THE RECORD - Here - Westminster Cathedral Choir School · Magnus Birch, 2014 Nothing But The Grape was started two and a half years ago, as specialists ... by a champagne reception

A journey to RioWorld Youth Day in Brazil

RECORDIssue 4, 2014THE

WCCS Old Boys’ Association

Welcome to this edition of The Record, now in its fourth year!

It has been the younger generation of old day boys and choristers who have provided inspiration for much of the content of this newsletter, so a very big personal thank you to everyone who has contributed. Please continue to send pictures, articles and anecdotes for future editions, and encourage others you are still in touch with to do the same.

WCCS is going from strength to strength, and if you have not read the recent glowing report in the Good Schools Guide, then you should do so. This term, the school is running an enrichment programme to fund smaller pieces of equipment that will go straight towards the boys. I have therefore made the decision to issue this edition of The Record as a pdf, and the money saved will be donated towards a new bowling machine.

In place of our traditional annual reunion, and ahead of our fifth anniversary celebrations next year, I would like to invite all old boys to attend sung Mass at the Cathedral on Sunday 29th June 2014 at 10:30am, followed by lunch and a drink at a suitable watering hole near to the cathedral. I hope to see you there!

Nicholas MorrellChairman WCCS OBA

RECORDTHE

OLDBOY NEWS!

International Festival of MusicThank you to Martin Hayward for sending in these photos of the International Festival of Music in April 1963.

Vatican BlessingRufus O’Brien (Chorister 1984-1989) sent us this photo taken in 1987 at the occasion of the the beatification of the 85 Blessed Martyrs of England and Wales at the Vatican. Rufus is the blonde chorister at the front.

Martin aged 10 and Mirko Kurtanjek, Head Chorister

The cathedral choir in Vatican Square

Left to right: Anthony Robinson, Martin Hayward, Allard

Allardyce, Philip Day and Mr Mawby, Master of Music

News in from Thomas AugerThomas Auger (chorister 2007-’12) is settled and enjoying life at Harrow. He sings with the Byron Consort, a vocal ensemble of sixteen Harrow boys and four adults and with whom he has toured Rome and Russia. Thomas was one of four who sang solos and was also chosen to sing the “new boys solo” at Speech Day in May, one of the many traditions of the school. He will also be touring with the Byron Consort at Easter, visiting prestigious venues in Toronto and Chicago.

Thomas continues to play flute and piano, taking part in school concerts and recitals. In addition to his music, he was also selected as part of the ten man badminton squad who toured Hong Kong in December.

The Byron Consort in Rome

Thomas in uniform with traditional straw hat!

Take A Stand (so called after the motto ‘standing firm in the faith’) is a Catholic youth initiative that Benj, some friends and I started after World Youth Day in Madrid, 2011. There, Pope Benedict XVI inspired us to learn more about the Catholic faith and invited us to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, 2013. Responding to this invitation, we spread the word in our local community and, after ten months of very hard work, fundraising over £40,000, we were able to lead a group of 33 young Catholics to Rio. As the plane touched down we breathed a sigh of relief; the Take A Stand pilgrimage to World Youth Day had arrived. One of our very first pilgrimage activities was to visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer. After so long thinking about being in Rio, to actually see the city sprawling below in a beautiful sunset was quite surreal. The iconic statue seemed to welcome and embrace us. The atmosphere was buzzing with excited pilgrims. It was a sublime moment. But World Youth Day was a mixture of sublime moments with the not-so-sublime moments; like staying in our Youth Hostel. This was a welcoming but rather small Hostel that we were sharing with a group of seventy pilgrims from Dallas, Texas; a very strong reminder that we were on a pilgrimage in Rio and not, unfortunately, a luxury holiday! The daily routine usually started at 03:30 in the morning, as the bright sparks who didn’t want to queue for the shower at 07:00, woke us up creeping out for a nocturnal wash. The day then re-started at 08:00 with a bright Brazilian breakfast and Morning Prayer downstairs. Then, having herded the entire group out of the door, and gone back to chase the stragglers, we walked fifteen minutes down the

