A sad farewell to Christopher Gray
Christopher Gray, director of music is leaving Truro Cathedral and taking on the role of director of music at St John’s College, Cambridge.
Chris is currently responsible for Truro Cathedral Choir and its six sung services each week. He also directs Three Spires Singers and Orchestra and has previously conducted St Mary's Singers and Orchestra, Cornwall Youth Choir, Cornwall Junior Choir, Richard Lander School's Wilbye Choir and Truro School's Senior Choir.
Chris oversaw the introduction of girl choristers at Truro, working with the Cathedral Chapter and Truro School to devise a model that would be right for the girls as well as complement the existing boy choristers.
Under his leadership since 2008, Truro Cathedral Choir's recent recordings have attracted praise from critics in the international classical press. Two have been ‘Editor’s Choice’ recommendations in Gramophone, one was a MusicWeb International ‘Recording of the Year’, and another was an American Record Guide ‘Critic’s Choice’ for the year. The new CD ‘Secular Requiem’ by Russell Pascoe recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales has just been released.
Chris says “Leaving Truro Cathedral and the proud, open-hearted Cornish community will be a wrench. The encouragement and support I’ve received from the extraordinary people in this magical place have helped form me, as a person and as a musician, and I will always be grateful for that.”
Dean Simon says “Our sincerest congratulations to Chris on his appointment as the next director of music for St John’s College, Cambridge. This is a most wonderful achievement and opportunity for Chris. It is well deserved and well earned. Chris has been with us for some 22 years. His passion, energy, skills, and talents have enriched the life and mission of the cathedral locally, nationally, and internationally. Chris has given the most wonderful musical foundation and education to many generations of children. His legacy of the highest quality of choral music, worship and liturgy is respected around the globe and is a true gift to the Kingdom of God. May God bless Chris in his continued work and his onward journey to St John’s.”
Dean Simon added "I am wholeheartedly committed to building on the extraordinary musical legacy that Chris leaves in Cornwall. Truro Cathedral has a long history of attracting the very finest musicians, as Andrew Nethsingha and Christopher Gray’s tenures testify. We will, once again, take the greatest care in appointing a successor of the highest calibre and look forward to upholding this most magnificent choral tradition here in Truro."
Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s, said: “Chris is an exceptional musician whose acclaimed choral direction has brought the Truro Cathedral Choir to international prominence, and whose innovation in musical education and outreach is widely admired. We have no doubt that, in Chris’s hands, the St John’s College Choir will sustain and enhance its reputation for breath-taking musicality and originality, enhancing daily worship, the life of the College, and delighting audiences worldwide.”
Chris will be sorely missed by all of us here at Truro Cathedral and we wish him every success in his new role.