by Timothy Robson
The adjective “new” is a relative term at the University of Oxford. New College was founded by William of Wykeham in 1379, and a choir has been a part of the college from its beginning. The current ensemble of sixteen boy choristers and fourteen adult clerks — a mixture of professional singers and undergraduate students — visited Trinity Cathedral on Friday, March 31, as part of their North American tour. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
On Friday, March 31 at 7:30 pm, Oxford’s New College Choir will make a stop at Trinity Cathedral for a concert including both Anglican Church Music favorites and new works as part of the Choir’s six-city American tour.
The choir of boys and men dates from 1379, when William of Wykeham, the founder of Winchester College, established an educational outpost named The Warden and Scholars of St. Mary’s College of Winchester in Oxford. That title being both unwieldy and confusing (there was already a college of St. Mary in Oxford), the institution soon came to be known as New College.
New College Choir now has a relatively new director in Robert Quinney, who in 2014 replaced Edward Higginbottom after the latter’s four decades serving New College. Quinney assumed the directorship of the 30-voice ensemble after an organ scholarship at King’s College, Cambridge; an assistantship at Westminster Abbey (where he played for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton); and a brief tour of duty as organist of Peterborough Cathedral. [Read more…]