Christ Church choir takes its talents across the pond

Canterbury, Winchester, Salisbury and Durham are just a few of the places Winnetka resident Carrie Healy has traveled with the Christ Church choir over the past 20 years.

Now, she can add Exeter to that list.

Every other year, the Christ Church choir — composed of choristers starting as young as 9 years old from Christ Church Winnetka, 784 Sheridan Road — takes a break from its Sunday morning services and a trip overseas to England’s cathedrals. For one week, the choir serves as a choir-in-residence, taking the place of that cathedral’s year-round choir.

And while being chosen for the residency is an honor, the trip also offers choristers opportunities to bond with one another and explore England’s rich history.

“When you look at the architecture and the history and what inspired it, that’s just amazing enough,” Healy said, “and to be singing some of the same music that people have sung for hundreds of years, the same rituals, it’s pretty humbling.”

This August 40 individuals from the Christ Church choir served as the choir-in-residence at Exeter Cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century. From Aug. 4-10, the group sang at evening service, known as Evensong, every day except Thursday, with an additional service on Sunday.

“You’re only there for a week, but you’re continuing a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years and hopefully will go on for many more years,” said rising New Trier junior Mattie Blair MacDonald, who has sung in the choir alongside her parents Dan and Amanda MacDonald since the third grade.

To be singing in a place with so much history was “a little overwhelming,” Dan MacDonald added, but to do so with his wife and daughter was “magical.”

Sharing this experience with family is not unique to the MacDonalds. Healy said one of her sons, now 14 years out of college, also went on the trip to Exeter.

Another choir member, Sarah Generes, sang alongside her teenage daughter, Lily.

Being selected as a choir-in-residence is no small feat. Generes said choirs must apply for these residencies years in advance — the trip for 2027 is already lined up — and the application process is selective. 

Generes added that selected choirs must be well prepared, because the English style of psalm singing is different from how American choirs sing. 

“In our final service in Exeter, the dean of the cathedral mentioned in his remarks that he was encouraging people to come back and hear us for our final Evensong because we are an excellent American choir,” she said. “It’s pretty intense competition because a lot of less polished, less professional choirs apply and aren’t able to get a space.”

But singing wasn’t the sole focus of the trip. The choir touched down in England on July 31, allowing them time to reset and explore nearby estates and castles.

Mattie Blair added that another highlight of the trip was getting to know other members of the group better over meals and downtime.

For Healy, what stands out is the “camaraderie building” she said. The choir is open to everyone — lay and professional singers, Episcopalian and non-Episcopalian members, choristers young and old.

“It’s so open and warm and welcoming,” she said. “It’s just this wonderful sense of community that I have never seen replicated in any other setting.”

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.