Encounters with King's College Chapel

King's College Cambridge
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Encounters is something of a hybrid podcast. It's part conversation, part personalised walking tour of one of the world's most iconic buildings: King's College Chapel. Hosted by Dean of Chapel, Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, each encounter explores the role King's College Chapel has played in the lives of each of his guests.

Episodes

  1. Jan 20

    Shakespeare in the Chapel: Eva Lemmy on Drama in King's College Chapel

    It ends as it began, with the first ever recorded episode of Encounters with King's College Chapel. Eva Lemmy  is a recent graduate of King's College Cambridge, having graduated in the summer of 2025. During her time at King's, Eva tackled studying English Literature, transferring to Business and Management, and putting on multiple dramatic performances. Each of these is a brilliant and challenging achievement in its own right. But perhaps Eva's most challenging achievement was to propose putting on a play filled with 'bloody murders' in King's College Chapel in the first place. Join Dr Stephen Cherry and Eva as they discuss the challenges and reasons behind putting on a 3-night run of Macbeth in the Chapel, and why the "Scottish Play" is an oddly fitting performance for this sacred space. We hope you have enjoyed listening to this series as much as we have enjoyed making it. Encounters with King's College Cambridge was created by Dr Stephen Cherry. Producers: Dr Stephen Cherry, &Friends Recording and initial edit of Interview: &Friends Additional Recording and Editing: Nick Harris

    47 min

  2. Jan 13

    Colliding with the Unexpected: Gillian Tett on Education and Reason in the Chapel

    Aside from the immediate staff of King's College Chapel, Provost Gillian Tett (OBE) is likely spends more time in the Chapel than anyone else. Matriculation, ceremonies for new fellows, memorial services. Gillian's role as Provost of King's College is so intertwined with the Chapel, she has her own stall - commissioned by none other than King Henry VIII. She's also likely to be the only Provost in history to get married in the chapel. Join Dr Stephen Cherry and King's College Provost Gillian Tett as they take you on a walking tour of the space that at first, often intimidates new King's students, but ultimately becomes their training ground for taking on some of the world's most intimidating professional arenas.

    31 min

  3. 12/23/2025

    The Sound of Christmas: BBC Studios on making Carols from King's

    One of the working titles for this podcast was More than Carols, after all this series is about preserving and sharing the spoken word of King's College Chapel. But then we got the opportunity to interview the phenomenal BBC Studios team behind Carols from King's, and the title had to change. But the BBC Studios team really are a part of what makes King's College Chapel the icon that it is. And so much of the expertise of that team is that increasingly rare kind of expertise. An intangible knowledge. A knowledge that can't come from books. The kind of knowledge that can only come from decades of learning a craft on the job, and constantly striving for the highest possible standard (even if that involves reusing a bit of old BBC car park to light a choir). We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. And from all of us at King's we hope you have a very happy Christmas.

    42 min

  4. 12/17/2025

    What Sweeter Music: Sir John Rutter on the carols and music of King's College Cambridge

    Imagine aspiring to just visit the space that created your favourite music. Now imagine you would spend your life composing for that space. This is the life story of Sir John Rutter; a world treasure, and a composer most treasured by King's College Cambridge. Join Dr Stephen Cherry and Sir John Rutter as they take you on a walking tour of the sound that "never leaves"  John's head; the sound of King's College Chapel. You'll learn how the space influences John's writing practices, how his bedside table is overflowing with poetry, and you'll get a fairly comprehensive history of recorded music in the chapel, to which John has contributed many times. King's College Choirs' latest album, All the Stars Looked Down is out now. It sees the choir performing with Britten Sinfonia, and includes beautiful orchestral arrangements of Christmas carols by Sir John Rutter alongside a selection of both well-loved and lesser-known carols by the great choral composers who have influenced Rutter, including Sir Philip Ledger, Sir David Willcocks and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The album's title track, John Rutter's All the Stars Looked Down, is dedicated to the late Sir Stephen Cleobury, whose enormous contribution to the Christmas choral legacy is also celebrated on the album.

    54 min

  5. 12/09/2025

    A Serious House: Sir Simon Jenkins on the architecture of King's College Chapel

    While writing his book England's Thousand Best Churches, Sir Simon Jenkins visited over 2000 churches in Britain. At a reception for the book George Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury,  asked Simon 'You have been to more churches than I have; does none of it rub off?' He replied: 'You lot didn't rub off, but something did.' Join Dr Stephen Cherry and Sir Simon Jenkins as they take you on a walking tour of Simon's 'favourite building in Britain'. You'll learn plenty about the various building phases of the Chapel, as well as a couple of new definitions of the word 'Goth'.

    34 min

  6. Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    Out of the Pulpit: Encounters with King's College Chapel

    This is the beginning of Encounters with King's College Chapel, a series of walking tours through King's College Cambridge, where each guest shares how one of the world's most famous buildings has impacted their lives.

    3 min

Trailer

About

Encounters is something of a hybrid podcast. It's part conversation, part personalised walking tour of one of the world's most iconic buildings: King's College Chapel. Hosted by Dean of Chapel, Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, each encounter explores the role King's College Chapel has played in the lives of each of his guests.

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