2025-2026 Season
Coming next . .
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Our friendly choir welcomes new members in all voice parts throughout the season, which runs from September to May or early June. Interested singers can come along to any Tuesday rehearsal at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL.
For more details, see the “join” page or contact membership@ercu.org.uk 
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News from ERCU
ERCU are delighted to introduce Magnus Bushby as our newest Tenor Scholar. Magnus is currently a Choral Scholar with the choir of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, and a recipient of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Young Singers’ Programme. Previously, he was a Choral Scholar at Sherborne School and Abbey, supporting the music department and assisting with teaching, and a Music Scholar at Truro School, where he appeared as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb. Magnus is delighted to have been appointed as Tenor Scholar with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union, and looks forward to all of the engagements over the next year.
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MC and CS Forbes Bass Scholar We are delighted to announce that Daniel Kelly has been appointed as ERCU’s first MC and CS Forbes bass scholar. Daniel writes: “I began singing in my local parish church when I was six. Two years later I became a chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, under the direction of Stephen Darlington. The choir regularly went on tour, including in my time, two tours to China, two tours of the USA/Canada and singing in the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Germany, under Lawrence Cummings. I was involved in several BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong broadcasts, the world premiere of Howard Goodall’s Invictus: A Passion broadcast live on Classic FM and recorded as a CD, two CDs in the Eton Choirbook series, and the first recording of Durante’s Requiem with Oxford Baroque. |
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After completing five years as a chorister in Oxford, I moved to Oakham School in Rutland as a music scholar, where I pursued my musical interests, performing with the Chamber Choir including a collaboration with Royal Holloway Choir under Rupert Gough, third place in Britain’s Top Choirs 2023, and a concert at St Stephen’s, Walbrook, as part of the London Brandenburg Festival.
Following my time at school I moved up to Edinburgh to study sustainable development. I joined the University Chamber Choir under the direction of Michael Bawtree and then Jack Oades, and have since sung for BBC Radio 4 broadcasts and toured Scandinavia and Portugal with the choir. I also regularly sing at the Church of the Sacred Heart as a member of its Schola Cantorum.”
Following my time at school I moved up to Edinburgh to study sustainable development. I joined the University Chamber Choir under the direction of Michael Bawtree and then Jack Oades, and have since sung for BBC Radio 4 broadcasts and toured Scandinavia and Portugal with the choir. I also regularly sing at the Church of the Sacred Heart as a member of its Schola Cantorum.”
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Nathanael Fagerson will continue as a tenor scholar with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union for the 2025-26 season. He writes:
"I started singing in choirs from age 7 when I joined the regional National Youth Choir of Scotland in Dundee until I was 12, with some years in the National Boys Choir of Scotland. After that I went south of the border on a music scholarship to Sherborne School in Dorset, where my singing really started to flourish. With weekly singing lessons and many choirs, my love for choir music grew rapidly! From 2020-24 I was at the University of St Andrews where I started in the University Chapel Choir and then joined St Andrews Madrigal Group for three years when I was given the opportunity to sing in some amazing locations from Berlin Cathedral to Westminster Abbey. I’m currently studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. I am very excited to continue the next part of my musical journey with the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union. The repertoire is exciting, and I look forward to singing with them over the year." |
Nathanael Fagerson
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Review of "Radiant in Blue & Gold" - Summer Concert 2025
Excerpts from The Edinburgh Music Review.
"...the main impact in the Mass comes from the exceptional choral singing, with the bright final sections of the ‘Gloria’ delivered with obvious enjoyment which spreads to the audience. There’s enthusiastic applause for the choir, soloists and their outstanding conductor, Michael Bawtree; it continues for some time, before mentally uplifted - but also suitably attired - we go out into the wet Edinburgh night."
Read more > >
Excerpts from The Edinburgh Music Review.
"...the main impact in the Mass comes from the exceptional choral singing, with the bright final sections of the ‘Gloria’ delivered with obvious enjoyment which spreads to the audience. There’s enthusiastic applause for the choir, soloists and their outstanding conductor, Michael Bawtree; it continues for some time, before mentally uplifted - but also suitably attired - we go out into the wet Edinburgh night."
Read more > >
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Conducting Fellow
We are pleased to announce that Fraser David Macdonald is continuing with us as conducting fellow for another season. Fraser is an emerging Scottish conductor and composer. He is the Assistant Director of the schola cantorum of the Church of the Sacred Heart. Having achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in music from Edinburgh University, Fraser is now pursuing a masters in composition, with a focus on music for voices and instruments. An accomplished choral composer, Fraser is interested in telling stories that are relevant to a modern audience, and recently he has been exploring the use of field recordings and visual media to enhance the concert experience. Alongside conducting and composing, Fraser is a tenor scholar with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, and performs with them regularly. Other concert highlights include the BBC Proms and a concert in the Carnegie Hall with the National Youth Choir of Scotland, and performing alongside Andrea Bocelli and Edinburgh University Chamber Choir in the OVO Hydro. |
Fraser David Macdonald
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Edinburgh Royal Choral Union |
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