ST Mary-le-tower choir

St Mary-le-Tower has long been recognised as a centre for choral excellence. Today it continues to offer a traditional style of choral performance with an emphasis on the involvement of young people.

The choir comprises three sections, boys, girls and adults. At our Sunday services the boys, girls or (adult) sopranos are joined by the male choral scholars singing the alto, tenor and bass parts. At major festivals and other events, the entire choir combines. The choir has appeared on BBC 1’s Songs of Praise programme, broadcast live on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship programme and recorded a number of services for the Church of England’s YouTube channel, including Midnight Mass for Christmas Eve last December. In December 2021, the choir’s carol recording The Road to Bethlehem was featured on Classic FM, as their ‘Discovery of the Week’ and was described as “spellbinding” by presenter John Brunning.

The choir has recently performed Bach’s St John Passion (March 2024); the premiere of the ‘Wolsey Mass’ written by local composer, Ben Parry (April 2024); Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral (July 2024); and recorded Vivaldi’s Gloria in D and Handel’s Foundling Hospital Anthem which were released in Christmas 2024.

  • Since September 2023, the music department at St Mary-le-Tower has partnered with Framlingham College; both institutions are now associate members of the Choir Schools Association (CSA).

    The partnership is founded on our shared passion for music and English Choral Tradition, as demonstrated by the Advent Vigil service which took place in St Michael’s Church, Framlingham in December 2023. Equally, there is a determination to provide easy-access singing opportunities far and wide in Ipswich and East Suffolk, through outreach and workshops.

    Pupils from Framlingham College participate in the church choir alongside pupils from 15 other schools (both state and private). Framlingham College recognises the rare choral opportunities that we provide at St Mary-le-Tower and significantly resources our outreach work in Ipswich and East Suffolk. The partnership has resulted in a singing programme being implemented in Framlingham College’s Prep School by the church choir’s Director of Music.

  • The choristers of the Church Choir are largely recruited by visits to local primary schools by our Director of Music. These visits take different forms depending on the music provision in the school: ranging from a presentation at a whole school assembly to a repeat-visits over a couple of weeks to meet and teach pupils at the school towards a performance. If you would like to arrange a visit to your school please contact our Director of Music, Christopher Borrett: musicdirector@ipswichminster.org

    Following a grant from the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and the Cathedral Music Trust (CMT), singing workshops during school holidays have taken place at St Mary-le-Tower. The funding which heavily subsidised these workshops has now finished, but we hope there more in due course. In the meantime, Holiday Workshops will continue at a higher cost. Please visit our Holiday Workshop page for up-to-date information.