Accessing excellence: Rodolfus Foundation Senior Choral Courses

Breaking down the barriers between young singers and the Oxbridge choral scholarship system doesn't get more meaningful than this: Andrew Nethsingha, director of music at St John's College, Cambridge, has broken his journey home from holiday to stop off at St Edward's School, Oxford, and meet students who are considering applying to one of the Cambridge college choirs and are currently on one of this year's Rodolfus Foundation Senior Choral Courses.

With a group of teenagers clustered around him in a corner of the St Edward's dining hall, he provides an overview of the system and how applications work, emphasising that not all chapel choirs work in the same way and encouraging them to consider the different levels of commitment required before applying. ‘Don't be put off if you haven't done much of this sort of singing before, or if you are nervous about sight-reading,’ he says. ‘First and foremost, I'm looking for very good voices. And do email or have a Zoom call with the director of music before you put in your application; it's good to have a personal connection of some sort with the person you're going to be working with.’