Chamber music

Churchill students usually end up forming lots of chamber music and vocal groups over the year. Recently, we have seen a piano trio, a piano quartet, various string quartets, a clarinet trio (clarinet, cello and piano), a clarinet quartet (four clarinets) a clarinet quintet (clarinet and string quartet) start up.

The Churchill college library holds several copies of string quartets and some piano music. The music society also owns several chamber music sets, which you're welcome to borrow.

Chapel Choir

The Chapel Choir is a friendly group of singers who meet once a week to sing a service in the college chapel.

More informal than most chapel choirs in Cambridge, and non-audition, anyone is welcome to come along and join in. To join, email the Organ Scholar, Edward Lilley (ejl44).

Churchill Choir

Churchill Choir aims to provide an opportunity for college members to enjoy singing a wide range of works for choir to a high standard. Founded in 2004, the choir performs a wide range of music, both sacred and secular, from Tudor motets to arrangements of jazz standards and pop songs. The choir prepares music for a concert each term, usually performed in the recital room in the Music Centre. Conductors are all members of the choir, and the opportunity to conduct is open to all singers.

Members of Churchill Choir contribute in many other ways to the musical life of the college. These include singing at various college occasions, often with members of the Chapel Choir, such as memorial services or college feasts as well as small-group singing opportunities such as madrigal evenings.

Information for Prospective Members

Churchill Choir welcomes new singers at any time in the academic year, but particularly at the beginning of term. We rehearse every Wednesday evening from 7pm - 9pm, with a break for biscuits and squash. Socialising between members of the choir is important, and hence rehearsals have an informal atmosphere. We also organise social events, including a choir dinner once a term.

New members can just come along to rehearsals, there’s no need to audition. An ability to sight-sing is not essential and neither is choral experience, but you should be able to read music. It’s best to start at the first rehearsal of term, but you won’t be turned away if you start later on. Future and past repertoire can be found at the bottom of this page.

For further information, or to join the choir, contact the Choir Director, Jonathan Schranz, on js2041@cam.ac.uk.

Recent Concerts:

19th May 2012 – Recital Room, Churchill College

Vaughan Williams - Five English Folk Songs
Saint-Saens – Calme Des Nuits
Joel – And So It Goes
Bennet - Weep, O mine eyes
Morley - Fyer, fyer!

12th March 2012 – Recital Room, Churchill College

Whitacre – Sleep
Purcell – Dido’s Lament (from Dido and Aeneas)
Bruckner – Os Justi Meditabitur
John/Zimmer – Circle of Life (from The Lion King)
Tallis – If ye love me

28th November 2011 – Recital Room, Churchill College

Extracts from Vivaldi – Gloria
Gardiner – Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
Handel – Hallelujah Chorus from ‘Messiah’
Elgar – My love dwelt in a northern land

5th November 2011 – Chapel at Churchill College
A joint concert with the choir of Trinity College, Oxford

Vivaldi – Gloria
Barber – Agnus Dei

Churchill Jazz Band

Looking for a superb big band for your next event? Look no further.

Churchill Jazz Band is a 20-piece band which draws on talent from across the University to perform all styles of jazz from classic swing to Latin tunes as well as funk and more modern numbers. We perform to the highest standard and what's more, we won't charge the earth for our services!

We can also arrange for a smaller group to be available if that would be more suitable and we can customise our repertoire to suit your needs! To find out more or to hire us, please contact
chujazzband@cusu.cam.ac.uk or visit our website

We hold auditions in October for new players but if you're interested in joining, do contact us at any time!

College Bands

College Bands are abundant in Churchill. It is always easy to find other students with similar musical ideas, and as a result of this some successful groups have been formed. Such groups are frequently encouraged by the good recording facilities Churchill has to offer. Bands are often asked to play at college events such as the May Week garden party, and there are opportunities for the best to play at College Balls.

Jazz in the Bar

Jazz in the bar is a termly event containing mostly Churchill students who play jazz, generally in the Churchill bar but also at the college garden party and other events throughout the year.

If you're interested in Jazz events or playing during Jazz in the Bar, please contact the Music President.

The Orchestra on the Hill

The Orchestra on the Hill brings together musicians from Churchill, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards, Magdalene, Girton, Robinson, St Edmund's and Lucy Cavendish, and performs one or two concerts each term at a variety of venues in the colleges. It is performs standard concert repertory but also some lesser known or neglected works.

The orchestra is non-audition, but usually achieves a high standard. It's run by a committee of representatives from the hill college music societies, and opportunities exist for students to conduct and perform concertos with the orchestra.

OOTH always welcomes new members - if you are interested in taking part in the orchestra as a conductor, soloist or organiser, please contact the Churchill Music President, or any Churchill OOTH Representative, for more information.

Recent performances have included Beethoven's Egmont Overture, Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, Ivan Moody's Linnunlaulu Piano Concerto and Mendelssohn's Symphony No.3.

In 2006-2007, our repertoire included:

Haydn, Symphony no. 104 (London),
Stravinsky, Pulcinella Suite
Fauré, Masques et Bergamasques
Bach, Concerto for two violins
Weber, Bassoon concerto
Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro overture
Saint-Saens, Danse Macabre
Mozart, Flute and Harp concerto
Schubert, Symphony no. 3

And in 2005-2006:

Dvorak - Hussite Overture
Khachaturian - Masquerade Suite
Beethoven - Symphony no. 7
Mozart - Clarinet Concerto
Corelli - Christmas Concerto
Sibelius - Karelia Suite
Arnold - Little Suite no. 2
Saint-Saens - Cello Concerto
Nielsen - Aladdin Suite

For more information, visit the orchestra webpage!