On Tuesday 6th February, the Chapel Choir were invited to attend the Prep Schools’ Choral day at Stowe School.

After a hearty breakfast we went by coach to Stowe. Once at this co-educational independent boarding school in the heart of the English countryside we were all struck by the splendour of the historic house and the magnificent landscaped gardens and park in which it is set. The very beautiful site is split into sections covering the temples and buildings, both past and present and is very well worth a visit. Architects, sculptors, painters and gardeners who have worked at Stowe, include Sir John Vanbrugh, William Kent and 'Capability' Brown.

The ‘Choir’ fitted neatly into Stowe School Chapel and consisted of approximately 600 people from 23 schools and the whole day was organised by Mr John Cooper Green the Director of Music at Stowe! We were looked after incredibly well!

The morning consisted of two rehearsal sessions that had a break in the middle and a good lunch at the end! After lunch and free time (time to explore the gardens), it was back to work for another rehearsal where we were joined by the Stowe Chapel Choir.

Evensong was at 4:00p.m. and we were joined by many parents who didn’t have anywhere to sit! We sang ‘Love divine’ by Howard Goodall, Responses by Ayleward, a Psalm with a chant by Bairstow, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis to a setting by Dyson in D major and the anthem was ‘Zadok the Priest’ by Handel. I will never forget the impact of 600 voices singing the Handel – truly astonishing!

It was a thrilling day where our Choir (who were complimented on many occasions) had another exciting opportunity to hear and meet choirs from different schools to come together under expert direction and to sing wonderful music in the awe-inspiring setting of Stowe.