Seatavern

22 November is no ordinary day for musicians! Celebrated as St Cecilia’s Day, it honours the patron saint of music and also marks the birthday of Benjamin Britten, one of the 20th century’s most visionary composers. To celebrate this double occasion (this year on a Saturday), VOX invites you to join us for a unique choral pilgrimage through four of Cape Town’s most resonant and remarkable spaces as we sing Britten’s luminous Hymn to St Cecilia. This is not a static concert but a musical journey on foot—part performance, part exploration.

Our pilgrimage begins at 10 AM at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church—our musical home—where the recently-uncovered slate floor has revealed a sparkling new acoustic. (Arrive early to share a coffee with us from the neighbouring Prestwich Memorial before we set off!) After St Andrew’s, we wind through the inner city—along Waterkant Street and St George’s Mall, pausing at St George’s Cathedral—before continuing down the leafy Government Avenue and the Company’s Garden.

At 11:30 AM, we gather at UCT’s Hiddingh Campus, home of the Michaelis School of Fine Art, for two strikingly different soundworlds. In the circular Anatomy Lecture Theatre in the Old Medical Building, listen from above as our voices rise in an amphitheatre of sound; in the majestic wood-panelled Hiddingh Hall, the singers will completely surround you. This year marks a century since the Cape Town School of Art became part of UCT, making our presence here especially meaningful.

Our final destination is Youngblood Africa in Bree Street, where we arrive by 1 PM. A vibrant gallery dedicated to African artistry, Youngblood is also where VOX first performed in 2016 and so returning here brings our first decade full circle. Stay a while afterwards, share your reflections over a drink or a meal at the gallery’s restaurant, and celebrate with us the living art of choral singing.

At every stop, we will sing Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia—a jewel of 20th- century choral music, composed in 1942 to words by Britten’s close friend WH Auden. By turns devotional and playful, this three-part masterpiece explores music’s power to console, transform and enchant. As the work unfolds in four different spaces, you will hear it afresh with each acoustic shaping it anew.

You are welcome to join the pilgrimage at any point along the route although advance booking is recommended as places are limited. We are deeply grateful to our hosts: Reverend Natalie Gordon at St Andrew’s, Associate Professor Fritha Langerman at Michaelis, and Ina Wichterich and her team at Youngblood.

P.S. If you are attending the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s dress rehearsal at the City Hall that morning, you can still catch our opening performance at St Andrew’s (to end no later than 10:30 AM) to tune your ears for the day ahead!

Saturday 22 November 2025 (St Cecilia’s Day)10 AM: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, De Waterkant11:30 AM: University of Cape Town Hiddingh Campus, Orange Street1 PM: Youngblood Africa, Bree Streetwww.voxcapetown.com