The Adult Choir of St Mary the Virgin, Nottingham is acclaimed as one of the finest Anglican church choirs in the country. Renowned for its versatility and wide repertoire it performs music from plainsong through to world premieres. As well as performing music for liturgical use, the choir regularly undertakes large scale works from Monteverdi’s Vespers to Verdi’s Requiem. Typically, the choir sings three services a week (Wednesday Evensong (6:15pm), Sunday Eucharist (10.45am) and Sunday Evensong (6:30pm) as well as regular concerts throughout the year, upholding a tradition of outstanding choral music in Nottingham. Services are broadcast from the website homepage, and you can listen to recent services again here.
The choir has made a number of recordings over recent years including Mater Christi, a disc of Marian motets produced by Regent Records (2015) and A St Mary’s Christmas, a disc of sacred and secular music for Christmas (2017). Beyond Nottingham, the choir has sung in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral and toured across Europe, most recently to France, Italy and Germany. Broadcasts include Sunday Half-Hour and In Praise of God for BBC World Service, Radio 4’s The Daily Service and Sunday Worship, BBC Radio Nottingham’s annual Carol Service and BBC 1’s Songs of Praise.
Praise for St Mary’s Choir
Choir & Organ– Mater Christi: Marian Motets
“This enterprising CD from John Keys and the Choir of St Mary the Virgin, Nottingham, offers a selection of over 400 years of Marian motets, from Lassus to Tavener and Pärt. It provides a suitable showcase for the choir’s versatility, whose warm, generous and well-disciplined sound is finely moulded by Keys… A thoroughly enjoyable and well-varied programme.”
Nottingham Evening Post – Bach’s St John Passion
“St Mary’s Choir… brought out the solemnity, emotion and drama of Bach’s retelling of the Passion narrative… Sensitivity to the text was always to the fore, in the rich choral textures as well as in the fine solo interpretations by members of the Choir.”
Nottingham Evening Post – Handel’s Te Deum
“Energetic, committed singing brought out the prevailing mood of celebration, juxtaposed effectively with more reflective sections”
Nottingham Evening Post – Mozart’s Requiem
“Whether expressing a tender lament or dramatic foreboding, the voices were skilfully balanced and blended”
Church Times – Biber’s Missa Salisburgensis
“A superbly motivated performance, utterly true to the work: an hour of exhilaration”
Nottingham Evening Post – John Sheppard 450th Anniversary Concert
“The pauses in this richly woven music were as beautifully judged as the notes, making it an experience beyond time and space.”
Director of Music
Peter Davis became Director of Music in September 2025, and comes with a wide range of experience in the choral and organ world. After a year as organ scholar at Salisbury Cathedral and a further three years at the world-famous Chapel of St John’s College, Cambridge, he became the highly-respected Director of Music at Haileybury and Oakham Schools. Alongside this, he has directed community choirs (including the University of Nottingham Choir), large-scale music education projects, professional orchestras and amateur choral societies. He is also a frequent organ recitalist. More recently, Peter was appointed Choir Manager & Assistant Conductor of The Rodolfus Choir (one of the leading UK youth choirs).
Assistant Organist
George Charman joins us in September 2026 from Pembroke College, Oxford, where he was Senior Organ Scholar while studying for a history degree. Hailing from Worcestershire, George was previously Organ Scholar at Tewkesbury Abbey.
Organ Scholar
Phil Miles took up the post of Organ Scholar in September 2025, having graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Music in 2022.
