London Oratory Schola Cantorum & Charles Cole
Biography London Oratory Schola Cantorum & Charles Cole
London Oratory Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum of The London Oratory School sings at the London Oratory every Saturday evening in term time and on major feast days for School Mass throughout the year. Founded in 1996, the choir gives Catholic boys the opportunity of a choral education within the state education system from age 7 to 18. As well as its liturgical role, the Schola has made many recordings and has toured widely abroad, performing throughout the USA and Europe.
In 2013 the Schola sang at High Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and was the first visiting choir in history to sing at Vespers there. In 2015 the Schola toured Spain, singing a programme of Spanish renaissance polyphony at the Cathedrals of Madrid, Segovia and Toledo as well as the Monastery of San Lorenzo el Real in El Escorial. In 2016 the Schola toured Venice singing Mass at St Mark’s and a concert at the Church of San Salvador. The same year the Schola sang at a choral festival in Bavaria with the Tölzer Knabenchor. In 2017 the Schola toured southern Spain singing in Seville and Granada. Later in 2017 the Schola went on tour to the USA singing in Boston, New York and Washington DC.
In July 2019 the Schola undertook a major tour in the USA, singing at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, at a number of the Californian Missions, as well as the first concert at the newly-consecrated Christ Cathedral, Orange County. In October 2019 the Schola was invited to sing at the Canonisation of John Henry Newman at St Peter’s, Rome. The choir also sang a number of services and concerts in Rome leading up to the Canonisation, a reception attended by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and a private audience with the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI.
The Schola’s most recent recording, Sacred Treasures of Spain, was released in July 2019 on the De Montfort/AimHigher Recordings label. This anthology of Spanish renaissance music follows the Schola’s previous recording, Sacred Treasures of England, which features music from the Tudor period. The Choir is closely associated with Aid to the Church in Need, singing for services and events to help the Charity’s work in providing support to persecuted Christians, most particularly in Syria and Iraq. The Trebles also sing for a number of the Royal Ballet’s productions at the Royal Opera House including The Dream and Nutcracker.
Recent performances by the Schola include J.S. Bach’s St John & St Matthew Passions and the Christmas Oratorio at the London Oratory with evangelist Nicholas Mulroy and Monteverdi’s Vespers with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble.
