About Us
Welcome to St Peter's Church, Dorchester. This beautiful building largely dates from the mid fifteenth century, but was significantly restored in 1856-7 by J Hicks, and his pupil Thomas Hardy, the novelist. You can learn more about the history of the church and the work of the church today by visiting the parish website.
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St Peter's has a long musical history, witnessing the change from what is now known as 'west gallery music' to the continuing tradition of robed choir accompanied by organ. Music still thrives here today, and Music at St Peter's proudly champions the Anglican Choral Tradition through community music-making within the liturgy. We offer a Choral Eucharist (typically on the second Sunday of every month) and Choral Evensong on the fourth Saturday of every month. We maintain a high standard of music-making, and the format of services and breadth of musical repertoire reflects what you might expect to encounter in a typical UK cathedral setting. Additional choral services and events take place on significant feast days throughout the church year.
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Alongside these regular choral services, Music at St Peter's promotes a series of concerts and recitals, ranging from a free monthly lunchtime concert (typically on the third Saturday of each month) to performances from world-leading musicians and ensembles. In the past we have been delighted to welcome The Gents of St John's, John Challenger (Assistant Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral) and The Gesualdo Six. You can look at everything that is coming up and download our Autumn Brochure on the Services, Concerts and Events page of the website.
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Programmes and orders of service can be found on the Downloads page.
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The Choir
The choir is formed from a pool of experienced adult singers who sing as and when available. An optional rehearsal takes place on the second Friday of each month from 7pm-9pm when we explore repertoire for the month ahead. Additionally, there is a practice from 9.30am-10.15am before the 10.30am Sunday Eucharist and a rehearsal, with tea, from 2pm to 4.15pm prior to the Saturday evensong.
Given our limited rehearsal time and challenging repertoire, singers do need some experience and sight reading ability along with a willingness to learn repertoire independently. A limited number of Choral Scholarships are offered each year. Please see our Choral Scholarships page for more details.
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If you would like more details about joining the choir or choral scholarships, please send us a message using the form at the bottom of the page.
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