Choir of St John’s sings from college chapel roof on Ascension Day

An iconic Cambridge tradition continued as members of the Choir of St John’s College sang from the chapel roof to mark Ascension Day.

The day – which fell on 29 May this year – celebrates the Christian belief in the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, 40 days after his resurrection at Easter.

The tradition of singing on the roof dates back to 1902 when Cyril Rootham, director of music, had a conversation with the famous mathematician Sir Joseph Larmor, a fellow of St John’s.

Sir Joseph was insistent that a choir singing from the top of the tower would not be heard by those standing on the ground below.

Rootham was keen to prove him wrong, so the choir secretly climbed to the rooftop of the tower and as the clock struck noon sang an Ascension Day motet.

To Rootham’s great delight, Sir Joseph opened his window in the courtyard below to see where the music was coming from.

The event proved extremely popular and has been repeated to a gathered crowd every year for more than a century.

This year, as Ascension Day occurred during half-term, only the adult members of the choir climbed the many steps to the top of the chapel to sing.

Christopher Gray, director of music at St John’s, said: “It’s a quirky tradition that dates back over 120 years and continues to bring joy today.

“Each Ascension Day, we climb the narrow steps to the top of the 163ft tower, where the choir sings to everyone gathered below in First Court.

“Scores of people from St John’s come to listen – it’s a moment of music, community, and reflection that connects us to generations past.”

The Choir of St John’s sings at Evensong services from Tuesday to Sunday, and Sings Eucharist on Sundays in the college chapel during university term.

Its repertoire spans more than 500 years of sacred music and members of the public are very welcome to attend.

Meanwhile, across town the Selwyn College choir also sang from the top of their college’s Old Court Tower to mark the day.

Selwyn’s Ascension Day tradition of singing on the rooftop has been going for 15-20 years.

The college was founded in 1882 to commemorate Bishop of New Zealand George Augustus Selwyn and, while the college’s founding is significant, the specific tradition of rooftop singing on Ascension Day is a more recent development.

It is a Christian tradition to sing from a high place on Ascension Day.