UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 25 JULY
A dozen students shone in auditions and have been appointed as scholars to sing in selected concerts with Ex Cathedra in the coming season.
Ex Cathedra is known for performing the unfamiliar and the unexpected in choral repertoire and for giving dynamic performances underpinned by detailed research. The group was founded in Birmingham in 1969 by Jeffrey Skidmore OBE, artistic director and conductor.
Ex Cathedra comprises a chamber choir of 40 singers, a specialist vocal consort made up of ten professional singers who feature regularly as soloists, and a Baroque ensemble. Jeffrey, who is also a Senior Lecturer at RBC, auditioned more than 40 young singers from across the country and 12 RBC students were selected to be scholars. The recently appointed RBC Ex Cathedra Scholars for 2024/25 are:
- Oliver Barker
- Beth Stirling
- Sarah Colgan
- Maria Willsher
- Laura Toomey
- Tom Hawkey-Soar
- William Swinnerton
- Alexandra Burstow
- Sophie Henderson
- Dan Marles
- Matt Pandya
- Josh Thompson
Their performances will include Bruckner, Palestrina and Allegri with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), which will be broadcast from the Town Hall in October. They will also perform Bach’s Mass in B minor, a concert of Latin American Baroque music and the traditional Good Friday St Matthew Passion in Symphony Hall.
See all Ex Cathedra events here.
The scholars will also provide a practical resource for RBC researchers throughout the year, perform their own concert, Chansons d’amour, within the Ex Cathedra season, and a Baroque concert for the Biennial International Conference on Baroque Music hosted by RBC in July 2025. Dr Jeffrey Skidmore said: “This is a very positive reflection of the strength of choral singing at RBC and good news for all concerned.” Further details can be found on the Ex Cathedra website.
Pictured: Scholars Ensemble concert, November 2023 (image credit: Ex Cathedra)