Join us for a purrfect evening of choral music celebrating Hodge the Cathedral Cat at the Merbecke Choir Summer Concert!

A homage to Hodge, the beloved cathedral cat, with a series of songs featuring our feline friends. The programme features works by Bach, Britten and Rutter.

The Cathedral Merbecke Choir will serenade you with a mix of classic and contemporary pieces, promising an evening full of joy and harmony. Hodge will also hopefully decide to join us on the night!

Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start and this performance includes an interval where drinks will be available to purchase.

The Merbecke Choir is a group of around 25-30 singers who sing a wide range of music to a high standard. The choir is mostly made up of people in their twenties and thirties, who meet to rehearse every Tuesday during term time. It is a regular contributor to the liturgy at Southwark Cathedral, notably at the monthly service of Compline and Eucharistic Devotions. It also performs regular concerts, usually one a term, has toured abroad and in the UK and has released a CD, Under the Shadow of Thy Wings.

In 2003, Southwark Cathedral founded the Merbecke Choir to be a place for boys and girls who left the Cathedral Choirs to explore a wide range of repertoire under expert tuition. The choir has grown since then and has a broad mix of ages and backgrounds, though former Cathedral choristers remain very welcome.

The choir is a staunch supporter of new music, having commissioned several new works, as well as being adept in the performance of Renaissance polyphony. They have performed for HRH Princess Alexandra, the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and contributed to Her Majesty, the Queen’s, Christmas Broadcast recorded at Southwark Cathedral in 2006.

The choir’s current director of music is Emily Elias.