A scholar’s life
Tom Harvey (year 2) provides a glimpse into the activities of Cantores Michaelis, the university choral scholars: I auditioned for Cantores Michaelis late in my final year of school, not knowing yet whether I would get the grades to join that September. I was awarded the scholarship and this made me even more excited at the prospect of potentially becoming a student at Southampton. Not all members of Cantores Michaelis audition before joining the University, though; some only join in their second or third years.My singing career began at the age of 12 when I was in prep school. Since then, I have sung in various choirs and with jazz bands. I did not, however, have singing lessons until sixth form. Being a choral scholar at Southampton is much more challenging than what I was used to, due to the higher standard of singing and more difficult repertoire.
Christmas is a particularly favorable time for the members of Cantores, and it begins early, learning repertoire as early as October. It is our busiest time of year: although we are based in St Michael’s Church, where we sing our weekly services, we also perform carol services at many other churches in the area. We also have the opportunity to sing on board the Cunard cruise ships before they depart for their Christmas voyages. 2014 saw us performing on the Queen Mary II, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Not only is the singing great, but so is the unlimited buffet lunch that they provide. We perform a wide range of repertoire from the well-known and loved Christmas carols to medieval music that is rarely performed.
Cantores Michaelis is celebrating its 15th year this year and we are marking this with a weekend tour to Lüdenscheid, near Dortmund, Germany, at the end of March. We will be performing two concerts with a programme of music carefully selected by our musical director, Keith Davis. We will be singing selected pieces of music from each of the four seasons of the year, including music intended for Michaelmas, Christmas, Epiphany and Easter. We hope this will be the first international tour of many.
The highlight of Cantores for me is being with like-minded people. All of the members of Cantores are passionate about singing and we all encourage each other to perform to our best, while also creating a relaxed atmosphere. We also all have opportunities to sing solos in pieces of music such as Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D, allowing us showcase our solo skills as well as working in an ensemble. As we only have a Friday rehearsal before each Sunday service, we are forced to learn music a fast pace, improving our sight-reading abilities no end. Cantores gives us the opportunities to not only perform in church but to also perform at weddings, funerals and other events, as a professional would.
Outside of the singing commitments, we all also enjoy the social side of Cantores, with regular trips to the pub or meals after events, and this has greatly contributed to my university life.