Cambridge college will create ‘non-music activities in chapel’

St John’s College Cambridge has issued a statement defending its abolition of St John’s Voices, its renowned mixed chorus.

It says: ‘A comprehensive review of music in College was recently completed. After considering the recommendations of the review, the St John’s College Council made a unanimous decision to pursue a broader approach to other co-curricular opportunities in music for our nearly 1,000 students.’

It adds: ‘The College will maintain its significant commitments to excellence in academic music, to St John’s College Choir, founded in the 1670s, to our classical ensembles, and to our current classical musician-in-residence scheme. The new approach sits alongside plans to develop a programme of non-musical activities in the Chapel, as recommended in a review in 2023 of the contribution the Chapel makes to the life of St John’s.   

‘To pursue these new opportunities in music, the College will redirect the significant resources currently devoted to St John’s Voices, its second Chapel choir. This decision has been taken in the context of the relative levels of support provided to different student co-curricular activities in the College and the choral opportunities already available in the collegiate university, to which St John’s College Choir will continue to make an important and distinctive contribution.’

Almost 7,000 people have signed a petition calling for St John’s Voices to be reinstated.

We may ben heading for a BBC Singers-type showdown.