Six Lay Clerks at last

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Chester Cathedral Choir are pleased to welcome David Hardwick (pictured third from the left) who joins us as Decani Tenor Lay Clerk this week.

David Hardwick began his musical career as a chorister at Worcester Cathedral. As a tenor he has held choral scholarships at Truro Cathedral, St Phillip’s Cathedral in Birmingham, and Gloucester Cathedral, and since 2008 he has been as a Lay Clerk at Gloucester.

David graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2009 with a 2:1 BMus(hons) degree, throughout which he maintained a keen interest in historical musicology, focussing especially on Tippett, Monteverdi and the Gloucestershire-based Poet and Composer Ivor Gurney. In addition to his academic studies, David studied singing at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Gordon Sandison and Andrew King. This culminated in a final recital at the Barber Institute of Fine Art where David performed music by Handel, Monteverdi and Gurney.

During his time at University David conducted the University Chamber Choir in two concerts, covering a broad repertoire of music. He also participated in several projects arranged by the University’s Centre for Early Music Performance and Research, including an eight voice performance of Handel’s ‘Dixit Dominus’ under the tutelage of the tenor Mark Tucker.

After his graduation, David moved to Gloucester to study for a PGCE in Secondary Music, which he completed in June 2010. As well as his commitments as a Lay Clerk, David sang with the Glevum Consort and was a member of The Songmen, a professional male voice a cappella group.

David is also developing as a soloist. In 2008 he completed his first professional Messiah with Stone Choral Society and has recently taken engagements from Newant Choral Society, Fairford Choral Society and the Cheltenham Bach choir.

David is very excited to be moving to Chester, where he hopes to establish himself as a music teacher while continuing his personal musical development as a member of Chester Cathedral Choir.

Surviving two earthquakes

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Ten months ago, we featured two members of the choir who had excelled in their singing exams and were moving on to pastures new. Since leaving the choir, they have both been very busy. Ed went out to New Zealand as a choral scholar at Christchurch, survived one earthquake and then managed to avoid getting squashed by a second when the cathedral collapsed there recently.

Besides singing in the choir, Ed worked in the Art Gallery and Cathedral Gift shop as well as becoming actively involved in sports. He coached cricket and swimming at the cathedral grammar school as well as playing and coaching water polo at Christ’s College High School.

Emily has been coaching the choristers in their singing as well as teaching singing and working locally. She went out to New Zealand for five weeks to visit Ed and are pictured outside a famous landmark enjoying a week in Sydney. Emily will be studying music at Durham University from September.

Mr Roberts’ Last Day

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On Sunday 27th February, 2011, Ian Roberts officially left his position as Assistant Director of Music at Chester Cathedral, a role which he has held since 2008. We wish him well as he takes up his new post as Director of Music at St. John’s, Ranmoor, Sheffield. There were a number of presentations throughout the day culminating in a leaving party at Duttons, organised by the Nave Choir.

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A special psalm was composed in his honour and performed at the leaving party.

Music Department News – Friends Newsletter Jan 2011

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Download the Music section from the latest Friends Newsletter :

“Music Director’s Report

Events supported by the Friends

Last May I heard the cathedral organ in avery different light. David Briggs, therenowned organist, came to the cathedral to improvise a sound track to the silent film “Phantom of the Opera”… ”

Download the music newsletter in pdf

Laurence Lyndon-Jones, Organ Recital

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This year, we welcome Laurence Lyndon-Jones as the Organ Scholar. Laurence will be playing his first organ recital this Thursday 30th September, as part of the Chester Cathedral Thursday Organ Recital Series.

Toccata and Fugue (The Dorian)   -   J S Bach
Variations on Mein Junges Leben Hat Ein End   -   Jan Peterszoon Sweelinck
Organ Sonata No 2 in C minor   -   Felix Mendelssohn
Incantation Pour Un Jour Saint   -   Jean Langlais

He is a recent graduate of Pembroke College, Oxford, where he read mathematics and was Organ Scholar for four years. He started in cathedral music as a chorister at St. Albans Cathedral and began learning the organ there after leaving the choir. Laurence appeared with the choir in the film Johnny English, and also took park in tours to the USA, Sweden and Holland.

Whilst Organ Scholar at Pembroke, Laurence conducted the chapel choir on tours to Tallinn, Milan and Barcelona and at two evensongs at Westminster Abbey in London. He also organised and conducted a CD recording by the choir in 2008 called Locus Iste. He has played organ recitals at Pembroke, St. John’s, Harris Manchester and Exeter Colleges in Oxford, and at St. Albans Cathedral. Laurence was the conductor of the Arcadian Singers of Oxford in 2010, and conducted a performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre.

Laurence is available to provide lessons in piano and trombone as well as mathematics tutoring. Please visit his website for further information.

Tributes paid to Lay Succentor

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Brian Greensill will be remembered fondly by all who encountered him. A Lay Clerk and latterly Lay Succentor in the Cathedral Choir for over twenty years, he was also a talented conductor, founding and directing many local choirs. He was remembered at the funeral last week by the former Director of Music at Chester Cathedral, David Poulter. The morning services on Sunday 19th September will be sung by the cathedral choir in his memory.

“Brian was born in Rugeley, Staffordshire and joined the church choir when he was seven years old. When his father returned from working in Ceylon the family moved to Northwich and Brian attended the Verdin Grammar School where he began to study Piano and Violin.

His working life began at Barclays Bank in Northwich, and he studied for his banking diploma in Manchester. He later went to London as an Inspector for the Bank, and it was there that he became interested in chamber choirs, auditioning for the Louis Halsey Singers.

Brian went on to work in the Education Advisory Service and retired as principal officer. After retirement he worked part time for Hacker Young Chartered Accountants.

As a singer, Brian studied first with Owen Wynne and later with Professor Ellis Keeler. He obtained his ARCM performer’s diploma in London; he sang in oratorio all over the country as a tenor soloist; and he sang with the BBC Northern singers for 21 years.