If you'd like to attend all or part of the reunion, please complete the online booking form above by Friday 31 May.
As with last year, we'd like to take the opportunity to gather your opinions to make sure our annual reunion is a fitting occasion for all. Please take a moment to share your views - even if you're not attending this year's event.
There's also an opportunity to put yourself forward to join the PCOCA committee (and to volunteer for the role of Hon. Secretary) in the online form. The commitment involves just two remote committee meetings plus the AGM each year. We'd be delighted to welcome new members.
14:30AGM with refreshments - The Knights’ Chamber (£5) 15:45 Rehearsal - choir stalls 17:25 Wreath-laying ceremony - St Sprite’s Chapel 17:30 Choral Evensong - choir stalls 19:00 for 19:30 Dinner - The Bull Hotel (£45, or £37.50 for under-25s)
This event is open to anyone currently or previously affiliated with Peterborough Cathedral Choir. Partners, friends and family are more than welcome to attend.
Dress code: lounge suits / school uniform / smart
Can you help?
Running Peterborough Cathedral Choir costs £270,000 every year.
We've previously been pleased to donate c. £1,500-2,000 to fund commissions, singing lessons, concerts, recordings and tours, but we cannot continue to do so unless you support us financially.
Membership to PCOCA costs £25 each year, or £2.50 per month if you prefer. 90% of our members do not yet pay their subscription. If everyone contributed, we'd be in a position to donate £10,000 after our AGM.
If being a chorister shaped your life and you'd like to make this unique opportunity possible for another child, regardless of their circumstances, please consider setting up your standing order now. Many thanks in advance.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort code: 20-67-37 Account number: 60709816
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
Friday 10 May - £55 (10% discount for a table of 10)
Enjoy a three-course meal followed by live music from the Motor City Vipers at Orton Hall Hotel, PE2 7DN
Please click here or contact [email protected] / 07813 879 441 for more information.
***
900th Anniversary of the Church of St Kyneburgha, Castor
Thursday 06 June - £15
This will feature Old Chorister The Rt Hon David Lammy MP in conversation with The King’s (The Cathedral) School Parent Governor and retired BBC radio broadcaster Stewart Frances.
It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of The Very Revd Charles Taylor on 21 February 2024.
His funeral (Requiem Eucharist of The Resurrection) was attended by a large congregation at Lichfield Cathedral on 14 March 2024. The homily was given by The Very Revd Adrian Dorber, and the music included Rheinberger's Geistliches lied and Wesley's Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.
Tim announced his retirement from his role as Chairman at the AGM. Having joined the committee in 1973, he later became Hon. Secretary and latterly served as Chairman. Tim said that it was a great pleasure to be involved with the Association for half a century, and that he's happy to continue editing the newsletter for the time being. Thank you, Tim.
Next year's reunion
We look forward to seeing you at next year's reunion on Saturday 08 June 2024. Please save the date, and encourage your contemporaries to attend.
Peterborough Cathedral Christmas Concert
Please click here to book your tickets for a concert of seasonal favourites performed by the Cathedral Choir, Youth Choir and Festival Chorus on Friday 22 December.
Can you help?
Running Peterborough Cathedral Choir costs £270,000 every year.
We've previously been pleased to donate c. £1,500-2,000 to fund commissions, singing lessons, concerts, recordings and tours, but we cannot continue to do so unless you support us financially.
Membership to PCOCA costs £25 each year, or £2.50 per month if you prefer. 90% of our members do not yet pay their subscription. If everyone contributed, we'd be in a position to donate £10,000 after our AGM.
If being a chorister shaped your life and you'd like to make this unique opportunity possible for another child, regardless of their circumstances, please consider setting up your standing order now. Many thanks in advance.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort code: 20-67-37 Account number: 60709816
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
AGM
Please click the button below to read the minutes from our Annual General Meeting.
You can read Once a Chorister's2023 newsletter here.
Wishing you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year,
Louise
Louise Laprun Hon. Secretary
I'll be stepping down as Hon. Secretary at the next AGM. If you'd like to learn more about the role or wish to join the committee, please get in touch.
