Westminster Abbey Choir School

For other uses, see Westminster Abbey (disambiguation).

Westminster Abbey Choir School
Address
20 Dean's Yard London , SW1P 3NY England
Information
Type	Independent boarding prep school Choral foundation school Cathedral school
Religious affiliation(s)	Church of England
Established	c.1560; 1848
Local authority	Westminster
Chairman of Governors	The Very Rev Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster
Headmaster	Jonathan Milton
Gender	Boys
Age	8 to 13
Enrolment	30 (2015)
Houses	Blow and Purcell
Website	http://www.westminster-abbey.org/choir-school/

Westminster Abbey Choir School is a boarding preparatory school for boys in Westminster, London and the only remaining choir school in the United Kingdom which exclusively educates choristers (i.e. only choirboys attend the school). It is located in Dean's Yard, by Westminster Abbey. It educates about 30 boys, aged 8–13 who sing in the Choir of Westminster Abbey, which takes part in state and national occasions as well as singing evensong every day (except Wednesday) and gives concert performances worldwide. Recent tours include to America, Hungary and Moscow. Other tours have included Australia, America and Hong Kong. The school is one of only three choir schools that educate only the male trebles of the choir, the others being Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City and Escolania de Montserrat in Spain. The headmaster is Jonathan Milton, former headmaster of The Abbey School, Tewkesbury. The organist and master of the choristers is James O'Donnell, former Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral.

History

The school is believed to have been founded around 1560, as the choir boys of Westminster Abbey have been educated there since Elizabethan times. The present school was built in 1915 (2015 being its centenary year) and underwent renovations in 1990s.

The two houses of the Choir School are named after the musicians John Blow and Henry Purcell, who were both Organists of Westminster Abbey, and who are both buried in the abbey.

Governors

The Chairman of the Governors of the school is the Very Reverend John Hall, Dean of Westminster and former Chief Education Officer for the Church of England.

Inspections

The school was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in October 2015.

Curriculum

As a choir school, boys are selected by musical ability. The Dean and Chapter meet the cost of their vocal training and at least eighty per cent of the cost of their education. The regular school curriculum is not neglected and pupils are taught the required National Curriculum subjects as well as Latin, French and Greek.

The choir

The choir makes frequent broadcasts and recordings. The choir's most recent recording is a CD of John Taverner's Missa Mater Christi and the Western Wynde Mass, which is on Hyperion Records.

Tours

The choir has travelled across the world to perform tours, most recently in Australia, the United States, China, Moscow, Rome, and Hungary. Generally these tours take place once every two years. The choir was due to go to Spain in 2009, but due to the recession it could not go ahead. The choir undertook a choir tour to the US in October 2014, singing in concert halls and churches around the country.

Notable former pupils

• Christopher Brown, composer
• Tim Brown, choral director
• James Burton, conductor
• Alan Civil, French horn orchestral player
• Gabriel Crouch, baritone, choral conductor
• Adrian Cruft, composer
• Brian Easdale, composer
• Clive Farahar, antiquarian book dealer
• Neil Jenkins, tenor
• William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire, academic
• James Wilkinson, author and former BBC science correspondent
• David Willcocks, conductor, organist and composer
• Guy Woolfenden, composer

Notable staff

In the 1950s, the celebrated singer John Whitworth taught maths at the school.

See also

• Westminster Abbey

External links

• Westminster Abbey Choir School
• Westminster Abbey Choir and Choir School History
• A history of the choristers of Westminster Abbey