Chorister Scholarships

Does your son love to sing?

Churchie offers an opportunity for boys who love to sing to be a part of the St John’s Cathedral Choristers. In response to the choristers’ significant contribution to the worship life of St John’s Cathedral, they are offered a scholarship at Churchie from Year 3 or 5 until the end of Year 8 (subject to review). These scholarships provide a rich and disciplined environment in which to gain outstanding choral skills. Scholarships are available for 50 per cent remission of tuition fees at Churchie.

The Cathedral Chorister programme

The St John’s Cathedral Chorister Scholarship Programme offers boys a unique opportunity to develop their musical ability to an extremely high level while enjoying the benefits of a world-class education at Churchie.
 
The chorister programme is demanding; however, the boys receive much in return. Choristers are trained by Mr Graeme Morton, Choral Conducting Fellow at The University of Queensland. With such expertise and a staff-student ratio of one to five, the Cathedral Choir provides an extraordinary level of training and education for its members.
 
The process of younger boys learning with and from older boys is very significant. The maturity of the repertoire, the intellectual development that enables these boys to sing such mature music at a high level, the discipline, focus and concentration that is developed, along with time management skills—all these, and more, contribute to their development in an amazing way.

About the scholarship

Cathedral Choristers attend Churchie from Years 5 to 8 on a 50 per cent scholarship. For boys who have a passion for singing and the maturity to thrive with the demands of the chorister programme, we offer a scholarship from Year 3 with a reduced chorister load for the first year.

At the completion of the scholarship at the end of Year 8, choristers are invited to apply for a music scholarship for an ongoing 50 per cent reduction in tuition for the remainder of their schooling at Churchie.
 
The commitment that is required of boys, and of their parents, is one that needs to be considered carefully and is set out below:

• to sing at Sunday choral services at 9:30 am and 6 pm at St John’s Cathedral from the beginning of the School year to and including Christmas Day and Easter Holy Week. School holidays are exempt from practice (except for religious holidays).
• to sing at occasional special services (including weddings) as directed by the Dean.
• to attend practice, currently Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 to 8:15 am at Churchie, Friday from 3:45 to 7 pm at St John’s Cathedral and, in addition, for 45 minutes prior to each service.
• to wear appropriately laundered robes (the robes being provided).

Positions in the choir are subject to audition and are open to all boys regardless of religious affiliation. We seek boys who are capable of thriving with the academic load of Churchie and who are passionate about singing exceptional music. If they do not currently learn an instrument, we would expect them to take up such studies concurrent with their scholarship. This will also be of use in the potential transition to a Churchie Music Scholarship at the completion of Year 8.

Scholarship applications

Enquiries

For enquiries or further information on the Chorister Scholarships, please contact Churchie Admissions on (07) 3896 2200 or [email protected]. 

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