If you'd like to attend all or part of the reunion, please complete the online booking form above by Friday 09 June.
We'd like to take the opportunity to gather your opinions to make sure our annual reunion is a fitting occasion for all. Please take a moment to share your views - even if you're not attending this year's event.
If you're unable to attend, your apologies will be noted at the AGM.
14:15 Seating - Choir
14:30 Rehearsal - Choir 15:25 Wreath-laying ceremony - St Sprite’s Chapel 15:30 Choral Evensong, sung with the Cathedral Choir 16:30 Full choir photo - Sanctuary / High Altar
17:00AGM with tea & cake - The Knights’ Chamber (£5) 18:30 Informal drinks - The Queen's Head
This event is open to anyone currently or previously affiliated with Peterborough Cathedral Choir. Partners, friends and family are more than welcome to attend.
Dress code: lounge suits / school uniform / smart
Please support your choir
Did you know that running Peterborough Cathedral Choir costs £270,000 every year?
We've previously been pleased to donate £2,000 to fund singing lessons for the past few years, but we cannot continue to do so unless you support us financially. Additionally, with budget cuts this year, it's vital for us to support the choir so that they might be able to put on concerts, record music and go on tour.
Membership to PCOCA costs £25 each year, or £2.50 per month if you prefer. 90% of our members do not yet pay their subscription. If everyone contributed, we'd be in a position to donate £10,000 after our AGM.
If being a chorister shaped your life and you'd like to make this unique opportunity possible for another child, regardless of their circumstances, please consider setting up your standing order now. Thank you so much in advance.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort Code: 20-67-37 Account Number: 60709816
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
Once a Chorister
The FCOCA (now rebranded as 'Once a Chorister') has published their online newsletter here.
We look forward to seeing you at next year's reunion on Sunday 18 June 2023. Please save the date, and encourage your contemporaries to attend.
Please support your choir
Did you know that running Peterborough Cathedral Choir costs £270,000 every year?
We've previously been pleased to donate £2,000 to fund singing lessons for the past few years, but we cannot continue to do so unless you support us financially. Additionally, with budget cuts this coming year, it's vital for us to support the choir so that they might be able to put on concerts, record music, and go on tour.
Membership to PCOCA costs £25 each year, or £2.50 per month if you prefer. 90% of our members do not yet pay their subscription. If everyone contributed, we'd be in a position to donate £10,000 after our AGM.
If being a chorister shaped your life and you'd like to make this unique opportunity possible for another child, regardless of their circumstances, please consider setting up your standing order now. Thank you so much in advance.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort code: 20-67-37 Account number: 60709816
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
AGM
Please click on the button below to read the minutes from our Annual General Meeting.
Randolph Wise, already the Company Chaplain, became Dean in 1981. The following year he invited me to join with him in meeting Harry Humber at the Hall to discuss the possibility of the Cathedral Choir singing the annual Carol Service for the Company. Prior to 1982, the service had been sung by a professional quartet. We had lunch together at the Hall and it was agreed that the Choir would sing the service the following December.
This duly happened and appeared to be a success. In those days the choir was placed in the gallery and one-half of the Great Hall was turned into a pseudo-church, the congregation facing the gallery. Thereafter we sang every Christmas, eventually moving into St Botolph’s and subsequently to St Vedast. During my eighteen years directing the Christmas music for the Company I was invited to become a dining member and, on my retirement from the Cathedral, a Liveryman.
There have been many highlights for me in my association with the Company particularly Henry Mott’s 90th birthday dinner, the 1992 banquet (I proposed the toast on behalf of the guests and sat next to Lady Mais, the widow of Lord Mais who laid the foundation stone of the Hall) and, of course, the Thanksgiving Service held in St Paul’s Cathedral in 2001, when we celebrated the Quincentenary of the Company. The two cathedral choirs of St Paul’s and Peterborough joined together and during the service sang an anthem I composed especially for the occasion: ‘I will fill this house with splendour’ with words from the book of Haggai. We also sang this during my last broadcast on Radio 3 before I retired.
Randolph’s favourite catchphrase was "bloom where you’re planted".
