R, was equally as enthusiastic about the trip. “Formidable, as they say in French!  That’s how I would sum up the experience! The best bits for me were getting to sing in three fabulous cathedrals – the acoustics were awesome.  My favourite was la Madeleine because the sound was great and we had a large audience listening to us.  My favourite piece we sang was Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho which was the last piece of every concert. It has a fantastic ending but I just love the whole piece.

“As well as singing, we did lots of sightseeing. We went to the Louvre where we saw the Mona Lisa, we went to the Eiffel Tower (leTour Eiffel) and walked up and down 1200 stairs (roughly, not that I was counting!). Overall, it was an amazing experience and I will remember it forever.”

The tour was made possible thanks to the hard work of the Cathedral Choirs Association.

Choristerships enable children to learn and develop, not only musically, but in self-discipline and leadership, and in maturity and social skills, through working in a team with adults as equals. Their demanding timetable teaches them how to manage their time effectively and efficiently and they have a shared sense of achievement experienced by few others at that age. All of this will stay with them for life and gives them a huge advantage over their non-Chorister contemporaries when it comes to organising homework, preparing for exams or in the job market. They are well prepared for applying for choral scholarships at university and build skills for their future working lives.

Many famous people from all walks of life have benefited from their time as cathedral choristers. We are delighted to be in partnership with St Nicholas Cathedral Choir, offering choral scholarships to talented boys entering years 3 to 8 providing a unique musical education from an early age.

For further information about choral scholarships, please call us on 0191 255 9300.