Jesuit schools combined choir and orchestra

Some 400 pupils from seven British Jesuit schools have formed a combined choir and taken part in a joint Jesuit schools concert in London.  Schools involved were Mount St Mary's College and Barlborough Hall School in Derbyshire, Stonyhurst College and St Mary's Hall (Lancashire), St John's Beaumont (Old Windsor), and - from London - Wimbledon College and St Ignatius College, Enfield.  They performed at St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill.

The biggest musical challenge was to find a piece of music suitable for this large choir and especially something that the younger pupils of Barlborough Hall School and St Mary's Hall could master.  It was also crucial to select skilled pupils from all the schools for the orchestra.  The performance was helped by a rehearsal of the music a few weekends prior to the concert which Mount St Mary's hosted.

The Director of Music for Mount St Mary's College, Lucy Stirling, said, 'It was a fantastic evening and a great opportunity for pupils to sing in a large choir and with other Jesuit schools.  We hope to have a joint collaboration of this kind every two years to build on such a great evening of singing and music within the Jesuit schools.'