Music at St Barnabas Jericho

St Barnabas has a thriving music programme which provides engaging and exciting music for our weekly worship. We draw on the rich musical heritage of the Anglo-Catholic movement and the Anglican choral tradition. Through our music we strive to be inclusive, to foster musical talent of all ages and abilities, and to support the church’s values of encouragement, timeless beauty, and compassion.

The Choirs

Music has played an important part in the liturgical life of the church since the building was consecrated in 1869. From the very early days of St Barnabas, singing has resonated within the walls of our magnificent Byzantine-inspired church. Today, the church has three choirs: the Sunday morning parish church choir; the Choristers; and a Youth Choir. Please scroll down to read more about each of these groups. 

The Parish Church Choir

The Schola Cantorum is a mixed-ability and all-age group. It consists of adult volunteers and young choral scholars drawn from the parish and further afield. This choir sings from September until the middle of July, and their repertoire consists of a broad range of music from plainsong to works by contemporary composers. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to come along at any stage in the year and try it out. There is no formal audition process. The Schola Cantorum rehearses on Sunday mornings before Mass, from 9.25am.

Contact Dr Philip Burnett if you’d like to join this choir (click for email)

The St Barnabas Choristers and Jericho Youth Choir

The mission of our youth singing work is to enrich and strengthen the musical life of the neighbourhood of Jericho and the City of Oxford by:

Providing a variety of choral experiences and opportunities to children aged 7–16;

Offering the chance to encounter the transformative power of choral singing;

Bringing together people of different ages, background, and abilities to develop team skills;

Creating a space for encouragement and the development of musical skill and knowledge.

Our vision is a dynamic musical community in the heart of Jericho, rooted in the musical heritage of the Anglican church,
that enriches the neighbourhood and promotes music as a powerful and transforming experience.

Our core values are

Excellence to strive for excellence through hard work, fun, and, team work

Accessibility to choral repertoire, our church’s space, friendships

Faith and Spirituality to explore how choral music can help develop spiritual sensibility

Positivity through learning and achieving good things together

Diversity not just in repertoire but also in the people with whom we interact through music

To achieve the values of our mission we offer two groups aimed at young people:

The St Barnabas Choristers (watch a video introduction to the choristers)

The Choristers welcomes both boys and girls aged 9 – 16 years.

This choir is ideal for children who would like to develop their musical skills by learning from the church choir tradition, and be introduced to the beauty of sacred music. It is also a good place to make new friends, socialise, and experience singing in a beautiful and inspiring place. Our rehearsals aim to be fun, challenging, and full of learning. It is ideal for busy parents and busy children!

The choristers sing at a Sunday morning service once a month, and at major festivals and services throughout the year. Choristers rehearse with the Schola Cantorum on Sunday mornings from 9.45am when they are singing, and weekly on Friday evenings during term time during which they receive vocal training and theory tuition. We follow the RSCM Voice for Life programme. Choristers receive pocket money.

Contact Dr Philip Burnett if you’d like to try the St Barnabas choristers (click for email)

The Jericho Youth Choir (www.jerichoyouthchoir.org)

The Jericho Youth Choir is a two-section weekday choir funded by the Diocese of Oxford and was founded in September 2021.

The JYC Juniors is a ‘singing club’ for children aged between 7 and 11 years old. It rehearses on Tuesdays from 3.45pm - 4.45pm during school term and performs largely secular music at an end of term concert around Christmas, Easter and the summer. It is run by our Assistant Director of Music (Youth and Outreach). The JYC Seniors is an outreach project aimed at teaching children sacred music in schools, with a view to singing at a weekday choral service in St Barnabas Church once a term.

Email Ella, the Youth Choir Administrator if you’d like your child to join the Jericho Youth Choir

Musical and Liturgical Education

The Montague Noel Organ Scholarship, supported by The Ouseley Church Music Trust

The Montague Noel Organ Scholarship and Choral Scholarships, are supported by:

The Ouseley Church Music Trust and
The Williams Church Music Trust

Generous grants from The Ouseley Church Music Trust and the Williams Church Music Trust have enabled us to make these opportunities available. The current Organ Scholar, Saralynn Culpepper, began learning the organ with us as a first instrument in 2018, and makes a significant contribution to our Sunday worship. At present we maintain five choral scholars who are a mixture of advanced school pupils and students (university and gap year).

We are delighted to educate organ and choral scholars from the city of Oxford. Our educational work exists to instil a love and appreciation for church music in young people so that we can foster and encourage the next generation of church musicians.

The Organ Project

We are currently fundraising hard to bring in a new organ to St Barnabas. Working with Henry Willis & Sons organ builders, we have acquired the 1876 'Father' Willis organ from Bargeddie Church in Lanarkshire, and the surviving organ pipes from the 1877 Father Willis organ at Bow Common, London - pipes crafted by the same workers on the same machines within the same year. With this material, and re-using the wooden organ case from our current instrument, we can build an organ with an authentic ‘original’ sound that suits our building and worship superbly, but with all the modern controls and features that will make it easy to use and maintain.