Twenty-four Choral Awards and two Organ Scholarships are available in the Choir. As a Scholar, you’re entitled to a wide range of financial, practical and social benefits, from music lessons to a generous honorarium.
Prospective choral and organ scholars are warmly encouraged to visit us at Worcester: the Director of College Music will be happy to talk informally about choral and organ award opportunities, the wider music culture in College, and introduce applicants to current choral and organ scholars. Schools also are welcome to enquire about bringing groups of students to sing with the Choir at Evensong.
Contact our Director of College Music
Director of College Music
Caius Lee
Caius Lee FRSA
Director of College Music
Caius Lee read Music and was Organ Scholar at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, during which time he founded the Florence International Singing Programme. Since 2019, he has been a trustee for Awards for Young Musicians, supporting talented young musicians from low-income families. He has worked with choirs, festivals and played solo recitals in Europe, Asia and South America. Returning to the Diocese of Leeds in 2021 as a Choral Director, Caius lead choirs in his native Bradford before joining Worcester in September 2023. His passion for community engagement and choral excellence has been recognised with a Royal Society of Arts Fellowship (FRSA).
Hear from our scholars
I applied to Worcester knowing that it was a musically rich and diverse College. I have learnt so much and I feel my technique, knowledge and sight-reading ability has flourished in a relatively short period of time.
Being an Organ Scholar at Worcester has changed my idea of who I am and what I am capable of. To those who are considering applying: you must. You will grow so much faster than you think you can.
Before my first Evensong at Worcester, I had no clue how to even read a Psalm... that first rehearsal certainly involved a lot of learning, but doing it alongside such a kind and talented choir made the experience far less scary.
The frequent services at Worcester mean you get loads of experience, and I love the range of music we sing. There really is a thrill that comes with being part of making a piece come together – especially in such a sublime setting as Worcester Chapel.
I applied to Worcester knowing that it was a musically rich and diverse College. I have learnt so much and I feel my technique, knowledge and sight-reading ability has flourished in a relatively short period of time.
Being an Organ Scholar at Worcester has changed my idea of who I am and what I am capable of. To those who are considering applying: you must. You will grow so much faster than you think you can.
Before my first Evensong at Worcester, I had no clue how to even read a Psalm... that first rehearsal certainly involved a lot of learning, but doing it alongside such a kind and talented choir made the experience far less scary.
The frequent services at Worcester mean you get loads of experience, and I love the range of music we sing. There really is a thrill that comes with being part of making a piece come together – especially in such a sublime setting as Worcester Chapel.
JOINING THE CHOIR
There are two ways to join the Choir, both of which involve an audition.
Most Choral Scholarships are awarded at the University’s annual Choral Trials, which take place in late September each year for those applying to start a degree in October the following year (i.e. 12 months prior to arriving in Oxford). Choral awards are contingent on your being made an offer for your academic course, which you apply to separately in the usual way.
It is also possible to apply for a place in the Choir, if there are vacancies in your voice part, once you arrive in Oxford to begin your degree. Members of the Choir do not have to be students at Worcester. We don’t distinguish between these two routes and almost all members of the Choir are awarded scholarships. In either case, you do not need to be reading for a degree in Music, and recent choral scholars have successfully balanced degrees in subjects as varied as Physics and Anthropology with their Choir commitments.
Life as a choral scholar
Choral scholarship duties
Choral scholarship benefits
Organ scholarships
An Organ Scholarship at Worcester College provides musical training and experience which is unique in Oxford and unusual in the musical world.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills, including organ and keyboard playing, continuo realisation, conducting, working with boy trebles, and training and rehearsing a choir.
Organ Scholarships are awarded solely through the University Organ Trials, which take place each September for those applying to begin their studies the following year. If you’re making an application to be an Organ Scholar, your academic interviews will take place at the same time, meaning you have an earlier application deadline than other candidates.
Life as an organ scholar
Organ Scholarship duties
Organ Scholarship benefits
Read our scholarships brochure
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