St John’s has a brilliant reputation for music, with our students participating in all genres and forms of music across the University.
College Choirs
The biggest St John’s music group is the chapel choir. They perform two services a week, with choral Evensong on Sundays and Wednesdays. The choir is composed of undergraduate and graduate students and is selected by audition at the beginning of the academic year. The choir have also made a number of recordings and occasionally go on tours and give concerts in various venues across Oxford. Choir members are paid a small amount per service and extra for services outside termtime. If you demonstrate good sight reading ability and natural musicality, students have the opportunity to become choral scholars, elected internally. If you’d like to audition for the choir, please email [email protected].
If you don’t think the chapel choir is for you, but still love singing, there are numerous other college choirs across Oxford of varying standard, as well as Oxford University Chorus, the largest choir in the University. OUChorus numbers over a hundred and puts on large choral-orchestral works each term, with rehearsals on Wednesdays.
Oxford University Music Society
The student music scene in Oxford is one of the largest in the country, and is run by the Oxford University Music Society (OUMS). OUMS runs nine ensembles, including four symphony orchestras, string, wind and jazz orchestras, a brass band and OUChorus. Auditions for these are held at the end of Freshers’ Week at the Music Faculty (south of Christ Church). If you’re an instrumentalist interested in joining an ensemble, please contact [email protected].
College Pianos
There are music practice-rooms in college, which each have pianos. The Kawai Room houses a Kawai (surprise, surprise) grand piano. These are situated at the far end of both Garden Quad and Kendrew Quad, near the events room, and are openly accessible to all members of College using their SALTO fob. The key for the grand piano can be obtained from the porter’s lodge.
For more information on music in St John’s or if you have any concerts you would like to put on, contact the President of the SJC Music Society on [email protected].