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The Spring Term was very exciting and productive for the schools engaged in the Schools Singing Programme (SSP) in Sussex and Surrey. These updates from our two Choral Directors, Billie Robson and Fraser Ellson, show the wonderful progress the SSP is making in engaging children in diocesan schools with sacred and choral music at the highest level.

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Billie Robson, Choral Director for Sussex, reflects on a great term, with new projects and many opportunities for the children involved with the SSP to sing in worship and concerts: 

"It has been another successful term in Sussex, with the SSP going from strength to strength. The term started with three beautiful Masses at which whole classes led the singing: Years 3 and 5 from Our Lady of Lourdes in Rottingdean did a fantastic job of leading a packed church at Anita Philbrook’s Induction Mass, which happened to take place on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This gave them a wonderful opportunity to learn about Simeon and Anna, and to sing the Nunc Dimittis to traditional chant at the start of Mass.

"Year 5 at Cottesmore St Mary Primary School in Hove not only learned Paul Inwood’s Gathering Mass and led the congregation of parents and grandparents at their 'Buddy Mass', but also had some excellent solo cantors taking the verse sections and singing the responsorial psalm for the day. At St John the Baptist in Brighton, children from Years 3 and 4 turned out in great number and full voice to support the parish music group as part of Carly Carden’s Induction Mass, as well as singing a reflective post-Communion hymn by themselves.

"In Horsham, children in Years 4 and 5 from St Robert Southwell, Horsham, undertook the impressive task of learning two movements of Vivaldi’s Gloria as well as the final 'Amen', and a dedicated group joined in with a very special performance of this work at Worth Abbey. They joined a 'Come and Sing' chorus of 120 adults, plus a professional Baroque chamber orchestra. The children weren’t phased by the grand scale of the event and not only sang beautifully but behaved impeccably! They were treated to a private demonstration of the historic 'natural trumpet' by one of the UK’s leading Baroque trumpeters, Neil Brough. The children commented on enjoying learning the text of the Gloria in Latin - and we managed to fit this in just before the beginning of Lent!

"Towards the end of term, all 11 SSP schools across Sussex meditated on the season of Lent, and we sang a mixture of traditional and contemporary hymns appropriate for this season, with a final session on musical responses to the Crucifixion. We listened to and sang sections of responses ranging from music by King John IV of Portugal, to J.S. Bach, to the spiritual 'Were you there when they crucified my Lord?'

"At St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Bognor Regis, our final session of term took a very special form, as part of the Spirituality Week focused on prayer. Given the proximity to Holy Week, we transformed the hall into a series of stations of saints with candles and the children took part in a procession, singing the Litany of the Saints in the Easter Vigil form, culminating in a sung Angelus in front of a shrine to Our Lady by the piano. We explored how physical gestures such as bows and genuflections can enhance our prayers - and the challenges of singing while kneeling!

"Finally, an exciting new after-school choir is up and running in Brighton, having sung most recently at Vespers for the Solemnity of the Passing of St Benedict at St John the Baptist Church in Brighton - but we are in need of more singers! Children in Years 4-6 are invited to join rehearsals on Friday afternoons at 4pm, and we are working towards more liturgical singing soon and a possible summer concert to showcase the wonderful work they have done."

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A great deal has also been happening in Surrey, as Fraser Ellson, Choral Director for Surrey, relates:

"In Surrey, every one of the eight schools that currently receive musical provision from our Choral Director has sung at an event or worship outside of their own school and community. This is on top of the work we are already doing with those school communities.

"We have focussed on two areas: the Jubilee year, and parish worship. Three SSP School Choirs have led the music for worship in their parishes, in Englefield Green, Knaphill and Cranleigh, and SSP classes have led their parish singing, in worship in Guildford and Frimley. All the SSP Choirs and Classes have sung either a concert or Mass in their schools.

"Other recent highlights include a Year 3 concert at St Cuthbert’s, Englefield Green for the school and parents, and a Choir concert at St Cuthbert Mayne, Cranleigh. Year 5 at St Polycarp’s, Farnham led the singing for parts of their school's end of term Mass, and Year 5 at St Dunstan’s, Woking, put on a reflective Stations of the Cross service, incorporating the parish organ. The Chorister Club at St Edmund’s, Godalming was also invited to another local school to take part in a musical celebration afternoon.

"And we have started a Key Stage 1 choir at St Hugh of Lincoln, Knaphill, because of a lovely letter from a Year 1 pupil, who asked for a choir.

"The summer term will see more occasions on which schools will sing in their parish churches, and two Choral Days, which bring together four schools for an afternoon of music making, culminating in a concert for parents, parishioners and staff.

"The term will also see the return of the SSP Surrey Summer Concert Series, where our Choral Director offers a ready-made concert plan for each school, providing a reflective end to the school year."

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For more information about the Schools Singing Programme, contact Billie Robson, Choral Director - Sussex, E: billie.robson@abdiocese.org.uk or Fraser Ellson, Choral Director - Surrey, E: fraser.ellson@abdiocese.org.uk‍