ROMSEY ABBEY CHOIR

The Choir of Romsey Abbey is one of the largest and most successful all male Parish Church Choirs in the South of England. Its members are drawn primarily from the Romsey area, but with some travelling from further afield. The aim of the Abbey Choir is to provide music of a high standard, to lead and enhance the worship at services in the Abbey, including important Civic Occasions.

Boys are auditioned when they are in year three at school and those who are successful join the choir as probationers after Easter in the year of the audition. However, entry at other times is possible, especially in cases where families move into the area. The chief requirements expected of the boys are fluency in their reading, a musical ear, the ability to work as part of a team and a lively interest in the work and life of the choir. There are usually twenty boys that make up the treble section, ranging in age from 8 to 14.

The expectations for the men are very much the same as for the boys. There are 12 men divided up into counter-tenors, tenors and basses, with an Assistant Organist and Organ Scholar. The full choir meets every Thursday for rehearsals during term time and, in addition, the boys have a separate practice on Mondays. There are two sung services in the Abbey on Sundays with additional evening services for feast and festival days. A high degree of commitment to all rehearsals and services is expected from all members.

The life of an Abbey Chorister is a demanding, but very rewarding one. The boys, in particular, receive an excellent all round musical grounding and sing a repertoire which ranges from plainsong, the earliest music of the Christian Church, to music from the twentieth century.

Such a demanding schedule and level of commitment must be balanced by lighter moments as well. There are many social and fundraising events throughout the year organised by the Friends of Romsey Abbey Choir. These occasions usually involve the whole family, drawing in brothers and sisters, wives, mothers and even grandparents. It is a very important aspect of the life of the Abbey Choir, which enables us to relax, laugh and have a lot of fun. This in turn inspires us anew for the work we do in offering the very best music we can to enhance the worship at Romsey Abbey.