Chapel Music
The University of Glasgow Chapel Choir and University Organist
The University of Glasgow Chapel Choir provides music for services and events in the chapel and elsewhere, as well as giving concerts and recitals throughout the academic year, such as the weekly "Choral Contemplations" series in the first and second terms. It also records and tours nationally and internationally, has recorded several CDs, and is available for weddings and memorial services.
There are thirty-two regular members (a mixture of volunteers, paid choral exhibitioners and professional lay clerks) plus around ten associate singers who join us for concerts and some other events. All are auditioned regularly and receive free singing tuition.
The choir is directed by Katy Lavinia Cooper (Director of Chapel Music) and accompanied by Kevin Bowyer (University Organist).
The Chapel Organ was built by Henry Willis III in 1927 and was most recently refurbished by Harrison & Harrison of Durham in 2005. Please see Chapel Organ Specification.
Lunchtime Concert: Justyna Jablonska and Simon Thacker
Lunchtime listening: Come along to immerse yourself in the magic of imaginative and mesmerising instrumental music from Justyna Jablonska (cello) and Simon Thacker (classical guitar). This event is free of charge and open to all!
Music in the University
Date: Thursday 02 October 2025
Time: 13:10 - 14:00
Venue: University Concert Hall
Category: Concerts and music
Simon Thacker (classical guitar) & Justyna Jablonska (cello)
Programme:
From Karmana by Simon Thacker
I. Initiation
II. Albedo
III. Half Moon Dreaming
IV. Ouroboros
An t-Iarla Diùrach-trad. Gaelic, arr. Simon Thacker
Aruna by Simon Thacker
About Simon and Justyna:
Simon Thacker and Justyna Jablonska are a guitar and cello duo who perform Thacker's compositions and reimaginings. Collaborating since the early 2010s, their 2016 debut album Karmana featured new duo works expanding on a deep immersion in diverse cultures, a revelatory new frontier for Scots song and backwards recording with special guest Karine Polwart, and a Romany song transformation that formed the genesis of their next programme, Songs of the Roma. Songs of the Roma was selected for 2016's Made in Scotland showcase and subsequently toured across the UK. 2024's Songs of the Roma album featured Simon's radical transformations of Romanian and Balkan songs, and startlingly original new instrumental music, with leading exponents from Poland and Hungary. It was described by BBC Music Magazine as “electrifying”, and Songlines Magazine as “wildly imaginative”.
