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Girls' Section
Araminta Perkins-Ray
being made up as a full member of the Choir
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The Girls rehearsing in the
Song School |
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Relaxing
in the Cloisters
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Aric Prentice
BA (hons) MA directs the Girls' Section of the Choir and is Director of Music, both
at the Cathedral and at Lincoln Minster School.
Lincoln Cathedral was one of the first to
establish a Girls' Section. Under the guidance of the Precentor, Revd Canon Andrew Stokes,
it joined the cathedral foundation in September 1995. The first auditions for Girls were
held in April and then in June of that year.
The Girls now contribute equally with the Boys
and Men, to make up an overall Cathedral Choir of some 50 voices. Most services are sung
either by the Girls and Men, or by the Boys and Men, although the entire choir comes
together for major festivals and concerts.
The Girls released their first CD in 1999, which
included a new work composed by the counter-tenor Nicholas Snookes; - Spanish Agnes
Dei for trebles and alto solo. Senior chorister Martine Lyons, reached the final
round of the Scouller Competition with a composition for organ.
A Day in the Life of a
Chorister:
"We wake up and start the day with an hour's
rehearsal. This always starts at 7:55 a.m. After that, all of the choristers have a full
day of school. When school has ended at 3:40 it's off to choir to start again at 4:00
p.m.. Another hour's rehearsal for evensong, and at 5:30 p.m. the service begins. The
choir sings responses, psalms, canticles and anthems every evensong. At 6.15 p.m. choir
has finished for the day and it's time to go home.
At weekends we sing some or all of the
services; - this can include Saturday evensong, and Sunday Eucharist + Mattins (8:30
a.mm - 12:15 p.m.) and Sunday Evensong 2:15-4:30 p.m. As you can see it takes a lot
of time, rehearsals and commitment, but it is loads of fun as well!
Sometimes we perform concerts around the diocese, and
tours at home and abroad (Salisbury, Belgium, and the Czech Republic in the recent past).
The Girls' choir has made a CD, sung for her majesty the Queen, recorded BBC Songs of
Praise and a Radio 3 Broadcast. These were all very successful and a lot of
fun.
So a day in the life of a chorister is quite busy,
but the time and effort are well worth the training and most of all the FUN!"
(Rachel Line) |
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More about Aric Prentice, (Director of the
Girls' Section):
Aric Prentice has been Director of Music in Lincoln
Cathedral and Lincoln Minster School since January 2003, having worked in the School since
September 2001. He began his musical training as a chorister in Durham Cathedral, moving
to Trent College as a music scholar in 1985. He became an instrumental exhibitioner at
Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1990 where he read Music and Theology, and in his final year
Aric sang as a choral scholar in St John's College Choir, recording and broadcasting
extensively. Aric is now regularly in demand as an accompanist, conductor and soloist.
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On Christmas Day 2005 Girl Choristers and their
families shared lunch at a house near the Cathedral.
Christmas Day fun and games between Services
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The Girls' Section singing at
Mattersey Church |
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The Girls' Section singing at
Stow Church |
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