road for Mass at the designated English-speaking Church. Here, every morning for a week, we arrived at 10am for catechism, confession and Mass. And we weren’t alone. Pilgrims from the other English-speaking countries of Australia, America, Jamaica and Wales also flocked to this Church, so that there really wasn’t much space to stand! It was an absolutely fantastic experience to meet people from all over the world and an eye-opener as to how big the Catholic Church really is. In the afternoon we would queue for lunch at fast-food outlets and then, travelling by metro, attend some of the other main events. These included an enormous ‘Vocations Fair’ where literally hundreds of religious orders advertised themselves and thousands of young people flocked to find out about them. On the way we met, chatted to and took photos with pilgrims from many countries: Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, USA, South Korea, Italy, Spain, France…our Facebook friend lists are now looking very cosmopolitan! The pinnacle of World Youth Day was the Vigil and Mass with Pope Francis. After a week of praying, singing and laughing in the city of Rio itself, everyone descended to Copacabana Beach, leaving the main city quite empty. Despite years of New Year’s Eve celebrations and Carnivals, this was the single largest event that Copacabana Beach has ever known; 3.7 million people were there to attend Adoration with the Pope. Pope Francis, whom we had seen zooming by in the Popemobile, gave a homily inspiring us to be disciples: “Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indifferent. The

Lord seeks all, he wants everyone to feel the warmth of his mercy and his love.” It was an uplifting experience to be there on the beach, next to the crashing waves, and feeling the hope of Christ and the joy of solidarity. At the end of a very tiring week, all of our organisation and fundraising was vindicated because going to Rio was a spiritual luxury. I am told that the Holy Spirit can only work in our lives if we are open to Him. We had hoped that by the commitment and energy of travelling 5,751 miles to attend World Youth Day, we would be opening our hearts and minds to God, showing that we tried not to count the cost of being a disciple. Having returned from Rio, we are already seeing the fruits of our encounter there. As well as the friendships (a ‘Rio-union’ barbecue was held on the 31st August), some of the Rio pilgrims are starting an outreach project to help deprived areas of London. Also, a new Take A Stand Prayer Group is starting up. Organizing the pilgrimage was a fulfilling task but like all truly fulfilling ventures, not without its challenges. We would like to thank the Old Boys Association and WCCS for their invaluable support in ensuring the success of our pilgrimage. In the enormous crowds of Copocabana, our group, amazingly, twice bumped into other WCCS Old Boys, who also happened to be in Rio. Maybe there can be a WCCS contingent to the next World Youth Day?! We look forward with great expectation to Krakow, Poland, in 2016!

Peter Morrell

Read more about Take A Stand at www.teamtakeastand.com and keep up with their Blog: teamtakeastand.blogspot.com.

Two of our old choristers, Peter and Benjamin Morrell took 33 young Catholics to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in July 2013. They write the following about the group’s experiences:

Rio

Magnus Birch, 2014

Nothing But The Grape was started two and a half years ago, as specialists in importing organic fine wines into the UK. My love of vines started at thirteen, when my father bought and developed a vineyard in the South of France. So, with my educational years, starting at Westminster Cathedral School and finally on to a business degree from Exeter behind me, I decided to combine learning with passion. I believed there was a niche for a really good organic wine supplier based in London and two and a half years on the theory is in practice! Together with my father, we approached the vineyards we respected and wines we admired and began to import them. The first vignerons we approached were the Guillemots, who produce a fabulous Macon Clesse, which to this day is still one of my favourite wines. Once we had a list of about 22 wines we felt proud to offer for sale, we began to approach restaurants and also private clients with wine tastings. We started to get the great feedback that our wines were not only good value but people could really tell the difference between non-organic and organic wines, purely because the organic wines tended to be a lot cleaner on the nose and mouth. It is important to state that our wines are chosen because

