Singers from 10 to 85 years old of Burlingame’s Choir of St. Paul’s, including six current students of the St. Paul’s Choir School, will sing daily services for a week at Wells Cathedral in England this July.
When the Choir of St. Paul’s opens their lips to sing Evensong at Wells’ magnificent 12th-century Gothic cathedral, they will be joining in song with thousands who have come before in an unbroken 800-year-old choral tradition at the cathedral. Choral Evensong (sung evening prayer) is a uniquely Anglican service and has been called one of England’s richest treasures. As one music columnist recently wrote after Evensong, “the sound of a few choristers in the cathedral ... created a minor musical miracle.”
The trip for the Choir of St. Paul’s won’t be all hard work: A visit to Stonehenge, a walk down Wells’ famous medieval Vicars’ Close (the oldest residential street in Europe) and a celebratory dinner at the beautiful, moated Bishop’s Palace, adjacent to the cathedral, will give the choirs’ vocal chords some rest.
Wells is a charming town of 12,000 people about 20 miles southwest of Bath. The choir will stay within walking distance of the cathedral, providing an opportunity to experience the daily life of the town and the rhythm of being a cathedral choir singing seven services in a single week.
After submitting audition recordings, the Choir of St. Paul’s was invited to this prestigious week-long residency two years ago, along with concerts at Berkeley Castle and Bishop’s Palace Chapel. It is the second time the choir has been invited to a summer cathedral residency, the first at Gloucester Cathedral in 2017.
The choir is led by Dr. Susan Jane Matthews, founding director of St. Paul’s Choir School, celebrating its 15th year anniversary in 2022. Choir School students receive structured training according to the method of the Royal School of Church Music and are eligible to participate in weeklong summer training courses around the United States. Dr. Matthews is an associate of the RSCM, and a board member of RSCM America. Four of her first Choir School students, now adults, will sing with the choir at Wells this summer. A passionate advocate for women musicians in the church, the repertoire sung by the choir will highlight women composers.
Members of the public can hear the choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Burlingame (415 El Camino Real) for farewell services featuring the Wells Residency music at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 10, and for 7 p.m. Evensong on Monday, July 11, and Tuesday, July 12. For more information about the Wells Residency or the St. Paul’s Choir School visit St. Paul’s website: www.stpaulsburlingame.org
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