The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge

Sunday was the Choir's final service of term and while the first Brit to play in the Wimbledon Final since 1938 battled Federer for the title, St John's Chapel was packed full of Choir families, friends, and dedicated supporters of the Choir, including former Director of Music, David Hill and composer of the first hymn tune, John Barnard. The service was preceded by John Challenger's final organ recital at St John's, before he moves on to Salisbury Cathedral.

Of the many special elements which make up St John's Choir as a whole, it is the noticeable collaborative spirit, relaxed atmosphere and propensity for impassioned singing which, combined with a particularly and traditionally Johnian service of music, results in the emotional climax of the year. Unlike most cathedral or professional choirs, St John's and its Director of Music have the privilege of working with exactly the same group of singers, for each of the seven weekly services throughout the year (bar the odd bout of illness). And as well the obvious musical benefits – moulding a choir with a coherent sound and style – it creates a wonderful togetherness of ethos and mentality which, in turn, benefits the singing and no doubt plays a huge part in the so called Sound of St John's. For all of these reasons and more, the final service of the year is always an emotional one, usually followed by a drinks reception in Chapel court. The rest of the evening (for the Gents at least) is given over to the hospitality of the Castiglione family and the Maypole.

The Choir's busy year does not end quite there however. On Tuesday, the Choir will meet at Heathrow to fly to Japan for our two week tour. The tour is the second this year and certainly the most substantial – we're performing a series of seven major public concerts as well as at some private events, culminating in two concerts in Tokyo, at Suntory Hall on 29 July and Opera City Concert Hall on 27 July, in the presence of Her Imperial Highness The Princess Takamado.