The Choir of Gonville & Caius College is one of the UK’s leading collegiate choirs, with a world-wide reputation based on its extensive touring and broadcasting, and on its highly acclaimed and imaginative CD recordings. The choir usually consists of 24 singers - including undergraduates and postgraduates from Caius and other colleges - and two organists, and is directed by Precentor and Director of College Music, Matthew Martin. 

Information about joining the choir as a singer or an organist is available here

"Such poise and technical control from a college choir, with its constant turnover of undergraduate voices, is remarkable"

BBC Music Magazine

"The performances by the choir of Gonville & Caius College are highly accomplished"

American Record Guide

If you're interested in joining the choir or have a general enquiry about the work of the choir, please contact the Choir Administrator, Claire Wheeler

The Choir sings regular Chapel services during the University term and has a busy schedule of additional activities including concerts, recordings and BBC broadcasts. They have travelled extensively abroad, performing at a variety of venues ranging from major concert halls to universities, cathedrals and churches in Europe, America and Asia, often in connection with other professional ensembles such as Northern Ireland Opera, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of San Francisco, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. 

The Choir’s recordings have often specialized in the re-discovery of forgotten choral repertories, including previously unpublished music from within the English choral tradition and beyond, as well as championing new music by British composers such as Judith Weir and Julian Anderson. Their debut disc for Linn Records - Philips and Dering: Motets - was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. The latest disc - contemporary music by Matthew Martin - was released in November 2024, and another – Michael Haydn’s Requiem with the Academy of Ancient Music – is due for release in September 2025.

The College’s musical tradition began at the end of the nineteenth century with a choir of men and boys, founded by the celebrated composer of Anglican church music Charles Wood, and later became an exclusively undergraduate male choir under Wood’s successor the composer Patrick Hadley. Hadley was succeeded by Peter Tranchell, under whose direction the choir became mixed in 1979, and Geoffrey Webber directed the choir from 1989 until 2019.

The College is grateful for the generous support for the choir given by its alumni. The current holders of named awards are: