John Rutter savages St John’s Cambridge

Message from the famed choral composer:

Even the most enlightened institution can sometimes make mistakes, and St John’s College Cambridge – with which I’ve enjoyed a cordial relationship for many years – has just made a huge one. It has announced that it will be closing down its ‘Monday choir’, St John’s Voices. If you are wondering who they are, they are a young mixed choir recruited from the college, the university, and the local community, who sing a weekly Evensong on Mondays, the day on which the college’s long-standing boys-and-men choir (since 2022 boy and girl sopranos, altos of either gender, and men) does not sing. In SJV’s ten-year history they have shown that they are of the same excellence as the long-standing choir, and have never settled for less, but they differ from it in two important respects: they admit adult female sopranos, and they make a much smaller demand on their members’ time, which for those taking certain particularly intensive degree courses is a key factor.

It is not long since St John’s gained widespread goodwill and kudos for introducing girls to the top line of its established choir along with boys. I am at a loss to know why they are prepared to squander it all, for what seem to me quite unconvincing stated reasons. The two choirs are not in competition: they are complementary. The money they cost can be raised. They are unashamed in their dedication to excellence – and if Cambridge University and its colleges are not prepared to take the lead in championing excellence, then who is? Excellence and inclusivity are not mutually exclusive. The support of our choral tradition at the highest level, one of Britain’s glories, is something to embrace, not step back from. It isn’t archaic, it’s a living heritage.

I hope you may feel moved to add your voice to the growing petition aimed at reversing what can only be seen as an ill-considered and misguided decision. JR