Carol Service 2019

The St Edmund’s annual Carol Service provided a beautiful end to a successful 2019. Set in the Nave of the Canterbury Cathedral, and with a congregation of some 1450 people, the service lasted just over an hour and was represented by all parts of the school. Opening the service, James Hodgkinson sang the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City with confidence and poise. This lead to a procession around the Cathedral into the Compass Rose area.

The Carols were accompanied by the splendid playing of the brass, consisting of professional and St Edmund’s school pupils. All of the school choirs were represented: Pre Prep, Lower and Upper School Junior Choirs, Senior School Chapel and Chamber Choirs, and our wonderful Cathedral Choristers.
Will Inscoe from Upper Sixth wrote, and arranged two of the Carols: ‘I sing of a maiden’ and ‘The Little Road to Bethlehem’. The former piece was also chosen as the winning entry in the Worcester College Chapel (Oxford) Carol Competition for composers up to 25 years of age.

The music was punctuated with well-articulated readings by Lola Burge, Leo Watters, Isabel O’Connor, Jildou Chappell, Frankie Shepley and Jen Matharu from the Junior and Senior School. Thanks go to all involved in the service; to our Chaplain Mr Bennett, Dr Flood and Reverend Canon Tim Naish, and especially to all the singers, stewards, readers and staff for making this magical point in the school year run so smoothly.