King's College Choir to perform during Cathedral of the Madeleine's annual Founder's Day Concert

Friday, Mar. 17, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — The world-renowned King’s College Choir, from Cambridge, England, will perform at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on March 30. 

“This is probably one of the oldest and most revered choral foundations in the world,” said Greg Glenn, the cathedral’s director of liturgy and music, adding that the choir’s annual Christmas broadcast is heard in homes in dozens of countries. “There’s just not choirs of this caliber in the United States.”

The King’s College Choir was established in 1441 by King Henry VI, who “envisaged that the Choir would provide music for the daily offices and celebrations of the Mass in his new Chapel,” according to the choir’s website. The chapel was built over the reign of several different kings; it was completed in 1515 and the King’s College Choir moved in 21 years later. 

Today, the choir is comprised of 16 boy choristers between the ages of 9 and 13, and 14 male undergraduates, according to the website. The choir’s historical function is to sing at the Cambridge Chapel for Mass and day-to-day services, but the choir’s “worldwide fame and reputation, enhanced by its many recordings, has led to invitations to perform around the globe, and to an extensive international tour schedule,” the website states.

That international tour this year will include a stop in Utah, thanks to a grant from Zions Bank, Glenn said. 

“We’re very, very excited of course,” Glenn said. “To welcome them here is a real dream come true.”

During the March 30 Founder’s Day Concert, which is part of the Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s annual concert season, the King’s College Choir will perform a wide range of church music from all eras; some pieces will be recent, while others were written centuries ago, Glenn said. 

Glenn urged Catholics across the diocese to attend the concert, not only because of the King’s College Choir’s famed talent, but also because “there’s something about children’s voices that’s magical,” he said. “What’s most thrilling about it is when a child is performing a complicated musical feat, we think, ‘There is no way a child can do this.’ Then, they do.”

The choir also will perform Wednesday, March 29 at 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, in Hyde Park, hosted by Utah State University. No passes required; seating will be first come, first served.

The Choir of the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s concert season will continue with the Good Friday Choral Meditation at 3 p.m. on April 14 with the performance of B. da Pergolesi’s Stabat mater. Free and open to the public.

WHAT: Concert with King’s College Choir

WHEN: Thursday, March 30, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: The Cathedral of the Madeleine, 309 E. South Temple, SLC

COST: Free, but passes are required; visit https://madeleinechoirschool.ejoinme.org/concertpasses. Limit two passes per person.