Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: He became a chorister at St Paulâ s Cathedral for four and a half years and then spent the same amount of time as lay clerk at Peterborough Cathedral .
Simplified: He was a chorister at St Paulâ s Cathedral for four and a half years and then spent an equal amount of time as lay clerk at Peterborough Cathedral .