News

Andrew Sparke (D83) and Niamh (Yr12) have written wonderful accounts of their experiences of the weekend celebrating the 50 plus years of the Ampleforth College Schola Cantorum.

Andrew writes "Arriving for Mass on Friday evening after a long drive from London brought back so many emotions and memories: the evocative waft of incense and wood polish, the hushed silence of the congregation as we waited in the Monk’s Quire, the reverence of the Schola Cantorum as they processed in (and now with girls!) but when the organ introduced the Kyrie from a long-forgotten Haydn Mass, it all came flooding back. The past 50 years disappeared. I was a treble again, a mushroom.

The sound the Schola produced, now crowned with Sopranos, was at least as good as any I remember, either in the Abbey Church or on tour. Edward Seymour has brought his charm, charisma and a deep sense of pride into what the students deliver, and, for a choir so young (Fr Henry excepted) a full and concentrated sound.

Fish pie at the Windmill provided our first opportunity to go through the whole “Could that be…?” “Surely not…?” “Has he been in witness protection?” rigmarole, quickly confirmed by the sticky name labels helpfully provided by Lizzie Rohan, who had artfully sculpted the whole weekend, and with Emma Craig made us feel so welcome back in the valley. It was here where some of us less frequent visitors caught up with our fellow alumni who had put a whole other generation through the SHAC experience. With the help of photographs from the archive, memories were rekindled, tales of long-dead teachers and monks revisited, and some quite poignant moments were shared.

The beginning of the rehearsal on Saturday morning was a slightly nervous affair with a slight whiff of impostor syndrome: should I really be here? Can I still sing? Edward immediately put us at our ease, proving the exception to the rule that you can either sing well or conduct well, but never both. When we were brought together in the afternoon, with the current Schola and the Ryedale Concert Choir, it felt like we had been singing together for years. In the evening, it was a thrill to enter the Abbey Church, packed to the rafters, with a choir 100 strong and full orchestra, the current Schola together with recent alumni and alumnae soloists of remarkable quality and professionalism, to relive some of the most exceptional and formative memories of our lives. In 50 years, nothing has really changed".

Niamh writes about her 'mini family reunion' at Schola 50.

"My time in Schola has hardly begun, but I feel as though I've been a part of it since my sister joined in 2016. Finally getting my turn to sing all the amazing pieces that my siblings played to me when they first learnt them has been magical so far, but most memorably, singing alongside them in Mozart's Requiem. I was so lucky to have a 'mini reunion' as I sung with three of my family members. Being in a musical family, music is central in everything we do, but we rarely have opportunities to share the experience with each other. This is why the Schola 50 was truly a memorable experience, singing with the past members and current members who are very dear to all of us, especially me".