English bring song across pond

When Redcoats came to Nassau Hall in 1777, General Washington greeted them with cannonballs. Today's English emissaries have received a far more welcoming reception.

Francis Williams and James Kanagasooriam are visiting Princeton during a gap year between their studies at Eton College and Cambridge. Together with Stephen Buzard, an organ performance student at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, the singers are creating Lux, an English choral ensemble that will perform in services at the Episcopal Church at Princeton (ECP).

The choir might also give concerts and possibly go on tour.

Kanagasooriam and Williams already boast an impressive musical resume. They have performed on five continents, and Kanagasooriam was a soloist at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The two singers have already founded an octet of semiprofessional singers at Princeton. They are also forming a larger group, composed mostly of underclassmen, which they hope will continue the tradition after they leave.

The larger choir is open to anyone "who wants to and can, vaguely, sing," Williams said. "Rehearsal is minimal. Everyone around here is so busy."

The Rev. Stephen White, ECP chaplain, called Lux "an opportunity to improve the worship experience."

Churchgoers seem to agree. After Lux's first week performing, the congregation tripled, Williams said.

Buzard, who recognized many Westminster students in the swelling congregation, said he enjoys playing church music every week at services because it is more personal than touring.

But Kanagasooriam said that his and Williams' primary contribution to Princeton would be musical, not spiritual.

"We're not here as religious envoys, we're here as singers," he said.

But Kanagasooriam and Williams remain closely tied to ECP. They thanked White for giving them the opportunity to become involved with the Episcopal chaplaincy and for housing them in ECP's Proctor House for the year.

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The visiting singers see themselves as part of a larger effort to bring the Anglican choral tradition to the area. America has the resources to support great choirs, Kanagasooriam said. "What it does not have is the tradition and the history."

Once they leave, six more English students are expected to continue this mission next year.

"England isn't as diverse as America," Kanagasooriam said. "People need to get out and see the world."

Kanagasooriam values the life skills he is learning here. Living in a new environment and setting up a new choir is "quite a challenge for two guys who've had everything provided for four years," he said.

Their music director at Eton helped arranged for the singers to come to Princeton.

Neither visiting singer plans to make a career of music, though both will sing professionally in religious services at Cambridge. Kanagasooriam will study theology and then pursue a law degree; Williams will major in classics.

Both singers said they have found the Chapel — which Kanagasooriam said reminds him of England — and the University to be fruitful places to spend their gap year.

"There's a kind of loyalty, everybody's supportive of each other," Williams said.

Kanagasooriam, too, said he is enjoying his time at the University.

"It's a bubble, but it's a bubble we're happy to be in," he said.