Posted on: 12th February 2025

On Sunday 16th February we will welcome the choir of Great St Mary’s from Cambridge, as our second visiting choir of 2025. Led by their Director of Music Alex Berry, who held the same position recently here at Bradford Cathedral, we got a chance to speak to him to find out what to expect when they lead the music at the 10:30am service. Before we get to the challenges of singing the ‘high c’ note, and seeing a film about dinosaurs, we discover more about the background to the choir...

We are the choir of Great St Mary’s, the University Church, in Cambridge. Like Bradford Cathedral, we have a group of choristers and a youth choir whose members are drawn from local schools. They are supported by a group of volunteer adult singers drawn from the University and local community. Together we sing at least three services in church each week.

How did you get involved with it?
I’ve been the Director of Music at Great St Mary’s since September 2023. It’s been wonderful to get to know Cambridge again: I read music at Queens’ College from 2009 to 2012, and although the city has changed a bit, it’s still a very special place.

You were previously the Director of Music at Bradford Cathedral. What have you been up to since then?
Since leaving Bradford, a lot has happened. We now live in a village in Suffolk where my partner is the vicar and our cat, Florence, seems to be acclimatising well to life on the edge of the Fens. I do, of course, miss the many kind people I met and worked with during my nearly seven years in Bradford, and I’m delighted to see that music is going so well at the cathedral.

You are our visiting choir on Sunday 16th February. What can people expect from the service, including the music?
Our choir will sing the monumental Missa Brevis by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály. This is an amazing piece with really rich and distinctive harmony. Especially interesting is the Agnus Dei, in which a trio of our choristers will sing a ‘top C’, a note so high it’s normally not sung in the choral repertoire. We’ll also be singing Beati quorum via by Charles Villiers Stanford. It’s a special piece for me because it was sung at an evensong celebrating our Civil Partnership in September last year.

The choir is made up of children and youths drawn from local schools, alongside the adults. Why is it so important to include younger singers in the choir?
Being part of a cathedral or parish is a unique experience. There are very few activities where children work together in a non-competitive environment at a semi-professional level. As well as teaching a love of music and the joy of teamwork, children who sing in choirs are often better organised and higher achievers at school. I’m so proud of the young people in our choir – they work really hard and they are great fun to be around!

What message would you like to give to those looking to come to the Eucharist at Bradford Cathedral?
We’re really looking forward to seeing you all and to worshipping together in a very special place. It’s a great privilege for Great St Mary’s choir to be able to sing at Bradford Cathedral. I’ll look forward to seeing familiar faces. I can only apologise if I can’t stay at coffee for long… I’ll need to ensure the choristers are fed before they watch a film about dinosaurs at the IMAX!

What are your upcoming musical plans for 2025?
We have some lovely plans for Great St Mary’s choir this year. The choristers will learn Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, a beautiful work performed with harp. The youth choir is beginning to sing more services on its own, and we’re hoping to do a trip with them later in the year. Personally, my project is to learn Messiaen’s La Nativité, one of the great 20th Century organ works. Who knows, maybe I’ll play it at Bradford one day!

Finally, how can people find out more about your choir?
The best thing to do is to email email music@gsm.cam.ac.uk or to visit our website. Almost all of our services are livestreamed via our YouTube channel.

You can join us on Sunday 16th February at 10:30am for our Choral Eucharist, with the music led by the choir of Great St Mary’s from Cambridge. All are welcome at the Cathedral, and the service will also be streamed live.