Pembroke College Girls' Choir
The Pembroke College Girls' Choir launched in September 2018. The Choir brings together girls between the ages of 11-18 from schools around Cambridge, helping them experience life as a chorister in a Cambridge College.
Based in the Chapel of Pembroke College, the Choir provides a comprehensive musical education, with two rehearsals every week and a service of Choral Evensong. The Choir focuses on musical excellence, performing at a professional level on a weekly basis alongside regular concerts and tours. They also sing Evensong once a term alongside the Chapel Choir.
The Choir is grateful for the continued support of our patron, Pembroke alumna and clarinettist Emma Johnson MBE.
CHORISTERSHIPS
Pembroke College Girls' Choir has 24 places for girls between the age of 11 and 18. Auditions are held annually at the end of June, but can also be arranged through the Director of Music, Anna Lapwood.
The weekly schedule for the Choir is as follows:
Wednesday:
Rehearsal 16:45-18:00
Evensong 18:15-19:00
Thursday:
Optional Theory 16:15-16:45
Rehearsal 16:45-18:00
Outside of University term, Evensong no longer occurs, but the Choir still rehearses on both Wednesdays and Thursdays until 18:00 within school term dates.
Vocal tuition is given free of charge on a rotational basis during rehearsals.
To enquire about joining the Choir, or to arrange an audition, email the Director of Music, Anna Lapwood, at arel2@cam.ac.uk.
Director of Music
The Girls' Choir is directed by Anna Lapwood, Director of Music at Pembroke College. Before moving to Cambridge, Anna studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where she was the Organ Scholar. Whilst there, she accompanied the daily services, regularly conducted the Choir, and helped train the Choristers. Anna was the first female to have been awarded this prestigious organ scholarship in the College's 560-year tradition. Anna’s work at Magdalen led to regular organ recital opportunities, with recent venues including Magdalen, Merton and Keble Colleges, Oxford, Trinity College, Cambridge, Buxton Festival, Westminster Abbey, and the 2016 Three Choirs Festival.
Alongside her work as an organist and conductor, Anna is active as a harpist. She was the principal harpist of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, with whom she toured three times a year. She now collaborates regularly with other Choirs in Cambridge, including those of King's and St John's Colleges. Anna is a keen advocate for music education, specialising in bringing music to children from impoverished backgrounds. As a Trustee of The Muze Trust, a charity committed to making music accessible to children in Zambia, she regularly travels to Zambia to work with children and young adults. This year, she will be leading choral workshops in Cambridge, Perth, Shanghai, and Lusaka, Zambia.
Anna is not only interested in Classical music, but also explores more popular genres. She collaborated with the singer Katy B for a performance at London Fashion Week, and more recently worked with the singer Tom Chaplin, arranging and conducting the choral parts for his recent Christmas album, recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Anna is a member of Gareth Malone’s professional ‘Voices’ Choir, with whom she has released two albums and performed at the Classical Brit Awards, the Royal Variety Show and the National Eisteddfod of Wales, alongside regular TV performances including The One Show and the Alan Titchmarsh Show.
To find out more, go to www.annalapwood.co.uk.