Bridewell Choir Return to Bristol

Last year the Bridewell Choir had the first ever choir tour in Barrow Hills History with a day tour to Bristol to sing evensong at the invitation of Bristol Cathedral. Having sung so well at the cathedral, the invitation was extended at the end of the service and the plan was made to return the following year. Including the famous lunch at Zar Zar Bazzar which is what any chorister from last year will tell you, was the highlight of the tour. Some who are now at King Edward’s School joined back up with the choir to join in on the day tour and enjoy the opportunity.

As well as singing in beautiful surroundings, the tour is also an opportunity to enjoy time together and thank the choir for all their hard work this year. The day started off with a big breakfast at King Edward’s School, followed by a trip to Ninja Warrior Bristol and then the famous Zar Zar Bazzar buffet lunch. For those who are unaware of this place, it is a 100 metre, 5 continent station buffet with anything you want to have. The choristers absolutely ensured that they made the most of the lunch, including the need for the restaurant to close sections of the buffet down, in order to restock it. Safe to say, they had all they could eat.

This year, due to major rebuilding of the organ at Bristol Cathedral the invitation was accepted at the beautiful parish church of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol, famously Queen Elizabeth I, during a visit to Bristol in 1574, is reported to have called St Mary Redcliffe “the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England. The music was both challenging and rewarding for the choir to sing in a wonderful acoustic and historic place, with the church congregation and leaders commenting in the high quality of singing and professionalism from the choir, a choir with an average age of 8, singing to a cathedral standard is a true testament to the abilities and potential of choral singing at Barrow Hills.

After a long day a very tired but happy choir returned to King Edward’s to meet back up with parents, some of whom had gone to Bristol to see the service live, or watched it on the live stream on the churches website, all who noted how proud they were of their children and what they had achieved.

If you would allow a personal note from myself. It has been an absolute privilege and joy to support the choristers in their development to what you see and hear today. In 5 years, the choir has gone from a choir of 10 with simple music, to 40 strong and singing cathedral music with confidence and assurance. This has been noted by various places outside of Barrow Hills, including King Edward’s, but also having sung services at Arundel Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral and now St Mary Redcliffe. The learning opportunities that this choir brings to children is highly transferable and shows as they grow within the choir and the school, going on to have major roles in all other aspects of school life. I look forward to seeing next year with a new person at the helm how the choir continues to grow and flourish as I move onto new challenges and horizons.

The future is bright for choral music at Barrow Hills and the invitation to sing at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice is still open to the choir and I hope that this can be realised in the coming years. Finally, I must thank the parents and staff who have supported the choir throughout the years, but most importantly I must that the choristers so their dedicated service to music and the choral tradition at Barrow Hills.

Thank you for your time and with best wishes

Mr Frazer