When I started my first year at Bristol, I was looking for somewhere to sing every week. I had only been singing in a church choir for eighteen months but had enjoyed it and wanted to continue at university. I was not offered a place in any of the auditioned choirs run by the Music Department or the Music Society, so I auditioned for Clifton Cathedral Choir instead, having met one of the older choral scholars in the Music Department, and finding it a ten-minute walk from my halls of residence. I had little choral experience before joining — I had not been a chorister as a child, nor had formal singing lessons — so being offered a choral scholarship in a cathedral choir was something I quickly became proud of. Once in, I set out to improve my technique and pay closer attention to the sound I was making.
I was reasonably confident at sight-reading already, though this has continued to improve regardless, and I wanted to feel comfortable taking choral solos if asked. Coming to the end of my second year in the choir, my sight-reading has improved considerably, and I have had the chance to focus on tone quality where possible, which has made me more willing to take solos. A standard Sunday's music might include a Mass by Palestrina, with motets by Gibbons, Mathias and Allegri, alongside regular repertoire by Victoria, Purcell, Vaughan Williams and Leighton, and occasionally music by one of the other choral scholars — the range is wide enough that no single Sunday is really typical.
Alongside singing at Clifton Cathedral, I play cello in the University Symphony Orchestra and New Music Ensemble, take part in various operas and other projects as they arise, and sing with the Music Department's Schola Cantorum, a female-voices choir for Music students. Outside my degree, I spend most of my time singing and playing in these groups, and this year have also been Concerts Administrator for Bristol University Music Society. Balancing this alongside coursework has taught me a good deal about time management. I am not especially concerned about music taking over my social life, since for musicians the two tend to overlap — the Cathedral scholars generally go to the pub after rehearsals, which I always look forward to.