The Compline Choir

The Compline Choir is a unique community of laypersons with diverse beliefs that seeks to express musically a concern for the nurture and care of the soul—spiritual nourishment. The mission of the Compline Choir is to: (1) perform and record liturgical and religious music for men’s voices for the edification and enjoyment of listeners; (2) to promote and perpetuate ancient, traditional, and contemporary musical forms of worship; and, (3) to minister to the spiritual needs of the community.

The Office of Compline at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle has its origins in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, where Peter Hallock, a Royal School of Church Music student from 1949 to 1951, and fellow classmates chanted Compline. At Hallock’s invitation, 12 music students from the University of Washington gathered at Saint Mark’s to study and sing plainsong. By late 1956, this group became the Compline Choir and began singing the Office of Compline for others on Sunday nights.