NO WONDER this trio of King’s Junior pupils are all smiles. They have won prestigious choristerships which give them the unique opportunity to sing in one of Europe’s greatest cathedrals.
Thirteen-year-olds Eve Noble and Libby Chessor will be joining Ely Cathedral Girls’ Choir when they move up into Year 9 in September while eight-year-old Jamie Layfield is nearing the end of his first term as a chorister.
All the boys in the cathedral choir board in Choir House, one of the medieval buildings in the cathedral precinct. “I really wanted to live in such a wonderful old building,” said Jamie, who has just taken his Grade 1 piano exam and is about to start oboe lessons.
Eve and Libby are both keen members of King’s Voices, the Junior School’s choir, and Paradisum, the chamber choir.
“Joining the Girls’ Choir is a chance to take my singing to another level,” said Libby. “I sometimes wonder whether other people appreciate what a unique opportunity this is. It’s not ‘just another choir’, the chance to sing choral music in the cathedral is very, very special.”
Eve, who has been told by her family that she was singing before she could talk, hopes she might make a career in music.
“Singing is what I enjoy doing more than anything else… and if I could make it my career then that would be a dream come true,” she said.
Eve Noble, Jamie Layfield and Libby Chessor.