St Mary’s Choir is a mixed choir of adults and children which leads the worship Sunday by Sunday. The ethos of the choir is rooted in the rich tradition of Anglican Choral music but also draws heavily on continental experience. This means that congregations are treated to Mass settings by the “greats” of European music. Each week, whilst there is much congregational singing, the choir sings Masses by Palestrina, Lassus, Mozart, Haydn, Ireland, Howells and many more. For major festivals, the choir is accompanied by orchestra such as for the Fauré Requiem on All Souls or Haydn’s St Nicholas Mass at Midnight Mass.

Choral Evensong is sung on the first Sunday of the month at 6pm. This beautiful service, one of the greatest gifts of Anglicanism to the Christian tradition, is a time for the congregation to forget the stresses and strains of the coming week and to allow the singing of the choir to transport it to another plane. The music sung stretches right across the Anglican corpus of music, from the sixteenth century to the present day. The choir’s repertoire includes all the famous Anglican composers of canticles, such as Tallis, Byrd, Stanford, Nobel, Walmisley and Howells. Occasional continental settings also feature, such as those by Palestrina and Buxtehude. Music at the Mass on the first Sunday of the month is more congregational in character. Currently, the full choir numbers 35, including 14 children.

Choir children benefit hugely from exposure to this great array of music. The sheer pace of the choir’s repertoire means that different music is practised and performed on a weekly basis, aiding hugely the children’s ability to sight-sing and their aural and vocal development. Besides the sheer joy of singing such wonderful music, such a discipline is invaluable in developing a child’s self-confidence. The choir is also a huge help in developing social skills and the enjoyment of shared experiences. In addition, St Mary's Music Guild facilitates instrumental lessons for choir children.

Weddings and Funerals at St Mary’s are greatly enhanced by the presence of St Mary’s choir, which is available to lead the singing and to sing specially chosen choral music during the service. The choir is also available to sing at weddings and funerals throughout Essex and further afield. The choir is also frequently asked to take part in major events in the town, such as Civic Carol Services and the town's Victorian Evening. It also receives bookings to sing at various business functions, such as the Food Company's Winter Festival. Any monies raised through these activities go to support the work of the Music Ministry through the parish Music Guild. The choir is pleased to sing occasional services at parishes where no choir is available. Such services have taken place in inner-London churches and St Peter's Chapel, Bradwell. We also recently sang Choral Evensong at Long Melford Parish Church in Suffolk.

Concerts encompass serious events, such as singing Handel's Dixit dominus for Maldon Festival of Arts, and less-serious events such as our popular The Choir Entertains series, mixing our normal repertoire with items of Gilbert and Sullivan, Noel Coward and much, much more!

A Maldon Christmas is the choir's first CD, recorded in March 2009. Plans are in hand to record a second CD of music in honour of Our Lady.

Choir Practice is on Friday evenings at 6pm for probationers, 6.30pm for children (until 7.30pm) and 7.15pm for adults. There is also a short practice on Sunday mornings before the Mass at 9.15am and before Evensong at 4.45pm.

Choir Tours and Visits happen regularly throughout the year. The choir has sung Evensong at Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It has also visited the parish of Wantage in Oxfordshire, singing alongside the choir there. Summer tours have taken the choir to Italy (twice) and to Bavaria in Southern Germany. Plans are currently being made for a week's cathedral residency at St David's in Pembrokeshire and (for 2013) for a trip to the USA.