TCCA News & Events

This page gives details of previous and upcoming events concerning the Choir and the TCCA.

For even more details information visit the new Choir website

Choir calendar

Wednesday 18th August, 2010

Trinity College Chapel - 18.00 - Pre-tour concert

Tuesday 24th August - Tuesday 14th September, 2010

Choir tours in Australia (full details on Choir website)

Sunday 14th November, 2010

Trinity College Chapel - Remembrance Sunday; Fauré, Requiem (choir with singers from TCCA)

Sunday 28th November, 2010

Trinity College Chapel - Advent Carol Service

Wednesday 22nd December, 2010

St John's, Smith Square - 19.30 - J.S.Bach; Christmas Oratorio

Please do come and support the Choir at any of these concerts or services. For further details of these and other events being planned, check the Concerts page on the Choir's new website.

The TCCA produces an excellent periodic newsletter which you can download in Acrobat PDF format by clicking below. This contains full details of all notable TCCA and Choir news and events from the previous year, with editorials, features and photography. It is intended also to include news of members' notable post-Trinity musical achievements - please keep us informed of any such planned or recently past events by contacting newsletter@trinity-choir-association.org. Previous editions of the Newsletter can be found on the Archive page

Click here for a PDF of Edition 3 (5.0MB file) - Winter 2008

We would love to get something from you. Edition 3 includes articles by choral members from 1941, 1962, 1991 and 2003 (a pretty good spread by any reckoning). So dust off those nostalgic memories, get the pen (keyboard?!) out and send us your recollections or views. Any of the contact points sprinkled around this site will be happy to get your contribution.

Annual Gatherings

In line with its new alumni drive, the College has recently increased the number of Annual Gatherings it holds. This means that the choir is not always now available to sing at them, given that more fall outside of term. Last summer, on 31 July, 2009 (1974-76), and 19 September (1994-95), while the Choir were touring in the USA, the College again asked the TCCA to provide the choir to sing at Evensong and from the gallery at dinner afterwards.

This formula is due to be repeated in 2010 on Friday, 30 July (for those coming up between 1986-87) and Friday, 3 September (for those coming up between 1988-89) and if you would like to register an interest in singing on either of these occasions please contact the Membership Secretary (Selene Webb), who is coordinating the list at: sjw32@cam.ac.uk This will entail a mid-afternoon rehearsal, Evensong at approximately 6.30pm and dinner from 8pm until late. Accommodation will be available.

I sang in the first of these (which happened also to be my Gathering year) and in subsequent years and can state, unequivocally, that it is a wonderful opportunity to sing and mix with your fellow-choristers across the generations. 2008 included folk from long ago (me-1962!) up to 'just gone down', as well as ladies from the first female choral contingent and people currently singing in the absolutely top ensembles of the moment. So, don't be shy - at least contact Selene to express an interest (dinner is good too - as you probably recall!).

TCCA gathering

The second gathering of the TCCA took take place on 14 March, 2009. A talk by the Chaplain about the stained glass windows in Chapel was followed by the unveiling by the Master of two boards in the Vestry listing past Organists/Directors of Music and Deans of Chapel (see picture on left). After tea and cake, over 40 former Choir members joined the current Choir in a choral evensong, singing Parry's 'Blest Pair of Sirens'. Drinks in the Master's Lodge then preceded an excellent dinner for TCCA members and the Choir in the Old Kitchens.

Click here for details of the inaugural event, held on 1 July, 2006, (see picture on the right) which also celebrated the work of Dr Richard Marlow on the occasion of his retirement as Director of Music at Trinity.

2010/11 recordings

Following the luminous 'Baltic Exchange'. the Choir continues its exploration of contemporary repertoire with a CD of music by David Briggs composer and erstwhile organist at Gloucester Cathedral (now 'organist emeritus'). This includes the atmospheric Messe pour Notre Dame from 2002, inspired by the composer's love and respect for the 19th and 20th century French tradition of organ playing and liturgical composition. Also on the CD is the 'Trinity Service' setting of the evening canticles written in 2008 for the Trinity College Choir.

All the recent recordings demonstrate the outstanding versatility and quality of the Trinity Choir, with critics queuing up to praise the performances, voting them 'record(s) of the week/month' - this one follows the Stephen Barlow/Mark Stone Butterworth Songbook (June 2010) as August 2010 Gramophone editor's choice.

Each CD can be ordered directly from The Music Office, Trinity College, Cambridge, CB2 1TQ by sending a cheque for 13.99 (including post & packing) made payable to 'Junior Bursar Trinity College'. Ordering in this way is to the benefit of the Choir.

Full details of all the Choir's extant (and 'out of catalogue') recordings are available via the Discography page.

The last two recording sessions under Richard Marlow's direction were of choral music by Elgar and Cantiones Sacrae by Peter Philips.

The Elgar has been released on the US label Gothic, based in Washington State; and the Philips has just been released by Chandos. - for more details check the Discography page

Finally on the recording front comes the news that SONY Music (owners of the old Conifer catalogue) finally decided to reissue some of the Trinity back catalogue. They have concentrated on the anthologies and compilations - and who can blame them! So far released over the last year are: Miserere; Carols from Trinity; Hymns from Trinity; Stairway to Heaven; A Vaughan Williams Hymnal; Britten - A Ceremony of Carols; Rejoice in the Lamb. These are all mid/low price releases

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday has become a significant entry in the Trinity choral calendar. 2007 (Duruflé), 2008 (Fauré), and 2009 (Duruflé again) saw performances by choir and TCCA members of a Requiem embedded in the day's proceedings. These performances have been very successful, with between 30 and 40 extra singers each time, and generate a great sense of occasion. It is planned to repeat the event in 2010 (Fauré this time) - and all members of TCCA should by now have received an invitation to participate. If you haven't, contact the office- secretary@trinity-choir-association.org,or the Chapel office - sjw32@cam.ac.uk

A report of the 2008 event is included in the recent Newsletter, and it was an occasion to treasure. This splendidly atmospheric photograph by Gerald Place is of the augmented Choir preparing for the performance. For another picture click here

If you have any noteworthy news, please do let the Chairman know via chairman@trinity-choir-association.org and/or the Chapel Office secretary@trinity-choir-association.org, for possible inclusion in the next newsletter.