This year started on a high note, or rather, several high notes, which made for quite a pleasing melody. In October we surpliced the Year 5s, Misha, Oscar, Frankie, Ambrose, Felix and Aloysius, welcoming them officially into the familial embrace of the Choir. A month later, November took us to Cambridge where we headed to King’s College and joined forces with a lesser-known choir to sing Haydn’s Creation. Michaelmas rapidly transitioned into Christmas, with concerts throughout December: there were carol services galore, starting with the Advent Carol Service in New College Chapel. We left Oxford after an angelic school service and made our way to frosty London, where we stepped into the grand concert hall of St John’s Smith Square. This Christmassy concert certainly struck a chord in the audience’s hearts! Before we left Michaelmas, we had one more event in the calendar, at Oxford’s centrepiece, the University Church, where we sang Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, thus closing the (hymn) book of 2023. 

We entered the next verse of our journey (Hilary), beginning with Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, with the Year 8 choristers performing either a solo or a reading. The seasonal finale came with our Epiphany Carol Service, which propelled us into the blossoming spring. Hilary ended with a plethora of events, including Bach’s St John Passion and a recording of pieces by William Mundy. 

Trinity started with the opening of the Gradel Quadrangles. This event included a procession with a brass band and the Vice Chancellor cutting the ribbon, officially opening the College side of the building, as we sang to the assembled guests from Mansfield Road. A few weeks later, we processed up the New College Mound with traditional Ascension Day motets and hymns. On a sadder note (lamentoso), as the year drew to a close, the Chorister Concert and last evensong of the term marked the end of the time in the Choir for the Year 8s; we look forward to returning as members of the New College Chapel congregation, and perhaps one day, as clerks! By Thomas, Jacob, Alexander, James, George and Peter.