Frideswide Voices is the girls’ choir of Christ Church Cathedral, singing each week in the Cathedral alongside the Lay and Academical Clerks. The girls, aged 7 to 14, do not attend the Cathedral school, but instead are drawn from schools across Oxfordshire. Girl choristers come to the Cathedral at least twice a week to rehearse, study and sing services in the Cathedral, and are provided with a rich, intensive musical education from a team of tutors.
They are directed by Helen Smee, who conducts their weekly rehearsals and services and leads a team of specialist tutors who deliver weekly theory, singing and musicianship training to the choristers.
History
Established in 2014 under the auspices of The Frideswide Foundation, a charitable trust, Frideswide Voices was created as the first liturgical girls’ choir in Oxford, and began singing services in Worcester College. Numbering around 20 girls, the choir spent several years moving through a rotation of termly residencies at Christ Church, New College and Magdalen College, as well as singing Evensong services in chapels across Oxford including Exeter, Oriel, St Peter’s, Trinity and Queen’s.
In May 2019 it was announced that Frideswide Voices would be adopted by Christ Church as a permanent part of the choral foundation of the College and Cathedral. Since September 2019 they have been part of the diverse, thriving family of choirs which make up the choral foundation at Christ Church, singing Evensong with the Clerks of the Cathedral Choir on most Wednesdays during term-time, and a full weekend of services once a term.
Who was Frideswide?
Frideswide Voices is named for the patronal saint of Oxford, St Frideswide. She was a Saxon princess whose shrine lies at the heart of Christ Church Cathedral, which itself was born out of the remnants of St Frideswide Priory. You can read more about Frideswide and her links to Christ Church’s history here.
