A successor choir to St John’s Voices (SJV) is launching today (04/10), after the group was forced to disband.

The new choir, called Cambridge University Schola Cantorum (CUSC), will include the members of the old choir along with singers from other colleges, with the group claiming it will be “a truly University-wide ensemble”. CUSC’s first performance will take place at Great St Mary’s later this month.

The choir was axed in March, after the College decided to redirect the “significant resources” spent on the choir to ”new opportunities” in the College’s musical community.

The St John’s Voices choir (SJV) was formed in 2013 under musical director Graham Walker to give female singers the opportunity to participate in a College Choir.

In October 2021, St John’s Chapel Choir began admitting female members, with there currently being three, one of whom is a current student of the college. The Chapel choir also restricts women from joining as sopranos.

The decision to scrap SJV caused outrage among students and alumni, and a campaign to reverse the decision was backed by nearly 15,000 signatures, including famous choirmasters Gareth Malone and Rowan Williams.

The group had previously stated that a successor choir will be formed on social media, following an “outpouring of support from across the world”.

The CU Schola Cantorum Management team told Varsity: “Emerging from the ashes of St John’s Voices, we are extremely excited to be able to announce the launch of CU Schola Cantorum. After the difficulty of the last few months, it’s a huge relief to be able to continue singing, and we are really looking forward to our new role as a University choir.”

The new choir also said: “We have exciting plans for the future, including a Carol competition, weekly services, concerts, and a wealth of new music. Our first public performance will be a service of Compline at 9:15pm on Monday 14th October at Great St Mary’s, the University’s Church - all are welcome!”