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Schola Cantorum of Oxford is the University of Oxford’s premier chamber choir. Schola’s mission is to share the joy of choral music with our singers, our community of alumni and supporters, and with audiences in Oxford and around the world. We challenge ourselves to perform to the highest standards, providing outstanding musical training for young singers and conductors.
The choir was founded by László Heltay in 1960 at a point when there were few opportunities for men and women to sing together to a high standard. Times have changed and Schola’s role has changed too. We’ve now built a reputation as Oxford’s premier concert choir – engaging deeply with complex repertoire, and providing a space for performance outside religious services. Schola has worked with many of the foremost musicians of the last six decades and has built an international reputation through extensive tours and recordings. We are proud of our alumni who have gone on to lead successful musical careers such as John Mark Ainsley, Emma Kirkby, Christine Rice, Susan Gritton, Ian Bostridge and Roderick Williams – many came to Oxford to study other subjects but developed their musical talents during their time in Schola. In April 2022 the choir joined with c.100 alumni, including several founder members, for a belated 60th anniversary celebration culminating in an outstanding performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass with Instruments of Time & Truth in Oxford Town Hall. Since then the choir has given a number of concerts in Oxford and London, the most recent of which was an uplifting performance of Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer with partsongs by Robert and Clara Schumann in the de Jager Auditorium at Trinity College, Oxford. |
" Jamie Burton's encouragement and guidance help us to achieve the highest level of music making, and the experiences I have gained under his direction have been incredible." |