Music at Holy Trinity
The Choir : 11.15am & 5pm
Holy Trinity Choir welcomes new members on all voice-parts (SATB).
The choir’s schedule is as follows:
Children, aged 7 – 14: Tuesdays during term-time, 6.30pm – 7.30pm.
Older children and adults: Thursdays during term-time, 7.15pm – 8.45pm.
Full choir: Sundays during term-time, 10.45am for
11.15am Holy Communion service; 4.30pm for
5pm Choral Evensong.
You are very welcome to join our choir. As the choir sings a large repertoire to a high standard, potential new adult members will need to be able to read music notation, pitch accurately and have had some previous singing experience; there is the opportunity to develop musically however and most of our choir would say that they have gained confidence in areas such as sight-reading since being at Holy Trinity. We are particularly looking for new altos, but enquiries on all voice parts are encouraged. We train children with no prior musical experience, providing a free musical education and the opportunity to sing in a beautiful medieval church every week, whilst making new friends and developing other associated skills such as confidence in reading, organisation, self-discipline, concentration and teamwork. Children in the choir also receive a small bursary for their commitment.
You can also read more about the
choir’s history, repertoire, and involvement in worship at Holy Trinity and elsewhere in the
section below.
9.30am Music Group
Our 9.30am music group welcomes new vocalists and instrumentalists.
The music group currently rehearse on Friday evenings from 6.30pm until around 7.30pm, and then from 8.45am on Sunday mornings in preparation for the
9.30am Informal Worship.
The musicians play on a rota, with most committing to a couple of Sundays a month; however more regular involvement is welcome.
Sunday @7 Music Group
Sunday @7 is a new 7pm service which also enjoys contemporary worship music (usually led by piano or guitar), together with traditional hymns.
You are very welcome to join our music team. You don’t have to be able to read music to join, however a good awareness of pitch is important for vocalists. Our instrumental line-up currently comprises piano, guitar and saxophone (and occasionally drums and/or bass guitar). All instruments are welcome (including ‘acoustic’ melody instruments such as violin, flute etc.); we are especially looking for an experienced drummer. The music group’s repertoire ranges from songs by Matt Redman and Tim Hughes to Hillsong and Bethel Music, as well as more traditional hymns.
To join our Choir or Music team, please fill in the form to
Join our ministry team.
Or
For more information about the Choir, 9.30 or Sunday@7 music group, please contact the Director of Music, Alexander Norman using the form below
.
Our Worship Structure
The availability of a wide range of musical and liturgical styles is Trinity’s particular joy and blessing.
In general, the Sunday services at 9.30am and 7.00pm have a more informal structure, led by a worship group with occasional use of the organ, whereas the 11.15am and 5.00pm are more formal and led by the organ and choir.
There is also a service of Midday Prayer held on Wednesday at noon where the piano is used.
Click here to know more about our services.
New Music
Newly composed settings and arrangements tailor-made for the church and liturgy are a regular feature of worship:
The choir sang 'Children of Light', a newly-composed anthem by Lara Weaver, at the 2022 'From Darkness to Light' Advent Carol Service.
The choir often sings music by established contemporary composers such as John Rutter, Philip Moore, Judith Weir and Sir James MacMillan, as well as learning new hymnody.
The 9.30 music group regularly incorporate new songs and arrangements into worship.
The choir sang a newly commissioned carol by Eunseog Lee, "Hymn to the Divine Word" at the 2018 Nine Lessons and Carols Service.
Chris Howard’s ‘Trinity Mass’ and Simon Lole's "Whitefriars Mass" for congregation and choir are sung regularly at the 11.15am service.
The late Peter Fairhurst, organist of Holy Trinity, composed a number of pieces for worship including special brass arrangements for Rev. Keith Sinclair’s induction in 2001.
The Choir of Holy Trinity, Coventry in its present form was established in 1863 and was the first robed parish choir in the city. However the tradition of choral singing at Holy Trinity has existed in various forms for many centuries. Very little is known about the choir pre-Reformation because of a lack of documentation, and changes in worship styles brought about by the Reformation and then the Puritan Commonwealth meant that music in church was in a state of flux. In the 18th century, girls from the nearby Blue Coat School often provided the soprano line for the choir, whilst the alto, tenor and bass parts were presumably sung by experienced adult singers.
The Oxford Movement of the 19th century brought about a reimagining of the liturgy and with it new choir stalls, robes and initially a choir of men and boys, similar to that of many cathedrals. The present choir has around 35 members, men and women, adults and young people, and sings at two services every Sunday – Choral Eucharist and Choral Evensong. The music is drawn from a very wide ranging repertoire including Masses by Palestrina, Byrd and Darke and anthems and motets ranging from the 15th to the 21st centuries. On an average Sunday the choir performs a Mass setting, Evening Canticles, psalms and three or four anthems or motets, as well as leading congregational hymns.
At Christmas, the choir sings at the Advent Carol Service ‘From Darkness to Light’, a full service of Nine Lessons and Carols, and Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Other important occasions include the Freeman’s Guild Service, the Good Friday Three Hour Vigil and joint services with Coventry Cathedral Choir. In addition to providing music for worship at Holy Trinity, the choir also engages in cathedral residential visits at least once a year. These have included the cathedrals of Peterborough, Hereford, Durham, Llandaff, Edinburgh, St. John the Divine (New York, USA), Chester and St. Edmundsbury. In 2002 the choir had the privilege of giving recitals in Notre-Dame de Paris and Meaux Cathedral.
In 2017, the choir recorded its first full CD for many years, a collection of British sacred choral music entitled ‘Songs of Heaven and Earth’ – copies are priced at £10 and can be purchased by contacting the church office through the Contact Us form. All proceeds go towards supporting music at Holy Trinity.