St. Giles’ Church dates back to A.D. 1086. Originally its situation was outside Oxford’s city boundaries, in common with other churches dedicated to this patron saint of outcasts and beggars.

Apart from some College choirs, St. Giles’ is now the only church in Oxford that continues to maintain the tradition of an all-male choir. It thus gives boys the opportunity to sing a cathedral type of service - and some have gone on to win choral and organ scholarships – but without making such heavy demands upon their time as the college choirs inevitably do.

• Offers free musical education
• Encourages responsibility, concentration and teamwork
• Gives boys the experience of performing on an equal footing with adults
• Introduces boys to fine music
• Gives them a new set of friends with a shared, special interest
• Gives them a loved and valued place in the church community
• Provides a useful foundation for a musical career

The choir usually sings two anthems at the Sunday services, selected from a repertoire including works by Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis, Gibbons, Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Stanford, Britten, Vaughan Williams, Howells and many others. The choice of music is determined by its quality, not its date of composition!

We use the Royal School of Church Music’s Chorister Training Scheme. Initially, all boys are Probationers. When they have shown a basic competence, they are admitted as full choristers and given their surplice and a medallion on a light blue ribbon (the most basic level). Dark blue (intermediate) and red ribbons (advanced) follow in due course, generally assessed ‘on the job’, although occasional individual sessions may be arranged. Many boys also pass the Bishop’s Award, and outstanding choristers have passed the Royal School of Church Music's highest examination, the St Nicolas Award, whose very demanding syllabus demands advanced choral ability.

All choristers wear a royal blue cassock and a ruff, and, once they have passed the Probationary stage, a white surplice. Surplices and ruffs should be taken home to be washed 3 times a year; before Christmas and Easter, and during the summer holidays. We are grateful if parents can help their sons in robing and caring for their vestments. Hangers are provided with boys’ names on them, and it is an additional help if name tapes can be sewn in the vestments (it is quite all right to do this during choir practice!). Choir robes are extremely expensive – between £65 and £120 per set per chorister. We therefore urge all boys to look after their robes as well as they can. For services, boys should wear dark shoes rather than sneakers. In summer dark sandals are acceptable. Incidentally, a choir sweatshirt is available with the St. Giles’ logo; ask for details if you would like one.

Boys should always remember that churches are places of peace and reverence, and their behaviour around the building and the churchyard should always reflect this. They should always be considerate to everyone in the area, and not rush about noisily.

Boys are given a black folder with their name on for their music. Music is very expensive, and boys should take good care of it, because it has to last a very long time. Anthem books, for instance, may cost up to £16 each. Boys are particularly asked to note if any of their music is beginning to look worn, and draw the Choir Director’s attention to this so that it can be mended.

Our Patronal Festival is on September 1^st – St. Giles’ Day - and the famous St. Giles’ Fair starts on the nearest Monday afterwards. Special music is also sung at Easter and Christmas, and our candlelit service of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Sunday before Christmas Day, is always a high spot. Occasional master classes are arranged for the choir as a whole. From time to time other opportunities arise; for instance, at the end of 2000 our Head and Deputy Head choirboys sang solos in Westminster Abbey, and this summer our Head Choirboy has been singing in the Garsington Opera’s production of Mozart’s Magic Flute.

Our main choir practice is on Friday evenings from 7.00pm to 8.30pm, and we sing during Sunday Services at 10.30am and 6.30pm. For boys who have just joined the choir there is a short extra practice on Friday evenings, at 6.45 pm, to introduce them to the different parts of the service on their own before the more experienced boys join them for the main practice. All the boys then practice until 7.45 pm, when they have a short break. The boys are then joined by the men for a joint practice until 8.30 pm, and they then leave, while the men continue on their own.

• Practices: Fridays 6.45pm (7pm) – 8.30pm
• Sundays 10.15am – 10.25 am
• and after Evensong – 7.50 pm.
• Services: Sundays 10.30am
• Sundays 6.30 pm
• Extra services: e.g. weddings. Boys are given good notice of these.

All the above are start times, not arrival times. Boys should arrive in good time for the practice/service, to be ready to start at those times. This means 5 minutes before the start of the Friday practice, and by 10.05 and 6.20 for the two Sunday services, in time to get robed, find their music, and, in the case of the morning service, go to the short practice in the Parish Rooms. Punctuality is a courtesy to the Choir Director and to the other members of the choir!

From time to time choir outings are organised: the boys went to the concert given by the Vienna Boys’ Choir in the Sheldonian, and to Aladdin at the Playhouse. A summer outing to Warwick Castle is planned.  

Boys are paid monthly according to the stage they have reached in the RSCM Chorister Training Scheme, and a bonus is paid if they belong to the team that has done best in its standards that month. Standards are awarded for effort rather than accomplishment, to give all boys a fair chance to supplement their pay on a basis of their good behaviour and hard work. In addition, there are occasional weddings, for which they are normally paid £5.

Boys aged between 6 and 12 who enjoy singing are welcome to audition for the choir. They are welcome to try out choir life for a few weeks before committing themselves.

The Choir is divided into Junior and Adult sections. When a boy joins the Junior Choir it is expected that he will stay at least until his voice breaks. Indeed, we warmly encourage boys to remain in the choir while their voices are changing, so that they can be helped to acquire the new techniques they will need to sing as men in the company of the experienced men who form the Adult section, and to this end we use the RSCM’s scheme for boys’ changing voices. Boys who remain in the choir continue to be paid up to their 18^th birthday.

For the purposes of awarding Standards, the boys are currently divided into 4 teams, Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis and Stanford. The Team Leader encourages the boys in his team to do their best, and helps new boys learn the ropes. Absence and bad behaviour let the team down, and the Team Leader aims to have his team winning at least one month in four!

Choristers are expected to come to all practices and services. Where absence is unavoidable, please make sure your son’s name is signed up in the appropriate space in the chart on the choir noticeboard in the Choir Vestry. If your son is ill, or an absence is suddenly necessary, please inform the Choir Director (01865 310686).

Summer: The choir breaks up at the end of July, and has August off. On its return, boys are paid holiday pay of 50% of what they would have earned had they come to every possible service during August.

Christmas/Easter: The Fridays and Sundays after these two major festivals are also choir holidays, and holiday pay is also applicable..

In view of this, parents are particularly asked to make every effort to ensure that their sons are available for the Christmas and Easter services, and to try to take their holidays during the above choir holidays.