The Choir of

Trinity College, Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, is a

Boys' choir A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...

that continues a choral tradition dating back to the school's founding in 1872. The choir plays a central role in

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Throughout most ...

at the school, which was founded by the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

, and continues its affiliations to the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church of Ceylon The Church of Ceylon ( si, ලංකා සභාව) is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extra-provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment ...

. The choir leads worship at Holy Trinity Church, Kandy on Sundays and two days of the week during the academic terms of the college. In addition, the choir is actively involved in the music life of the school.

History

The choir was established at the same time as the school in 1872, with Clement Edwards as its founding choirmaster. From the mid 1940s a rapid development of the choir is recorded with performance of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s, and publication of a book with traditional songs and

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s. In 1946 commenced an annual performance of

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the ...

Audio tape An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

s of the choir were broadcast over the local radio and the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

. In 2018, the choir had the privilege of performing for His Royal Highness Prince Edward,

Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the We ...

and Her Royal Highness, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, on their visit Sri Lanka on behalf of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

as part of celebrations to mark the country's 70th independence. The choir led the singing of "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

" and later performed George Frideric Handel's,

Hallelujah Chorus ''Messiah'' ( HWV 56), the English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741, is structured in three parts. This listing covers Part II in a table and comments on individual movements, reflecting the relation of the musical se ...

. The choir performs mostly Christian

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

that ranges from

renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the Tr ...

to modern music. In addition to that it performs secular music ranging from

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

through to

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, including

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...

Choristers

The choristers consist of boys from the ages of 9 to 19 years. They are chosen generally at the younger ages as young

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

s and continue to remain as choristers until they graduate from school. They are not essentially students of music or singing, but

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

ed based on their keenness to sing.

Events

There are two regular traditional events in the year for the choir, 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' held in

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

, which has been held close to 50 years at the Chapel. 'The Cross & Triumph of Christ', similar to the traditional 'Cross of Christ' at

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

, is held on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...

. In addition to these events, a public concert with secular music is staged by the choir mid-year. The choir also has performance engagements throughout the year, including collaborated events with other choirs and music festivals. These include choirs from other schools both local and international, including performances with th
Assens Boys Choir
and the Choir of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. The choir also produced a recording of Christmas Carols in 2008.

Choirmasters/mistresses and accompanists

Choirmasters/mistresses *1872: Clement Edwards *1880: Cyril Siebel No records of some years in between *1940: Valesca Reimann *1946:

Maj. Maj may refer to: * Major, a rank of commissioned officer in many military forces * ''Máj'', a romantic Czech poem by Karel Hynek Mácha * ''Máj'' (literary almanac), a Czech literary almanac published in 1858 * Marshall Islands International Ai ...

Gordon Burrows,( Aide-de-camp of

Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

) *1963: Kay Cripps and Rev. Michael Brown *1965: Ronald Thangiah *1973: Dilanthi Fernando *1974: Dilanthi Fernando and Harry Goonethilake *1975: Walter Perera *1981: Harry Goonathilake *1983: Andrew Pye *1986: Ronald Thangiah *2007–present: Lasantha Tennekoon Accompanists *1957: Errol Fernando *1964: Barnabas Alexander *2009–present: Sadhana Madasekara

References

External links

Trinity College Choir Official Website
{{authority control Boys' and men's choirs Sri Lankan choirs