Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
The Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge is a Cambridge collegiate choir, under the direction of the musicologist and conductor David Skinner, with Senior Organ Scholar Laurence Carden and Junior Organ Scholar Jim Cooper. The composer Eric Whitacre spent three months in the College in 2010, later being appointed Composer in Residence for five years. Choir. The choir usually consists of between six and eight sopranos, between six and eight altos, six tenors, three baritones, and three basses. It sings three services per week during term-time, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On Wednesdays , uniquely among the collegiate choirs of Oxford and Cambridge, it sings Latin Vespers. In accordance with the Director's research interests, the choir has a particular focus on 16th century English and Continental music. A new chamber organ was commissioned for the chapel in 2014, built by Taylor and Boody. Construction of another new main organ for the chapel began in the winter of 2016. Recordings. The choir has recorded several CDs under the Obsidian label. Its collaboration with Fretwork and Alamire, in a CD of the music of Thomas Tomkins, won the Gramophone Awards 'CD of the Month' and  'Editor's Choice' in February 2008. A 2012 release of the works of Renaissance composer Thomas Weelkes was nominated for a Gramophone Award as well, with critics praising the choir's "exemplary ensemble and intonation, beauty of tone, clarity of diction, and interpretive expressiveness". Tours. The choir usually tours three times per year. Past destinations include California, Spain, and Dubai. The Choir toured the East Coast of America in the summer of 2015, where they performed at New York's Carnegie Hall. Choir tie. The Sidney Sussex College Choir tie was first designed in 2013 by Phil Franklin, the Senior  Choral Scholar at the time. It incorporates the gold pheon of the college arms on a dark blue background, identifying members of the Choir at formals and other such occasions.