Many thanks to Liveryman Christopher Gower for providing detailed information about our forty-year affiliation, from which this excerpt is taken.
Wishing you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year,
Following our previous email confirming details, if you'd like to join us on Sunday, please let us know your voice part / if you'd like to attend as part of the congregation.
As promised, here are the details for Choral Evensong at Peterborough Cathedral on Sunday 17 October. All welcome.
c. 14:15 arrival 14:30 rehearsal - choir stalls 15:15 break 15:30 service 16:15 refreshments
Music
Hadley My beloved spake
Rose responses
Stanford in C
Balfour Gardiner Te lucis ante terminum
All being well, our annual reunion will return to its usual format next summer.
Could you sponsor a chorister?
Click the button below to find out more.
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
“His choristership is giving him an education to last a lifetime. This commitment instils in him a strong work ethic which we can see influencing other aspects of his life… We are forever grateful for him to have been given this opportunity.” Parent of Year 5 chorister
Could you sponsor a chorister?
Click the button below to find out more.
“I smile every time I think about choir. It makes me so joyful! I wish everyone had the opportunity to be part of something that makes other people so very happy!” Year 7 chorister
“His choristership is giving him an education to last a lifetime. This commitment instils in him a strong work ethic which we can see influencing other aspects of his life… We are forever grateful for him to have been given this opportunity.” Parent of Year 5 chorister
You are warmly invited to join our online AGM on Saturday 12th June at 14:00, followed by a Q&A session with the Director of Music, Tansy Castledine.
We hope to welcome you to an in-person Choral Evensong in the Autumn TBC. All being well, our annual reunion will return to its usual format next summer.
Please scroll down for the Christmas newsletter, membership information, the AGM minutes, and details of next year's events.
Christmas newsletter 2020
Please visit the news page on our website or click on the button below to read our newsletter, kindly compiled and written by our Chairman Tim Hurst-Brown.
The FCOCA has published Once a Chorister online here.
Do you pay your subscription?
We'd love to continue funding the choristers' rehearsals, tours and singing lessons, especially during this difficult time, but we cannot sustain this unless more of us contribute.
How did being a chorister shape your life? Would you like to make this opportunity possible for another child, so that every chorister is given the same experience - regardless of their circumstances?
Find out how to set up a standing order for £25 per year (or £2.50 per month if you prefer) by clicking the button below. Thank you in advance.
We look forward to seeing you at next year's reunion on Saturday 12th June 2021. Please save the date, and encourage your contemporaries to attend! We have also held a provisional date in the Cathedral's diary in September 2021 in case we are unable to meet in person in June.
Our young members hope to arrange a virtual pub quiz to raise money for the choir next year, so please keep an eye out on social media for details.
Wishing you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year,
It's only £25 per year, or £2.50 per month if you prefer!
We'd love to continue funding the choristers' singing lessons, especially during this difficult time, but we can't sustain this for much longer unless we all contribute... If every OCA member did so, we would be able to donate £10,000 a year!
Find out how to set up a standing order, and more about why it's so important, by clicking the button below. Thank you so much in advance.
We do hope that you'll be able to join us on Zoom by clicking the button above. The agenda and last year's minutes can be found on our website.
We encourage members to take part with a cup of tea and slice of cake, as usual!
With many thanks,
Louise Laprun Hon. Secretary
P.S. Have you paid your subscription? It's only £25 per year or £2.50 per month!
Find out how, and why it's so important, by clicking on the button below.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers' Association
Please save the date for our remote AGM on Saturday 17th October at 16:30.
Following our previous correspondence, we can confirm that our AGM will take place on Saturday 17th October at 16:30.
As it's not possible to meet in person, we do hope that you'll be able to join us remotely on Zoom instead. We encourage members to take part with a cup of tea and cake, as usual!
We are sorry to inform you that our reunion on Saturday 13th June 2020 is cancelled.
We hope to arrange an AGM for later in the year when it's more likely that we can meet in person and welcome our new members; if not, we will host a remote video call. We'll be in touch with more details closer to the time.
If you'd like to send us an email or video greeting to pass on your good wishes, we can then post your kind messages to our website and social media platforms on 13th June, in place of our reunion.
photographs taken by Hon. Secretary Louise Laprun in April 2020
Save the dates
Please hold Sunday 27th December 2020 in your diaries for the OCA Christmastide Eucharist and OPA Reunion in the evening, assuming public services and events will be permitted by then.
Next year's reunion will take place on Saturday 12th June 2021.
Share your news
We'd love to hear more family, career, music, recreation and/or 'lockdown' updates from our members for this year's edition of the OCA Christmas newsletter, especially as we won't be able to catch up in person this summer. Please let us know what you've been up to!
If you'd like to share your news, do email our Chairman Tim Hurst-Brown ([email protected]) or fill out the form on our website.
Last year we were pleased to donate £2,000.00 after our AGM, plus £2,650.01 from individual OCA donors, towards the Cathedral Choir's successful tour to California in February.
Alex Spires (committee member and former Hon. Treasurer) also raised £1,050.00, £1,000.00 of which was then matched by Barclays, by taking part in the Great Eastern Run half-marathon on Sunday 13th October 2019.
In total, the OCA and Alex contributed £6,700.01 towards the tour.
Many thanks for your continued generosity, which enabled us to help fund this fantastic experience.
Membership to the Association now costs £25.00 per annum. As well as assisting former choristers to keep in touch with Peterborough Cathedral’s ministry and music, we support the current choristers' singing lessons and tours, which are a valuable part of their musical education.
If you don't already contribute, or haven't yet reviewed your regular giving, standing orders using online or mobile banking are most appreciated (details below).
Without your membership fees, we cannot continue to support Peterborough Cathedral Choir, especially during this rather testing time of uncertainty for musicians.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort Code: 20-67-37 | Account Number: 60709816
Members of Peterborough Cathedral Choir took part in the RSCM's 'Big Easter Evensong'
Peterborough Cathedral is currently closed, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the clergy have continued with worship from their own homes, and they invite you to join them through online resources.
You can view Peterborough Cathedral's weekly streamed offerings via the link below.
Peterborough Cathedral
Old Choristers' Association
CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 2019
Next year's reunion
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday 13th June 2020.
Please save the date, and encourage your friends to attend!
USA choir tour
Hopefully you've already received our fundraising email.
If you would like to support this exciting tour, please donate directly to our tour fund (N.B. different from our main account) using online or mobile banking.
Sort code: 20-67-40
Account number: 23621707
Further information can be found on our website. Thank you to all who have already generously donated.
Christmastide Evensong
We will be singing at Peterborough Cathedral before the Old Petriburgians' Association Reunion at the Brewery Tap on Friday 27th December 2019.
OCA news is also available to view on our website.
The FCOCA has published Once a Chorister online here.
AGM minutes
Please click the button below to read the minutes from the 2019 Annual General Meeting. These include the Hon. Treasurer's report and the Hon. Secretary's report.
Membership to Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association currently costs £25 per annum, though you are most welcome to donate more. As well as assisting former choristers keep in touch with Peterborough Cathedral’s ministry and music, the OCA supports current choristers' singing lessons and tours, which are a valuable part of their musical education.
Our annual donation of £2,000 is so greatly appreciated, and we'd love to be able to sustain this in years to come so that all choristers are given the same opportunity. We can't do this without your help. Thank you.
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
Sort code: 20-67-37 Account number: 60709816
Please set up a standing order with the account details above, or with the form in the link below.
If you have any questions about the OCA, please do not hesitate to contact me. Our next committee meeting will take place early next year, if you have any suggestions.
I really hope you will consider setting up a regular donation for your membership if you haven't already, so we can further support our Cathedral Choir.
Wishing you a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year
With many thanks,
Louise
Louise Laprun Hon. Secretary
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association
PETER JAMES BOIZOT, MBE, DL, MA, D.LITT, 1929-2018
As you may have seen online, a memorial service for Mr Boizot will be held at 14:00 on Friday 8th February 2019 at Peterborough Cathedral.
Do join us to celebrate his life, and please share this date with your contemporaries who may wish to attend.
An obituary, written by Tim Hurst-Brown (Chairman), can be read below, or on our website.
Our good friend Peter Boizot died suddenly on 5 December 2018, just after the Christmas newsletter was published. He was eighty-nine and had been in failing health for some time.
PJB was born in Walton, Peterborough on 16 November 1929, the son of Gaston and Susannah Boizot; the family later moved to All Saints’ Road. Peter attended St. Mark’s Junior School before passing on to The King’s School in 1940. He was a chorister under Dr. Henry Coleman and later Dr. Cooper Francis during the dark days of the Second World War. (In after years Peter delighted in showing people where he had carved his name on the Cathedral choir stalls). He often spoke of his time as a chorister: “Singing in the choir was a wonderful discipline”, he would say, “discipline with beauty”. He was greatly influenced at King’s by the Headmaster, the imperious Reg Hornsby. Peter played in the Rugby 1st XV in 1946 and 1947, was Captain of the 2nd XI Cricket team, and was a member of the 1st XI Hockey team in 1948. He was a prefect and Captain of Tudor House and in his final year was Head of School. On leaving King’s he joined the Army for his National Service, spending a good deal of time in Egypt. In 1950 he went up to St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge to read History, entering the College as a Choral Exhibitioner. During his time at university, Peter played for various teams, including hockey, for which he gained his College colours. He graduated in the summer of 1953. In later years, he was a very loyal supporter of St. Catharine’s and generously funded the College’s all-weather hockey pitch. In recognition of his years of devoted service to the College, he was made a Fellow Commoner of St. Catharine’s in 1996. The day after his death, the College flag flew at half mast in his honour.
After graduating, Peter spent ten years working in Paris, in Switzerland and later in Rome. His entrepreneurial skills sprang from that experience. Following his Father’s death in 1964, he returned to this country and the following year opened the first Pizza Express in Soho, after failing to find anywhere in London serving Italian food (he had been a vegetarian from the age of six and had become extremely fond of pizza whilst living in Italy). Peter gradually built the company into a national institution (Pizza Express now has more than 500 restaurants worldwide). He soon became deeply involved in various activities in London. He was Chairman of the Save Piccadilly campaign and a founder member of the Soho Society, Chairman of the Soho Restaurateurs Association, a council member of the Westminster Chamber of Commerce, Founder of the Soho Jazz Festival, a member of the advisory board of The Royal Academy of Arts, President of Hampstead Hockey Club, proprietor of Kettner’s and Pizza on the Park restaurants, and publisher of ‘Jazz Express’. Peter was also a notable philanthropist, raising more than two million pounds for the ‘Venice in Peril’ fund. As a result of this, he became a Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1985. Many further honours came his way: he was appointed MBE in the 1986 Birthday Honours list, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Westminster in 1995, became a Deputy Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire in 1998, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Loughborough in 2000, and was made a Freeman of the City of Peterborough in 2008.
Throughout his life, Peter never forgot his roots and was much involved with numerous activities in the Peterborough area. He was the Liberal candidate for the City in two General elections in the 1970s. In 1993, he purchased The Great Northern Hotel, adjacent to the railway station. Four years later, he bought the struggling Peterborough United Football Club (‘The Posh’), and over the next six years invested over seven million pounds to put it on a firmer financial footing. He also acquired the Odeon Cinema, which was later opened as The Broadway Theatre. Despite leading an extremely busy professional life, Peter was deeply committed to helping others. He will always be remembered for his generosity and kindness to so many people in so many different walks of life. He was devoted to the Cathedral and also to The King’s School, both foundations benefitting handsomely from his munificent altruism. After his death, he was fittingly described in the local press as ‘A great Peterborian’ and also as ‘Mr. Peterborough’.
With affection and kindly remembrance we bid him farewell. To his sister Wendy and his nephews we extend our sincere sympathy in their great loss. Requiescat in pace.
Tim Hurst-Brown, Chairman
With kind regards,
Louise
Louise Laprun
Hon. Secretary
Peterborough Cathedral Old Choristers’ Association