Our Choirs

Our Choirs

The choirs of St John the Baptist sing at our weekly Sunday services of Sung Eucharist and Choral Evensong and are an important part of our church community. The choir consists of

• girl and boy choristers,
• Queen Elizabeth Girls' School choristers,
• adult sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses,
• choral and organ scholars

The choirs are run by the Director of Music, Mr. Patryk Korczak ARCO, assisted by the Associate Organist, Mr. Jonathan Gregory FRCO, and chorister vocal coach Ms. Cosima Rodriguez MEd (Cantab).  The choir runs a busy schedule of rehearsals, with targeted and supportive development for each choir. A rotation of choirs is used for weekly services.

• Eucharist – 9 am rehearsal, 9.30 am service.
• Evensong – 5.30 pm rehearsal, 6.30pm service.

We are delighted to share that the SJB Choir had the privilege of singing Choral Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday, 29 August 2026, marking the feast of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, our patron saint. This was a wonderful occasion for our choir and parish community, with members of the congregation travelling together to support the singers and take part in the service at one of the country's most iconic places of worship. The music for the service included Leighton Responses, Psalm 118 (Whitlock), Noble in B Minor, and View Me, Lord (Lloyd), offering a rich and inspiring programme of Anglican choral music. We are immensely grateful to SJB choir, music team, clergy, and all who attended and supported this memorable parish outing. It was a proud moment in the musical life of St John the Baptist Church.

Vicars Choral

The SJB Vicars Choral are our adult voices, making up the strongest core of our choral foundation. They meet regularly on Sundays and extra services over the course of the year, with recess during school term holidays. As a voluntary choir, it is recognised that our vicars choral have differing commitment requirements, and although not obligated to attend every week, they have excellent attendance.

SJB is extremely grateful to all vicars choral who support our services of worship. Our singers come from a variety of backgrounds. Most singers are former choristers or current congregation members of the parish, and the choir welcomes all those previously involved, or anyone who is new to the church, regardless of musical background.

The choir is looking for new members, in all voice parts. Although reading music is preferable, we encourage everyone to get in touch with the director of music: music@barnetparishchurch.org.uk  Patryk would be delighted to answer any questions you may have and will invite you for an informal discussion and very informal sing at St John’s the Baptist.

Are you interested in joining?

Any adults considering enrolling their child in the chorister programme are warmly invited to contact the director of music, Patryk, at music@barnetparishchurch.org.uk .

Or you can complete the enquiry form below and we will contact you.

From time to time, SJB hosts a Chorister Experience Day. The event offers children aged 7-11 the opportunity to experience a day in the life of a chorister within the church’s renowned choral tradition. Participants will join current choristers for rehearsals, learn pieces from the choir’s repertoire, play the recently restored organ, design a chorister mascot, and experience a historic service that has been taking place since 1622. The Experience Day is designed for children who enjoy singing and would like to find out more about the musical and educational opportunities offered through the choir.