they are good and fine wines not only because they are organic wines. At the beginning our list was esoteric in the sense that we would only choose the wines which fitted our criteria. Until recently we did not have a Champagne because we could not find one which came up to the standards we required, we did however find a magnificent, fine Prosecco which was voted best Prosecco producer by Decanter magazine last month. The same with the Bordeaux, we had some wonderful wines from the Languedoc but it took us a while to find a Bordeaux we felt came up to scratch. Our wine list now numbers about 85 wines but this has been a slow process as we refuse to put anything onto our list which we do not believe is good enough or will jeopardize our reputation for great wines at reasonable prices. Nothing But The Grape always aims to give a personal service. We take time to find out individual preferences, to encourage the tasting of new varieties and regions and when required are delighted to help people understand their wines a little more by offering tastings or even to help with food pairing. For a get together with some friends we can host a large wine tasting starting with a glass of Prosecco, followed by 4-6 different wines and canapés all for just £10 per head. We talk about the wines, the producers and some of the experiences that we’ve had at the vineyards. Our tastings are a fun, imaginative and informative way to enjoy drinking Organic Fine Wines (and it doesn’t matter if you loved the cheap white or the expensive red - we are all different - and it is the individual’s taste that counts in the end!) Our track record is excellent - we have been complimented at many tastings with Wine Societies for being one of the best they have ever had.

Magnus BirchNothing But The Grapewww.nothingbutthegrape.com

FOR THE RECORDMagnus Birch (Day boy 1995-2000) reflects on his experiences starting an organic wine company

This year, we decided to do something a little different. Old boys attended sung Mass on Saturday, followed by a champagne reception and lunch in the brand new school refectory. An enjoyable afternoon was had by all.

Reunion Lunch June 2013

Following Common Entrance, in 2003, I left WCCS to attend Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, West Sussex. ‘CH’, as it is known colloquially, is a unique foundation. Founded in 1553 by a Royal Charter of Edward VI Christ’s Hospital funded, supported, and educated the poor and destitute children of London. To this day Christ’s Hospital’s Mission Statement demands the school provide a ‘stable background and boarding education of high standard to boys and girls, having regard especially to children of those families in social, financial or other need.’

Although Christ’s Hospital’s boarding environment is typical of the public school system I soon realised the rarity of privilege many of us, as pupils at Westminster Cathedral, have had from a young age. The school’s students were from a variety of backgrounds, and many of these were disadvantaged, troubling ones, or both. This juxtaposition was an eye-opening experience for me and served to inspire my interest in charitable and developmental work. Even so, the opportunities at Christ’s Hospital were great and, over the proceeding five years, I was able to further develop the musical attributes I gained at the Cathedral. I sang tenor in the Chapel Choir and Schola Cantorum, as well as in dramatic productions including Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

This ultimately culminated in my departure from the school to read Music at the University of Bristol. Before beginning university I took a year out in Dublin, where I was a Choral Scholar at Christ Church Cathedral under Judy Martin. At this point, with my focus entirely on music, I took advantage of the opportunities the city had to offer musically and was involved in ensembles as well as singing as a Deputy Lay-Vicar at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. My year in Ireland was a fruitful one and resulted, upon my arrival back in England, with my appointment as Lay-Clerk at Bristol Cathedral.

At nineteen this was a young appointment and, as such, became a period in which I matured, both vocally and professionally. Music dominated the three years I spent at Bristol and I was an active member of the music department, particularly with my singing. I sang in numerous ensembles, both in the University and professionally, including the well regarded University Singers and did so with other Old Boys: Benedict Curran and Julian Issa. As well as this, I was involved in Opera productions such as Dido & Aeneas and Carmen. My time at Westminster Cathedral inspired my interests there too; I became particularly focused on the music of the Medieval and Renaissance periods.

During this period my interest in charity and voluntary work grew; I spent a time working for the development charity Send a Cow. Based in Bath, this organisation provided training in organic farming methods in conjunction with donations of local working livestock, to aid the production of food, for subsistence farmers in parts of Africa.

