Applying
Choral Scholarships
Jesus College Choir is one of the most highly regarded student choral ensembles in Europe. A Choral Scholarship at Jesus allows you to develop as a singer in a friendly and committed environment in one of the oldest and most beautiful colleges and chapels in Cambridge.
During term, the Choir sings evensong, compline and performs at feasts and other special events in the College. Several dinners, parties and a generous subsidy of food in the Colllege 'Caff' contribute to a strong social scene.
Above and beyond their term-time commitments, the Choir participates in high-profile concerts – often with professional orchestras and soloists – recordings, broadcasts and fully subsidised international tours. The Choir is also uniquely involved in international outreach, leading singing workshops for children in under-privileged communities in the UK and abroad. Find out more about how to apply for a Choral Scholarship.
Organ Scholarships
Jesus College offers unrivalled opportunities to its Organ Scholars, who play an essential role in the musical life of the College, accompanying the choirs, playing continuo and performing as soloists in regular services, radio broadcasts, concerts and CD recordings. Not only do they have the chance to work with – and frequently conduct – one of the UK's leading mixed voice choirs, they also gain experience in training boys' voices and teaching choristers and play an important part in the choirs' busy touring schedule.
The range of instruments on offer in the Chapel is superb: three excellent organs – the highly-regarded 2007 Kuhn, the recently restored nineteenth-century Sutton Organ and a Tickell chamber organ; a fine Bruce Kennedy harpsichord; and a first-rate Steinway concert grand piano.
Our Organ Scholars also find time to pursue further interests, musical and non-musical, both inside and outside the College, making for a demanding, rewarding and well-rounded experience of Cambridge. Find out more about how to apply for an Organ Scholarship.
Choristerships
Being a Chorister at Jesus College provides an opportunity for boys to sing with an internationally renowned choir whilst continuing a tradition which has formed an integral part of the College community since the fifteenth century.
As Jesus College does not maintain a choir school, the Choristers are not required to board and are drawn from a wide variety of schools in the Cambridge area. A fund supports instrumental tuition for choristers, and the boys receive termly pocket money, but it is the education – belonging to a team committed to the highest standards – which is perhaps the most valuable aspect of the Chorister experience. Singing regularly together, participating in services, concerts, recordings, broadcasts and foreign tours, can be a formative and deeply memorable part of a boy's upbringing. A former Chorister's mother wrote a 2013 article in The Telegraph about her son’s experience singing at Jesus saying that: "nothing in his life so far has been more formative or enriching, and maybe never will be.' Find out more about how to apply to be a Chorister at Jesus College.
