Music at St John's
St John’s Church, Ranmoor has a strong musical heritage, one of the most extensive, vibrant and comprehensive parish church-based music programmes in the country. Choral music enhances our worship and music is one of the ways that we serve our community. At St John’s we have musical opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. There is more information about choirs and our organs on the following pages.
You can contact the Music Department by email music@stjohnsranmoor.org.uk or by telephoning the parish office on 01142301199.
Staff Team
The music staff team comprises both employed and volunteer musicians.
Philip Collin Director of Music
Mr Derek Grover, Organist and Associate Director of Music
Mr Joseph Hutchinson, Organist-in-Residence
Professor Julian Gunn, Assistant Organist
Ms Georgina Hulse, Chorister Tutor
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is of the utmost importance in our work with our all of our choirs. Our safeguarding policy and procedures can be found here . If you have any queries about parish safeguarding, please contact the PCC Safeguarding Officer. Claire Webber. administrator@stjohnsranmoor.org.uk
Music Downloads
Here is a link to some 21 tracks of various hymns, psalms and anthems from St John's. They are all audio files which should play in the browser or they can be downloaded and played directly from the desktop.
Click here to listen to them and download
Choirs at St John’s
At St John’s we have musical opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. During term time, our choirs sing weekly at two Sunday services, three weekday services of Evensong, festival liturgies and other occasional offices. We also perform regular concerts and choir tours as well as sharing music at social events. Musicians find themselves part of a particularly friendly and welcoming environment with a good social network and a strong sense of community.
All of our choral opportunities are listed below, for more information contact music@stjohnsranmoor.org.uk.
The Junior Choristers
Our newest choir, the Junior Choristers are aged 4-6 years and sing for our All Age worship one Sunday per month. The session is friendly, informal and fun. The whole family are encouraged to join in. It’s a great introduction to choral singing.
The Choristers
Our choristerships are open to boys and girls aged 6 to 13 years of age. Choristers participate in two weekday rehearsals (Monday and Tuesday for girls and Monday and Wednesday for boys). The Choristers sing two Sunday services per month and weekly Evensongs as well as participating fully at festival services at Christmas and Easter.
Choristers receive a complete and rounded musical experience; learning to sing complex choral music from a wide repertoire and receiving extensive vocal and music theory tuition all in the context of the Anglican tradition of set liturgies. There are many other benefits of choral music and our choristers are confident, well-disciplined and committed. Being a chorister is also lots of fun and they regularly share in social activities.
The Choral Scholars
The Choral Scholars are 13 to 18 years old and a mix of all voice parts. Rehearsing weekly on Thursdays and singing twice monthly on Sundays, the choral scholars are able to develop their changing voices as they mature. The Choral Scholars work at the highest level of choral music, giving them skills and experience to continue their love of choral music into adulthood.
The Consort
The consort is our mixed adult choir comprising professional musicians and experienced amateurs. The consort offers choral opportunities for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The lower voices accompany all our sung Sunday services with either the Sopranos or the Choristers. Rehearsing on Wednesday evenings, the Consort sing a wide repertoire of complex choral music. Rehearsals are fast-paced and rigorous resulting in a very close-knit group, both in ensemble and as a community.
The Occasional Singers
The Occasional Singers, comprises singers from all areas of church life and the wider community. They meet termly to lead the music at one of our main Sunday services; offering relief for our regular choirs and opportunities for singers to participate in our music on less regular basis.