Chorister’s Christmas Singing Afternoon: 28 November 2026

Here at St. Giles’ Church Oxford, we’re running a free afternoon of music-making for young people from 6 to 12. We’ll start at 2:00pm, rehearse great Christmas music, and then perform it to parents, families, and friends.

We welcome boys and girls from age 6. Choristership is a great foundation for future musicianship. Recent former choristers have moved on to music college, or hold choral and organ scholarships in Cambridge, Oxford and elsewhere.

The afternoon is welcoming and low‑pressure: pupils learn and sing music together, meet current choristers informally, and share a short, optional end‑of‑day showcase with parents. No prior musical experience is required, and participation is entirely free.

We train young people to perform challenging, uplifting music, pursuing excellence and fun.

Developing musical and personal skills that children can carry through life is at the heart of what we do.

Singing is beneficial for protecting wellbeing.

See also our information page about the choirs at St Giles’ Church

Register:

Download this poster for a community or school noticeboard.

Andrew Kong plays Bach

Chorister and organist, Andrew Kong (13), plays J.S. Bach’s Choral Partita for organ Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig (BWV 768) at St Giles Church on Sunday 22 March at 12:00 noon.

The work consists of a chorale and eleven short variations written on it. This is one of Bach’s earlier works, dating from around 1705, when the young composer was influenced by the style of the variations of Georg Böhm, organist of St. John’s Church in Lüneburg, where Bach was a student. Dieterich Buxtehude is another probable source of inspiration. Of Bach’s chorale partitas for organ, this is the longest.