Vocal groups
Whatever style of music you enjoy singing, St Andrews has a group that will cater for you.
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Membership by audition
Byre Opera presents professionally directed, high-quality opera, performed in English, to audiences in St Andrews and beyond. Singers are drawn mainly from the undergraduate and postgraduate student bodies, but casts have also included young professionals, University staff, and local amateurs.
Singers benefit from regular coaching from internationally renowned opera singers and coaches as well as the opportunity to work with professional directors, designers and orchestral musicians.
Byre Opera is now in its tenth year and was founded by Music Centre Director Dr Michael Downes.
Auditions
Students can audition for Byre Opera in the October preceding the new production.
Contact
For more information about Byre Opera or auditioning, please contact one of the following:
- Dr Michael Downes (Music Centre Director) mjd22@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Jonathan May (Head of Vocal Studies) email: jhm22@st-andrews.ac.uk
Productions
The 2020 Byre Opera production will be of Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande in an orchestration by Matthew Rooke, sung in a new translation by Janice Galloway. It will be performed in the following venues:
- St Andrews: 19 and 20 June at 7pm in the Byre Theatre
- Glasgow: 23 June at 7pm in Cottiers Theatre
- Berwick upon Tweed: 26 and 27 June at 7pm in the Maltings
- London: 1 July at 7pm in the Greenwood Theatre, 55 Weston St, Bermondsey, London SE1 3RA
Ticketing details to be announced soon.
Past productions include:
- Handel's Xerxes (2018)
- Janacek's Cunning Little Vixen (2017)
- Britten's Turn of the Screw (2016)
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Membership by audition
St Salvator's Chapel Choir is the flagship choir of the University. More information about the choir and how to audition are available on the St Salvator's Chapel Choir website.
Choral and organ scholars are required to join the Music Centre.
Scholarships
Choral and organ scholarships are available for University students.
Choral scholarships entitles the holder to:
- subsidised singing lessons at the University Music Centre
- free participation in the annual choir tour
- Sunday lunch.
Organ scholars accompany St Salvator’s Chapel Choir in all its activities. Beyond this, an organ scholarship entitles the holder to:
- lessons with Tom Wilkinson (University Organist) and Professor Henry Fairs (Honorary Professor of Organ)
- recital opportunities (two per year in St Andrews)
- masterclasses with leading organists (recently, John Kitchen, Sietze de Vries, and Wolfgang Zerer)
- participation in international organ academies.
Contact
For more information, please contact:
Director of Chapel Music
Claire Innes-Hopkins
Email: ceih1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1344 46 2237 -
St Leonard’s Chapel Choir sings the Office of Compline once a week in the intimate, candle-lit surroundings of St Leonard's Chapel. The choir is unauditioned, and all University students and staff are welcome to join.
St Leonard's Chapel Choir was founded by the Rev. Douglas Gifford, then a professor of Spanish at the University. Today, the choir is directed by the holder of the Douglas Gifford Scholarship, which is awarded on an annual basis.
If you are interested in singing with St Leonard's Chapel Choir, simply come to a rehearsal or contact the Douglas Gifford Scholar for more information by emailing dgscholar@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Scholarships
There are scholarships available for University students in the choir which are auditioned for at the beginning of every academic year. The scholarship gives the holder singing lessons within the Music Centre.
Rehearsals and services
Rehearsals take place on Thursdays at 8.30pm
Services take place on Thursdays at from 10pm to 10.25pm
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Membership by audition
St Katharine's Choir is an upper-voices student choir which exists to sing services in St Salvator's Chapel. On top of singing for around six evensongs per semester, the choir performs in concerts in St Andrews and further afield.
Auditions normally take place at the beginning of the academic year.
Contact
For more information about the choir and auditioning, please contact:
Director of Chapel Music
Claire Innes-Hopkins
Email: ceih1@st-andrews.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1344 46 2237 -
The choir performs the glorious music of Renaissance Europe and regularly performs in St Andrews with trips to Edinburgh and Dunblane this year, and occasionally tours in the UK and Europe. There are currently vacancies in all parts for experienced singers with some sight-reading ability.
In October 2019, the choir took part in the St Andrews Voices festival and sang music by Palestrina, Monteverdi, Victoria and Stopford.
The choir was founded by Douglas Gifford in 1955, and is currently directed by Gillian Craig.
Bursaries
The choir offers up to three bursary awards covering the cost of vocal tuition in the Music Centre. Bursaries are awarded annually by competition, including one bursary specifically for a tenor.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place on Tuesdays from 5.30pm to 7.30pm in St Salvator's Chapel.
Contact
For more information about joining the St Andrews Renaissance Singers, please email Gillian Craig at gc5@st-andrews.ac.uk.
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St Andrews Chorus is Scotland's largest choral society, and since 2018 has been affiliated to the University of St Andrews Music Centre. For more information, see the St Andrews Chorus website.
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The Music Centre offers two choirs for children:
- St Andrews Children's Choir is for P1 to P4 children. It explores a wide range of songs and provides an all-round introduction to music. It is directed by Jane Harrison Smith.
- St Andrews Youth Choir is open to all children from P5 upwards through secondary school. This is a fun and slightly more challenging group for older children, directed by Gillian Craig.
Both choirs meet on Wednesdays, 4pm to 5pm in the Younger Hall, starting on 18 September 2019.
Both choirs take part in community concerts and a Christmas carol service. They are open to everyone without audition.
For further information, please email music@st-andrews.ac.uk or simply come along to a rehearsal.
- St Andrews Children's Choir is for P1 to P4 children. It explores a wide range of songs and provides an all-round introduction to music. It is directed by Jane Harrison Smith.
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A number of student societies and other independently run choral and vocal groups exist in St Andrews. Some of them are listed below: