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
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Byre Opera production of Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande, which was scheduled for summer 2020, has been postponed until summer 2021, subject to any restrictions that are in place. This will feature an orchestration by Matthew Rooke, sung in a new translation by Janice Galloway.
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.
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.
Rehearsals and services
Rehearsals take place on Thursdays at 8.30pm
Services take place on Thursdays at 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. As well as singing for around six evensongs per semester, the choir performs in concerts in St Andrews and further afield.
Auditions 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 -
Now celebrating its 65th year, this choir of around 25 singers offers the opportunity to sing some of the finest choral music ever written, that of the glorious polyphony of the 16th century.
Scholarships
The choir awards up to three scholarships per year.
Auditions
For a place in the choir without a scholarship, please send a recording or video of yourself singing, to the director Gillian Craig gc5@st-andrews.ac.uk
Your choice of music should be:
- from the serious classical repertoire of any era
- accompanied or unaccompanied
- something that you know well and can sing confidently to give a good demonstration of your voice and what you can do with it.
Criteria are voice quality, range, intonation, general musical ability etc. Please also give your voice type (SATB), a brief outline of your choral singing experience and a short assessment of your sight-reading ability
Rehearsals
When restrictions allow, rehearsals will 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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Due to current restrictions, it is unclear whether the children's choirs can run this year. This page will be updated with any developments.
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 Laidlaw Music Centre.
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: