Choir of St Bride's

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The connection with the newspaper industry remains strong, but many of the newer inhabitants of Fleet Street and the surrounding area also regard St. Bride's as their parish church and a number, in particular Freshfields and Goldman Sachs, have given generous extra financial support to the choir in recent years. The current singers are all full-time professionals, and are therefore not always available for every service, so we maintain a substantial list of deputy singers whose contribution is vital. Frequent auditions for the deputy list are held, consisting of the performance of a solo piece followed by a rigorous sight-reading test - prospective applicants need a voice which is of solo quality, yet able to complement other singers rather than compete with them, and the ability to perform music for any given service competently, whether or not it is familiar, after a 30-minute rehearsal.

Although singing for services forms the overwhelming majority of the choir's commitments, concerts and other outside engagements also feature. An annual showcase concert has been established in recent years to give choir members the opportunity to perform solo items which may not normally feature in church, and March 2001 also saw the establishment of the John Armitage memorial project, whose aim is to promote new music for choir and brass quintet. Within the past two years the choir has sung at annual dinners for the Newstraid charity and the Grand Order of Water Rats, a showbiz charity organisation, a number of whose members have been commemorated by services at St. Bride's. Regular fixtures in the December calendar include events at Claridge's hosted by the Thirty Club and Lord Rothermere. Bookings for most events outside the church are made through a separate organisation called "St. Bride's Singers" who can be contacted via the church office.