Choir and Music
Music is an essential part of worship at the Abbey Church. We have a robed choir with currently about 30 members. The Choir’s main responsibility is to support the singing of hymns, lead the singing of the Mass setting, lead Responsorial Psalms during Advent and Lent, and to provide motets, anthems, and plainsong during the Communion. Once a month, on the third Sunday, the choir is augmented by singers from the deanery and beyond, to sing Choral Evensong. Choir Practise for the senior members is on Friday evening at 6.30pm, and the junior members meet on Tuesday after school. New members are always welcome!
Organ Scholar: Seven years ago, we decided to introduce an organ scholarship to encourage young people of Grade 5 or equivalent to take up playing the organ seriously. We have had great success with this programme. Our first scholar went on to Cambridge to read Medicine. Two of our scholars have gone on to Cambridge to read Music. One went as a college organ scholar and the other a choral scholar. Our present Organ Scholar, Daniel Ashfield, is an ‘A’ level student at Bourne Grammar School. Our programme enables the organ scholar to receive free tuition and music, together with unlimited use of the church organ for practise. It has been a very successful programme.
Choral Scholar: This programme has been introduced more recently, and provides similar funding for up to two the successful candidates.
Our Director of Music and Organist, John Saunders, is a vastly experienced organist and singer – and has helped introduce new styles of singing and material to an already huge repertoire of music held by the choir.
Our most recent recording was made by BBC Lincolnshire of a Christmas Carol Concert, which was very well received.
E-mail: info@bourneabbey.org.uk