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Singing for Adults at Great St Mary's

From September 2026, Great St Mary’s is re-organising its adult singing into two new ensembles: the Parish Choir and the Lay Clerks.

The Parish Choir

The Parish Choir is Great St Mary’s auditioned SATB Choir. It is a chamber choir made up of volunteer singers drawn from across the Cambridge area, and sings both independently and together with our teenaged youth choir. Our repertoire is broad and imaginative, encompassing both the challenging and the simple, and drawn from all eras from the 16th Century to the present day.  

The Parish Choir rehearses on Friday evenings (1900-2030), and usually sings for one service on a Sunday: the Eucharist, Choral Mattins, or Choral Evensong. The choir is friendly and collaborative community, bound together by a shared love of high quality music-making and collegiality. Rehearsals are fast-paced and fun, and often end with a drink together at a local pub.  

Parish Choir members need to have a good natural voice and clear tone. They should be fluent readers of music and have a good ear. They should be willing to prepare music in advance and to commit to at least 80% of scheduled commitments. The choir sings during school term-time, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter, taking a break during school holidays.  

The choir tours annually, either in the United Kingdom or abroad, and also arranges daytrips to local cathedrals. Several times a year, including for the much-loved Carols by Candlelight services in December, all the choirs join together to become the Full Foundation of Great St Mary’s.  

The Lay Clerks

The Lay Clerks are Great St Mary’s ATB adult singers who contribute to the musical education of our burgeoning treble line through providing a superb back row. Our Lay Clerks are experienced and gifted volunteer singer who want a low commitment and high quality singing experience, and have a vested interest in the growth of the next generation of musicians.  

The Lay Clerks sing with the choristers once a week, rehearsing directly before the Eucharist or Choral Evensong. Once a month, the Lay Clerks stay behind after a service to read through forthcoming tricky music. 

Lay Clerks should have a strong natural voice, ideally with some evidence of vocal training, and be able to hold a vocal line unassisted. They should have excellent aural skills and a strong emphasis is placed on the ability to sight-read. Lay Clerks are expected to commit to 80% of scheduled choir commitments during school term-time, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter. There are usually no scheduled commitments during school holidays.  

Membership of both choirs

It is possible to be a member of both the Parish Choir and the Lay Clerks. In such cases, the expectation to attend 80% of choir commitments will be applied with greater flexibility, in the knowledge that this represents a substantial commitment for choir members. 

Occasional Choir

The Great St Mary's Occasional Choir is a group of singers drawn from our regular congregation, who sing for Sunday services when the regular choirs are not available. The choir meets an hour before services and sings simple four-part repertoire. There is no audition to join the Occasional Choir but it is helpful to be able read music. The choir is directed by Stanley Godfrey, Assistant Director of Music. For more information and to join the mailing list, email music@gsm.cam.ac.uk 

Auditions and Contact

We will be hosting auditions for both the Parish Choir and Lay Clerks on Saturday 25 April 2026 and Saturday 9 May 2026. We have places available in all parts.

​​Parish Choir Audition Requirements 

  • Sing a prepared piece (of own choice)  

  • Aural Skills  

  • Sight-reading  

  • Simple Renaissance/Tudor motet in Latin  

  • 19th or 20th century piece in Romantic style in English 

Lay Clerks’ Audition Requirements 

  • Prepared piece (of own choice, ideally an aria from an oratorio or opera from the 17th-18th Century)  

  • Prepared psalm (issued in advance)  

  • Aural Skills  

  • Sight-reading  

  • Renaissance polyphony in Latin  

  • 20th century or contemporary music in English 

For further information, please contact music@gsm.cam.ac.uk  

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