St Cecilia

Today is St Cecilia’s Day. She was a Christian in the third century who welcomed others into her home where she led worship. This drew the attention of the Roman authorities, and she was martyred for her faith. Legend has it that she sang to God on her wedding day with such beauty and sincerity that her pagan husband became a Christian convert. She became the patron saint of music … More St Cecilia

Why Sing?

I write this the day after returning home from a 9-day singing and conducting summer school with Sing for Pleasure. Based at Jesus College, Cambridge, it was utterly exhausting yet completely exhilarating. Work began at 8.45am last Sunday morning as we started learning Sarah Quartel’s “A Winter Day”, led by the SfP tutors. Sublime … More Why Sing?

Christmas Carols

I still remember vividly the complete shock I experienced one December at school around five years ago. I had volunteered to organise and run the whole school assembly on the last afternoon of term, immediately before breaking up for the Christmas holidays … More Christmas Carols