RSCM Voices South
RSCM Voices South (VS) is an adult training choir, which sings approximately five services per year in cathedrals and major churches across the South of England. Most events take place on Saturdays (or occasional Bank Holidays and full weekends) and singers come from across the region to rehearse before the service at the end of the day.
Learning new repertoire and developing vocal and musical skills is at the heart of the choir’s work, so the music list for the year includes a wide range of styles and periods which present different challenges and teaching points. The choir is currently directed by Hilary Punnett.
Voices South currently has space in all voice parts but is particularly keen to hear from prospective sopranos and tenors.
Voices South Dates for 2025-26:
Saturday 11th October 2025 – St John’s Burgess Hill – Come & Sing! with RSCM Voices South, open to all: book here!
Saturday 22nd November 2025 – Romsey Abbey
Saturday 17th January 2026 – Chelmsford Cathedral
Saturday 21st March 2026 – St Edmundsbury Cathedral
Saturday 2nd May 2026 – Peterborough Cathedral
Saturday 13th June 2026 – Southwark Cathedral
FAQs
Q. Who can apply to join?
A. Membership is open to adult members of RSCM-affiliated churches and choirs, or Individual/Student members of the RSCM. Admission to the choir is by audition. The standard expected of applicants is roughly equivalent to that of RSCM Silver Award level. All members must comply with RSCM Safeguarding requirements.
Q. What repertoire does the choir sing?
A. Repertoire includes a wide range of styles and periods which present different challenges and teaching points.
View the music list for this season.
Q. How much does it cost?
A. Standard Membership: £117
Under-25s Membership (aged 18-24): £54
Payable either in full at the beginning of the academic year or in three payments spread across the year.
Singers are responsible for providing their own sheet music.
Q. How do I apply to join?
A. Email voicessouth@rscm.com to apply.
Q. What happens at the audition?
A. As well as preparing a piece to sing (The RSCM Silver Award syllabus contains examples of possible repertoire), you will be asked to demonstrate some vocal exercises to test range and tone quality, and given some sight-singing to test your ability to tackle new music. Some auditions may be conducted online.
Hilary Punnett - Director of Voices South
Hilary Punnett is Assistant Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, having spent the past twenty years working in cathedrals and churches in England and Canada. Her musical interests are wide-ranging, and she aims to open audiences and performers to composers from a wide range of eras and backgrounds.
As an organist, Hilary regularly performs around the UK. She has recently given solo recitals at Peterborough Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, Derby Cathedral, Merton College, Oxford and Portsmouth Cathedral. She has also appeared as a keyboard player on several CD recordings to critical acclaim, including Southwell’s acclaimed recording of the Cavaillé-Coll organs in Sées cathedral in 2013, and Northampton Bach Choir’s Be Merry CD in 2014. Her recorded performances as organist have been played on French radio. She has also recently performed the Poulenc Organ Concerto with the Colne Philharmonic Orchestra in February, 2024.
Her skill as an accompanist has been formed through her work in the daily routine of cathedral and parish music. She has worked as organist at Chelmsford Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, All Saints’ Church, Northampton, Southwell Minster, Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, St John the Evangelist, Montreal, and St John the Divine, Victoria. Her collaborative work has also taken her outside the realm of cathedral music, performing with such choirs as the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus and the celebrated Black Dyke band.
Her conducting work has led her to work with professional and amateur adult singers alike. From 2022 to 2025, she was Director of the Cathedral Singers of Christ Church, Oxford, The Stondon Singers, and the Platinum Girl Choristers. As part of her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, she has participated in masterclasses with conductors such as David Hill, Alois Glassner, Eamonn Dougan, as well as Sofi Jeannin in conjunction with the BBC Singers. She conducted the première of a contemporary opera in March 2025 as part of RAM’s Opera Makers, which has gone on second performance at the Tete-a-Tete Opera Festival this September.
As a conductor and cathedral organist, she has also become known for her work with young people and has regularly collaborated with the RSCM both as tutor at their residential courses, through their Voice for Life online training scheme and as a Voice for Life examiner. Her CD, ‘Missa Aedis Christi’, with the Cathedral Singers of Christ Church, Oxford, was released in May to critical acclaim, which was hailed by Choir and Organ Magazine as ‘A radiant celebration of contemporary sacred music – exquisitely sung, richly imagined, and deeply moving throughout.’
Hilary holds an MMus in Organ Performance from McGill University in Montreal, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, and has an MA in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded a DipRAM for high marks in her final recital.
