The Trinity Cathedral Choir in England, August 2003

"And our mouth shall shew forth thy praise..."

As the final notes of Jack Ossewaarde's "Nunc Dimittis" echoed through the incredible Gothic vaulting of Westminster Abbey, I knew that we'd done it. Two years of hard work had paid off, and we were singing in one of the world's most famous churches.

Our tour of England started in the City of Peterborough, where we began our first week of singing. Peterborough Cathedral was begun in 1118, though there have been previous church buildings on the site since 655. Upon entering the Cathedral, one notices that there is no "screen" dividing the quire from the nave. This affords a complete view of all the building at once, which includes an incredible painted ceiling, and the magnificent fan vaulting in the "new" building (actually built in the fifteenth century!). It contains one of only two complete Norman "Apse's" in England, the other being at Norwich Cathedral. We received a very warm welcome during our week, as we sang five services of Choral Evensong and the Sunday morning Choral Eucharist. Time off for the choir included visits to nearby Cambridge, Ely, Norwich, Oxford, and Coventry.

Then we were off to Canterbury. Canterbury! The seat of the Archbishop, "mother" church of the whole Anglican communion. This place is steeped with history: the enthronement of Archbishops going back hundreds of year, the martyrdom of Thomas Becket under Henry II in 1170, and so much more. The first thing one notices is just how BIG the place is! Singing the Sunday morning Eucharist in the nave of this place was certainly a high point of our tour. The choir sang brilliantly during our week at Canterbury, and was warmly praised by the Dean at our final evensong service.

A high point for me at Canterbury, was the singing of Compline on Sunday night by our chamber choir "Resurrexit." I was honored to be invited act as the cantor at this beautiful service, in this most magnificent building.

Finally, we made it to Westminster Abbey ... the burial place of kings and queens, the setting for every royal coronation since 1066. And there we were, singing Choral Evensong ... weary, but thrilled to be there. We'd sung eleven services of Choral Evensong and two Choral Eucharists during our tour. I am happy to report that the choir sang magnificently throughout the tour, singing a program of difficult repertoire with style, energy, musicianship, and good humor. A special aspect of the tour was, that the majority of the music that we sang was by American composers. The music of Paul Halley, Leo Sowerby, Bruce Neswick, Peter Hallock, Alan Hovhaness, Lee Hoiby, Morten Lauridsen, and Jack Ossewaarde was shared with our English friends.

I would like to thank everyone who made this adventure possible: to the choir members and their families, who gave so much time, and a good portion of their summer to participate; to those people at Trinity Cathedral who supported our fund-raising efforts; to the Cathedral clergy and staff who supported is in so many ways; and most especially to God for giving us the gift of music, and the opportunity to use it in such a unique and inspiring way!

Canon David Link, Director of Music, Trinity Cathedral

Listen to the choir sing Magnificat in C by Jack Ossewaarde, recorded live at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.