Cambridge Choral Scholarship for Kavi

Kavi Pau has become the first QE boy in a number of years to win a Choral Scholarship at a top university. He has also secured a place to read Music at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge.

Kavi, who is in Year 13, will become one of just four or five tenors in the Gonville & Caius Choir, which consists of between 22 and 24 students. The remainder of the choir comprises eight or nine sopranos, four or five altos and four to six basses.

The Choir, directed by Dr Geoffrey Webber, is one of the world’s leading collegiate choirs, with an international reputation based on its touring, broadcasting and recordings. Many former members of the choir have gone on to study singing full-time at one of the conservatoires.

“Kavi has done exceptionally well, and I am delighted for him,” said Headmaster Neil Enright. “He has participated in a range of musical activities during his career at School and has also taken advantage of opportunities outside, too; his talent, commitment and enthusiasm warrant such success.”

While in Year 9, Kavi won a prestigious drama prize at the North London Festival of Music, Drama and Dance. He was also part of the School’s Purdy Barbershop group; he arranged a version of Bridge Over Troubled Water and the song’s performance brought the group victory in the Senior Popular Category at the Spring Grove Festival.

More recently he was awarded a place in the Rodolfus Choir after excelling in an Eton Choral Course. He has studied piano and singing to Grade 8 and also plays the clarinet.

For his audition for Gonville & Caius, he had to prepare a piece to sing of his own choice, complete a sight-reading test and demonstrate an ability to pitch intervals up or down within an octave and to pick out notes within a chord.

“I’m very pleased to have secured this scholarship,” said Kavi. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to pursue my singing, with the prospect of further open doors at the end of my university studies.”

Through the scholarship, students receive free singing lessons and free participation in foreign tours, at least once and sometimes up to three times per year. Choral Scholars also enjoy the opportunity to earn fees for concerts as part of the whole choir, or in small groups for weddings and conferences.

The choir frequently joins with other Cambridge choirs for joint services, such as those of Clare and St John’s Colleges, and has recently made two CD recordings with the choir of King’s College London.