Spotlight on... Steel City Choristers

Steel City Choristers was founded in July 2020 following the sudden and unexpected closure of Sheffield Cathedral Choir. Members wished to continue singing together, so we took the opportunity to create something new: a choir with a central mission to take sacred choral music out into every corner of Sheffield and its surrounding areas, supporting worshipping communities in different churches with high quality musical performances. This allows us to reach out to a broad variety of audiences, and enables greater accessibility to sacred choral music.

The membership and format of the choir mirrors that of a typical cathedral choir. Currently, we have 14 children between the ages of 8 and 18 singing soprano (known as choristers), and we have 9 adults who sing alto, tenor or bass (known as clerks). In addition, we have operational members such as the committee, pastoral support workers, choir chaperones, and our Director of Music.

The choir performs a huge amount of varied music, from Gregorian chant to works by contemporary composers such as Dobrinka Tabakova and James MacMillan. Therefore, picking a single piece is almost impossible! However, the choristers particularly enjoy singing A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten which is a multi-movement work based on medieval carol texts, written for three part children’s chorus and harp.

In contrast, the clerks enjoy performing polyphonic works from the Renaissance period by composers such as Palestrina, Lassus and Byrd. In the run-up to Christmas, the choir participated in the nationwide Doorstep Carol project which was a fantastic opportunity for the choir to perform well known Christmas carols alongside carols which are unique to Sheffield and its surrounding areas.

Check out our performance of While shepherds watched their flocks by night which was aired on BBC Radio 4 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpE5NczqN_0

We are always looking to welcome new members into the choir. If you have or know of any children aged 8 and above that enjoy singing, then please contact us. Children do not need to have had any previous musical or singing experience, but will be required to attend a relaxed and informal audition with our Director of Music. Typically, auditions are usually very short, and prospective choristers are asked to sing Happy Birthday and take part in some simple hearing exercises. Also, we are looking to recruit experienced adult singers (with good sight reading ability) to sing alto, tenor or bass with our clerks.

In addition, we are currently developing a singing programme for teenage boys whose voices are changing or have changed, commonly referred to as ‘breaking’. Watch this space!

Please contact us for further information about choir membership at steelcitychoristers@gmail.com

Alongside so many other musical organisations, we are looking forward to resuming our regular pattern of rehearsals, performances and activities. We hope to continue with, and further develop our central mission to take sacred choral music out into every corner of the region, supporting varied and diverse worshiping communities, and enabling greater accessibility to sacred choral music through a variety of projects and performances both online and in person. To keep up to date with our performances and events, please visit www.steelcitychoristers.org.uk

Classical Sheffield has established itself as central to promoting classical music in Sheffield and its surrounding areas. Its core purpose to unite and support musicians, artists and promoters to ‘present classical music to more people and in more places’ resonates strongly with the central mission of Steel City Choristers. Many of our members have participated and attended previous Classical Sheffield festivals and events, and so we know how well these work: we are committed to sharing our love and passion for music making and singing with as many people as we possibly can, and in a collaborative way, and so this is something we are delighted to be a part of.