The choirs at Trinity Church in Princeton are tuning up for a 2021 summer tour in the United Kingdom.
The tour is a tradition at the church that occurs every four years. There are two choirs at the church that consist of 80 people in the program.
“The tour consists of members from both choirs. The lowest we have had is 42 members on the tour and the highest was about 53,” said Tom Whittemore, director of music at Trinity Church Princeton. “Usually about 20 of those members on the tour are kids.”
The program is an intergenerational English Cathedral Church program. The choir includes children from third grade to a high school senior.
“The children are at the church for rehearsals three times a week. We treat the children equally as the adults,” Whittemore said.
The tour will take about 16 days in the summer of 2021 with the choir performing at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland and also at Ripon Cathedral in North Yorkshire, Ripon, England.
“Part of the reason we do this tour every four years is to give each generation of children an opportunity to see their musical roots. The roots are in the English Cathedral Choral tradition so on the tour we go to one location and sing daily services for a week and then we go to a second location and sing daily there as well for a week,” Whittemore said. “We get to site see during the day, but we sing in the late afternoon and evening.”
He said the best part of the tour is seeing the revelation in the eyes of people who have not experienced the tour before.
“This is our musical, spiritual and liturgical roots. To be a part of that on a daily basis I think really sures up the tradition here at Trinity, because the tour showcases where the music comes from,” Whittemore said.
According to Whittemore, the program will prepare music the year before they go on tour and make certain everything is learned and preformed.
“The music will quite often be by composers who were in the cathedrals that we are going to be singing in, so that there is even more of a connection,” Whittemore explained.
For the 2021 tour, the choir will be performing in northern part of the United Kingdom.
“Frankly we have done a lot of touring in the west and south. We have done performances in Westminster Abby, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and in Eton College,” Whittemore said. “We wanted to do more performances up north. I try to do one week in a more urban setting and let them experience that culture and then another week in a more quintessential English cathedral town.”
Isabel Wong is a freshman at Princeton High School and a member of the Trinity Choir, who will also be participating in the choir’s tour. The 2021 United Kingdom tour will be the second tour she has participated in.
“I have been a part of this choir since fourth grade. It is truly amazing to go around England and visit these historically wonderful churches and cathedrals,” Wong said. “You make bonds and friend with this choir. We sing some pretty great music and I have learned almost everything I know in musical training from Mr. Whittemore.”
She said she wants those who are listening to their performances to enjoy the music and maybe be inspired to join their own choirs even in England.
“The tour is just so fun, you do not miss anything at home and are enjoying yourself the entire time. You just go out and sing to the best of your ability and get the chance to do what you love,” Wong said.
According to church officials, the choir’s next fundraising event is the Mad for Plaid Robert Burns Party and Silent Auction on Jan. 25. The event will run from 6:30-9 p.m. at Trinity Church; other events include homemade soup and bread, offered for Holy Week meals on April 5, Hymnathon on May 2 from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m., where choir members come together to sing through the hymnal; and all year youth and adult choristers will collect loose change in one liter bottles to help fundraise for their trip.
For information on the choir and where to donate, visit www.trinityprinceton.org.