As he reaches the end of his tenure as a chorister, Teddy Curtis reflects on his time singing with the prestigious Cathedral Choir...
"When I first joined the Choir, I did not realize how much work I would have to take on. Most people are not aware on how much work there is involved. In the Choir now there is a seven-year-old working almost as much of the rest of us. The Choir is an amazing thing to be part of. Over Christmas we worked through the Christmas holidays with Choir every day in the Christmas season. Christmas at the Cathedral is the most special and magical time this is because we sing such incredibly uplifting and fantastic music. A great aspect of being in the Choir is you make friends with people you would not usually talk to.
People generally think that being a Chorister means you cannot do anything else. They are very wrong. Being a Chorister does not mean you cannot do anything else but the opposite. It opens so many doors in school and in life. I have been a Cathedral Chorister for almost five years. In those five years there have been ups and downs. Being a Chorister is not an easy thing to do. It takes up so much time it also can sometimes mean you cannot always play in a sport fixture, but at the end of the day Choir is a place to learn and listen.
My experience being in the Choir is that it is tough, but it is always there to support you. Being a Chorister is a brilliant experience. It should be treated with much respect.
The Choir regime is remarkably busy. We are rehearsing every morning for an hour working from 8am until 9am. We have Choir every night; on Tuesdays and Thursdays till four forty-five but on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we have it till twenty past six. On Sundays, we have it from nine in the morning to four thirty in the afternoon with a two-hour break in the middle. The regime gets turned up a notch when it gets to Christmas and Easter because we do not get a break, but we are working awfully hard in the Cathedral most days. This is not a problem though because the music we sing and the time we spend is well worth it. The main highlights for most people are the extraordinary performances or Saint John’s or Saint Matthew’s Passions, or the Handel’s Messiah. These are just incredible to sing and amazing to listen to.
I am getting near to the end of my Choir career, but I strongly encourage anyone who is not over nine to come for an audition and try it. I am now Head Chorister of Norwich Cathedral, so I need to set the right example more than ever and make sure I keep an eye on what people are doing.
I hope this makes people aware of how hard we work as Choristers (led by the amazing Mr Grote) to perform and work our hardest. Mr Grote, Mr Dunnet and Mr Carroll lead us, and we would like to make sure that they get thanks for all their work."
