Biography
Beyond its core responsibilities leading worship at Pembroke College in Cambridge, the Pembroke College Chapel Choir maintains an extensive schedule of public performances and community programs. Its travels have reached destinations including Zambia and Shenzhen, China.
Choral singing began in the Pembroke College Chapel upon its establishment in 1665 by architect Christopher Wren, whose uncle Matthew Wren had been imprisoned in the Tower of London under Oliver Cromwell; he vowed that, should he ever gain freedom, he would endow Pembroke with its own chapel and entrusted the design to his nephew. Carved names of former choristers remain visible on the wooden stalls. The ensemble has long supplied music for the chapel’s daily services while also presenting end-of-term concerts in the collegiate tradition. Following the 2016 appointment of then-21-year-old Anna Lapwood as Director of Music, the choir broadened its scope considerably, adding further concerts, international tours to Zambia and China, London-based outreach initiatives, and collaborations with pop musicians. Its first recording, All Things Are Quite Silent, appeared on the Signum Classics label in 2020.
Within the college, the choir has presented large-scale accompanied works such as Bach’s Magnificat, BWV 243, Fauré’s Requiem, and Vivaldi’s Gloria, RV 589. Every three years it travels to Lusaka, Zambia, where it gives concerts and conducts workshops for local choir directors. Additional tour locations encompass Thailand, Perth, Australia, and the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai. In Britain the singers perform both in Cambridge and, once each term, at St. Martin in the Fields in London. Through the university’s Pembroke House they seek to extend high-level choral experiences to young people who might otherwise lack access. The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College has shared stages with actor and singer Eric Idle and with the jazz vocal ensemble the Swingle Singers. In 2022 it issued the album A Pembroke Christmas on Signum Classics, joined by the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir.
Choral singing began in the Pembroke College Chapel upon its establishment in 1665 by architect Christopher Wren, whose uncle Matthew Wren had been imprisoned in the Tower of London under Oliver Cromwell; he vowed that, should he ever gain freedom, he would endow Pembroke with its own chapel and entrusted the design to his nephew. Carved names of former choristers remain visible on the wooden stalls. The ensemble has long supplied music for the chapel’s daily services while also presenting end-of-term concerts in the collegiate tradition. Following the 2016 appointment of then-21-year-old Anna Lapwood as Director of Music, the choir broadened its scope considerably, adding further concerts, international tours to Zambia and China, London-based outreach initiatives, and collaborations with pop musicians. Its first recording, All Things Are Quite Silent, appeared on the Signum Classics label in 2020.
Within the college, the choir has presented large-scale accompanied works such as Bach’s Magnificat, BWV 243, Fauré’s Requiem, and Vivaldi’s Gloria, RV 589. Every three years it travels to Lusaka, Zambia, where it gives concerts and conducts workshops for local choir directors. Additional tour locations encompass Thailand, Perth, Australia, and the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai. In Britain the singers perform both in Cambridge and, once each term, at St. Martin in the Fields in London. Through the university’s Pembroke House they seek to extend high-level choral experiences to young people who might otherwise lack access. The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College has shared stages with actor and singer Eric Idle and with the jazz vocal ensemble the Swingle Singers. In 2022 it issued the album A Pembroke Christmas on Signum Classics, joined by the Pembroke College Girls’ Choir.
Albums
Singles
