The Chapel at Churchill College

Thanks to the generous response of alumni and friends to the appeal held during the Chapel's 40th anniversary, the Chapel Trust is able to offer an endowed Organ Scholarship, which is named after one of the first supporters of Chapel music, Elizabeth Cockcroft. Applications are welcome from both prospective undergraduate and prospective graduate students. Please consult the University's Organ Scholarship pages for information on applying.

Being a new post, the Scholarship is an exciting opportunity for a talented organist to define and lead new directions for music making in the Chapel. The Organ Scholar is in charge of recruiting, rehearsing and accompanying the choir and will choose the repertoire for services in consultation with the Chaplain. There is one service each week, held on Sunday evenings, which employs a variety of liturgies through the term, including Choral Evensong. The Chapel itself has no Director of Music, but musical advice and assistance are readily available from the College's Director of Music-Making. Since there is only one Organ Scholar in residence, the Organ Scholar may delegate conducting at services as necessary when accompanying on the organ. A small payment is made to a member of the choir or other musician who assists the Organ Scholar in this way.

Since the Organ Scholar is appointed to the Chapel, he or she has no formal responsibilities for extracurricular music-making in the College. However, the Organ Scholar is encouraged to collaborate with the Music Sizar (an undergraduate student who holds a bursary from the College to lead music-making there) and to liaise with the Director of Music-Making.

The Organ Scholar receives an annual bursary of £450 and up to a further £250 towards music lessons. A College room with an upright or a digital piano is set aside for the Organ Scholar. Once per term, the Chapel Trustees host the Chapel Choir and Organ Scholar for dinner at High Table.

Like all members of College, the Organ Scholar has access to Churchill's new Music Centre, which houses a Steinway grand piano (model B) and a French two-manual harpsichord, which was built for the College by David Rubio in 1983 and is regarded as one of the finest in Cambridge.

Prospective candidates interested in the Organ Scholarship are very welcome to contact the Chairman of the Chapel Trustees, for more information or to arrange a visit.

The Organ

The Chapel organ was built in 1973 by the Cambridge firm of E. J. Johnson & Son and has 21 speaking stops distributed over two manuals and pedal with electrical key and stop action. The stops are derived from seven extended ranks and a mounted cornet, providing a wide dynamic and tonal range. The instrument was overhauled by Norman Hall & Sons in 2000, and the console was placed on a mobile platform in 2005. In the following specification, the letters A-G indicate the ranks from which each stop is derived.