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About the choir

Collegium Laureatum was formed in 1974 by Don Neville as a group of graduate students and fellows of Corpus Christi College. Together with their wives and others, they gatheres together around a piano, once a week, to sing madrigals. This is the origin of the choir's name which may be translated as “Society of Graduates” Despite the fact that the choir has largely become “town” rather than “gown”, this distinctive name has been retained.

The choir grew rapidly in the mid-1970s putting on regular public concerts, and outgrowing its college basis, both in terms of membership and venues. It was fortunate to secure the services of Ian Cobb as Musical Director in 1980. The choir gives at least three concerts each year, mainly in Cambridge. The choir gave the World Premiere of Fiat Lux, a specially commissioned work by Ian Kellam, in St Edmundsbury Cathedral. This premiere was followed by further performances in St Alban's Abbey and St Martin's-in-the-fields, London.

In April 2001 the choir had a very successful tour to Prague where they gave three concerts, and as a result of this introduced Zelenka to their repertoire the following year. The followed this with a tour to Perugia, Italy, in April 2004 where they sung in such prestigious venues as Perugia Duomo and Orvieto Duomo. A further tour is planned for April 2008.

The choir has performed a wide range of music, details of which are available here

Membership of the choir currently stands at about 110 people and it performs a wide range of classical choral music achieving high quality performances. The choir is open to singers of all abilities.

The current choir committee is listed here

Collegium Laureatum is a member of Making Music (formerly the National Federation of Music Societies)