The Girls Choir are very lucky to have been offered the chance to sing at St Paul's this summer. We will be singing evensong at 5pm on both Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st August.

St Paul's is probably one of the most prestigious venues for a visiting choir in this country, it's certainly my favourite; the atmosphere, ambience and acoustics are unlike anywhere else. Choristers quickly have to adapt to a different way of singing to be effective; everyone's effort is as important as anyone else's because each person feels as if they are the only one singing. It is only several seconds after the choir stops that we can hear the full effect of the sound we have made, the echo goes on for seven or eight seconds. Unfortunately that also means that any errors or voices sticking out are still in your ears for longer than usual! I'm sure that won't happen to us.

The space in the Cathedral is vast, even though I have conducted evensong there twice in the mid-eighties sung there several times I am still impressed by the sheer scale of the place every time I go.

The choir stalls are also large, St Paul's has almost twice the number of boys as any other cathedral choir; it will at first be quite over-awing for the girls I imagine. When I last conducted there the director's music stand was in the middle between the stalls, I remember it seemed a very long and lonely walk out there for each item, and I remember the sound of my shoes (I wore heels in those days!) clicking on the floor and echoing back at me. When I have sung there recently I was relieved to note that the stand was at the side immediately in front of the Cantoris stalls and I should be able to slip in and out unobtrusively!

Usually choirs have to audition, two or three years in advance, to be allowed to apply for a visiting choir slot. We are very lucky that we have a contact who was willing to vouch for us as a suitable choir and therefore we were able to bypass the usual procedure. The current batch of girls are a very able bunch who have never yet failed at any task I have set them. They sight read quite difficult music even in three or four parts. As we are about to lose Fiona, Emily and Emma in the autumn when they leave school for higher things, it is particularly good to be able to take part in such a wonderful occasion before they leave. There are many younger girls coming up through the choir who promise to be just as talented; if we represent ourselves well this time perhaps we may have another chance in the future.

The planned music for the Monday is 'O for a closer walk with God' by Anthony Caesar, Canticles by John Wood in G, Responses in three parts by Stephen Darlington. On the Tuesday we will sing 'For the beauty of the earth' by John Rutter, Canticles by Bairstow in Eb and the Darlington responses again. In addition we will sing Psalms 23 and 28 as set for those days. We are very pleased to have John Winter playing the organ for us.

We would be delighted to see any supporters in the congregation, please do come. Evensong is at 5pm, those who arrive early should get seats in the chancel beyond the choir stalls, definitely the best place to sit. The nearest station is City Thameslink, direct from Luton; the cathedral is then just a couple of minutes walk up the hill. We hope to see lots of familiar faces there to make us feel more at home!

Marie Price, Priory Girls Choir Director

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