My time at university ended last year and I achieved a Bachelor of Arts (2:i) degree. Like many recent graduates, I found myself at a crossroads at this point; in my case this was both professionally and with my voice. I made the decision to become a Counter-Tenor and subsequently moved to Exeter, where I now sing as a Lay-Vicar under Andrew Millington. Over the past 12 months I have also been working at Exeter Cathedral School as both a Teaching Assistant and Housemaster. My time in Exeter has also encouraged my passion for voluntary and charity work. Although I have volunteered at a homeless drop-in service called St. Petrock’s, I have become increasingly motivated by the concerns of educational disadvantage. The niggling sense that this, rather than music, and as a result of my own school experience, is where I should direct my efforts is something I have been unable to shift from my consciousness. As such,

I have applied and been accepted on to the Teach First Leadership Development Scheme and will begin this in June of next year. At the same time I also applied to be part of the ICS scheme whichn will commence in January. The partner NGO, International Service, works with three organisations in and around La Paz. The work is focused around vulnerable young children but each NGO has a specific focus or concern. Aldeas Infantiles SOS (AI) work to strengthen families before providing foster care and entrepreneurial education to the children in their care. The idea is to build a stable family unit before education begins to ensure that the children can build their prospects with a support network in place. AI seeks to create the foundations upon which children can generate new skills, charting their way out of poverty using the entrepreneurial education they are provided with.

Childfund remove children from discrimination, abuse, harassment, negligence and exploitation. In Bolivia, child labour is common. In the context of Bolivia’s social and economic constraints they accept that it is not possible to end this. As such, they have successfully campaigned for a law to be implemented that protects child workers. Their centres provide support for the early development of children by educating parents about importance of nutrition. It combines this with providing families with training that will serve to improve their economic situation, focusing on the well-being of their children. This allows them to then provide the children with an education, also encouraging them to be active and informed about their communities, grounded in a more secure background.

Finally, UpClose focuses on the plight of the indigenous community who suffer greatly from social exclusion. Working from the Valley of the Moon Children’s Centre in Mallasa they

respond to the lack of childcare for pre-school children, the high rates of young children being abused and abandoned as well as poverty and the lack of employment opportunities for adults, especially women.

I have been involved, before my departure, in a number of fundraising initiatives. My role in fundraising stems both from a need to develop my own skills and the need to raise awareness for the work International Service, and its partner NGO’s, are doing in ameliorating the lives of disenfranchised Bolivians. Despite forming the majority of the population, indigenous Bolivians suffer from social and racial exclusion, they are

some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and live in the poorest country in South America. Infant mortality represents more than half of child deaths under the age of five. I will be dying my hair purple, which was a request of the Exeter Cathedral School Children. Amongst other things I have also slept rough in the city; this was not the most fun experience I can assure you!

On 26th November I will begin my ‘Pre-departure Training’ and until then the nature of my work is unclear; it will, of course, involve working with one of the three aforementioned NGOs. Specific projects are not allocated until the application process, followed by a consultation period with the local partner organisations, has been completed.

This allows International Service to appropriate the volunteers, matching skills with the work that is done, to the relevant organisations. Alas, it also means that at this stage I am unable to provide you with more information. However, an exciting and challenging period of my life is about to begin.

In closing, I should like to finish with the hope of the United Nations Association: ‘to work for friendship and understanding between the peoples of different countries and their co-operation in the tasks of peace; to foster […] through education and through personal service, a conception of […]

obligation to world interests and a sense of loyalty to the international community.’ I return to Britain at the start of April and I look forward to writing again upon my return. Once I do, I hope to be informative about my work and, with any luck, to encourage (perhaps even inspire) other Old Boys to undertake such a venture in the future.

Inspired by the trip to Rio, Anselm Carr Jones (Chorister 1998-2003) tells us about his plans for a trip to Bolivia

I have been kindly invited by Nicholas Morrell, a contemporary of mine, to write a piece for The Record about a voluntary placement, beginning in the New Year, I will undertake in La Paz, Bolivia. Over the proceeding three months I will work with vulnerable young people, particularly from the more ostracised indigenous community, on a government funded scheme called the International Citizen Service (ICS) and with an NGO called International Service. (Try not to be confused by the similarity of names!) However, before I elaborate further, I should like, first, to contextualise my ‘journey’.

ANSELM SINCE WCCS

“ Bolivians suffer from social and racial exclusion, they are some

of the most vulnerable people in the world, and live in the poorest

country in South America ”

Ambrosden Avenue London SW1P 1QH www.choirschool.com

www.choirschool.com

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