Norwich’s stunning St John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral was the host site for the Norwich School Choral Society public concert for 2026 held on 04 March 2026. Since the Society’s founding in 1983, appreciative audiences have been treated to music of the highest quality, and this year’s concert was no exception. This musical highlight fosters some remarkable intergenerational collaborations: the Norwich School Choral Society (being the school’ s adult choir made up of alumni, friends, parents and staff) perform together with pupil singers, creating a combined chorus in excess of 110-strong, spanning ages from teenagers to the over 80s! Similarly, talented pupil instrumentalists and music scholars play alongside the professional musicians of the renowned Norwich Baroque ensemble, bringing together a 30-strong orchestra, complete with the pleasing notes of the harp this year. The visual spectacle and rousing sound of nearly 150 musicians performing together is simply terrific. This year’s programme comprised a mix of the modern and the old, the familiar and the new. Our performance kicked off with two beautifully expressive and moving 20 th century choral works: Daley’s Upon Your Heart (1999) and Bainton’ s And I Saw a New Heaven (1928) under the baton of the school’s hugely experienced Head of Vocal Studies, Posy Walton. Closing the first half saw the highly anticipated arrival on stage of Year 13 brass music specialist, Melissa Hawkings on her horn. A member of the National Youth Orchestra, a prolific performer and award-winning composer, Melissa has delighted school audiences for many years, and the virtuoso performance she gave of Mozart’s much-loved Horn Concerto No 3 was pure magic. Both the soloist and the orchestra under the Music Dept’s charismatic Andrew Weeks clearly relished their performance, as did our audience. Melissa reflected afterwards: It was an honour to perform Mozart's third horn concerto with Norwich Baroque. The opportunity to work with such a high-level ensemble was amazing, and I enjoyed every second of the experience! It was truly exhilarating to hear a piece I had been playing alone for so long being brought to life in the Cathedral. I'm so grateful for everyone at school who has supported me in my musical journey. After the interval, the programme moved on to another modern work, Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem (2008), an elegiacal, varied and hugely moving piece, with the full orchestra and choir conducted by the inspirational Posy Walton. Many will be familiar with Goodall’s work from TV themes to such shows as Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley, so will appreciate his strong melodies, but this work had a profundity and gravitas in a completely different league. It was performed magnificently by the ensemble, the culmination of many months of practice in the school’s Chapel throughout autumn’s gales and winter’s snows. The six talented vocal soloists in the Goodall piece (Ben Griffiths, Charlotte Platten, Anna Rechel, Pearl Lee, Charlie Collier and Isla Bowles) were all pupils from the school between Year 11 and Year 13, many having been Choristers at Norwich’s other Cathedral. Their mature and accomplished performances will undoubtedly be highlights in their careers at the school. The audience was astonished to have witnessed such youthful soloists at such a large public event with for their voices filing the nave. Norwich School has long been a member of the national Choir Schools’ Association (CSA), founded in 1918 to promote and support the education and wellbeing of choristers in the country’s great cathedrals and churches. After all, the choral tradition in Norwich School dates back to the 11 th century. We were therefore thrilled to welcome as our principal guest of honour its Executive Director, Rachel Hicks. Steffan Griffiths, Head of Norwich School, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the CSA for their extremely generous lead sponsorship for the third year in succession, enabling the school to put on such a memorable event. Rachel commented afterwards: I very much enjoyed the concert. It was fantastic to see CSA’s support being put to such excellent use and to see the school’s wider community uniting in an evening of excellent music-making. The staging of an event of such complexity was also made possible thanks to the generous support from other sponsors to whom organizers are incredibly grateful: respected local businesses Hansells Solicitors, Savills property agents and Drury Vehicle Services. Organizers’ gratitude goes out to family sponsors passionate about this event, namely the Boone, Bamber, King, Ricketts, Prior, Drake and Westgate families. We offer our appreciation to the new Dean the Very Revd Martin Hardy and the Bishop of East Anglia, Bishop Peter Collins, and their staff at the Cathedral for welcoming the school back to their lovely cathedral for a third year. Months of meticulous preparation from the Choral Society Committee and members of the school’s hard-working Music Department deserve heart-felt appreciation too. Finally, organizers’ thanks go to all performers for their sensational performances, and to the audience whose generous final ovation reflected the pleasure this memorable evening of music had brought them.

Stephanie Magusin-Vardakou, Upper 6, reports on the Chapel Choir half term trip to Hamburg. In February Half Term, 34 U5, L6 and U6 members of Chapel Choir as well as Ms Walton, Mr Stamp, Miss Clark and Mrs Platten flew to Hamburg for a choir tour. We were greeted with extremely snowy conditions, and many members of the Choir did not hesitate to begin the 4-day long snowball fight. After a restful night’s sleep in the youth hostel and a traditional German breakfast, we set off to St. Michaelis Church, where we sang some traditional English Choral Music, which according to the director of music at the Church was a nice change from all the Bach that is usually sung. On a high from the performance, we set of to our second church, St. Petri where we had a rehearsal, a sang for a prayer meditation and then a full hour’s concert where we sang all the music we prepared. Following this, a delicious supper was had in a nearby restaurant followed by an early night after a tiring day. Our next day, Valentine’s Day, was much more relaxed. Pupils were greeted with heart shaped chocolates by Mrs Platten to commemorate the day, as well as the hostel providing heart shaped pretzel rolls. We set off back to St. Petri where we had a rehearsal before singing in another church, St. Jakobi. Ater a brief sing in St. Katherinen, we went to arguably the highlight of the trip, Minatur Wunderland, the largest model railway system in the world. After plenty of hours of fun, we went to the hostel for supper and had an awards ceremony before bed. On our last day, we sang a Eucharist back in St. Petri with the Hamburg Bach Choir before a long lunch break. We then set off for the Airport, tired but content after a busy and rewarding trip. Thank you to all involved, it was an extremely successful trip!