Newsletter: Events at Clare Hall, Winter 2026
Dear Clare Hall members and friends,
Please find below a list of events taking place this week and beyond, to which you are warmly invited.
➢ Members’ events
College Bar 2026 |
Wednesday – Friday, 7 -11PM
The College bar will be open Friday 9th January, and then from the 14th January it will be open two nights a week – Wednesday and Friday evenings, 7-11PM.
Formal Hall 2026 |
Wednesday 14 January, 7PM
There are still spaces open in next Wednesday’s Formal Hall, book your spot on Upay today to experience a wonderful evening of food and conversation with your fellow Clare Hall members!
Concept2 January Virtual Team Challenge 2026 |
Sign Up by Friday 16th of January
We warmly welcome all members of the Clare Hall community to join us as we take on the next Concept2 Challenge: The January Virtual Team Challenge. We’ll be erging as much distance as we can between 1st – 31st January 2026 so make sure to sign up and join the team by the deadline of 16th January.
Joining Instructions:
1) Create your account: Sign up for an account (it’s free to create) at https://log.concept2.com
2) Join the CHBC Team: Clare Hall Boat Club (University of Cambridge)
If you previously joined the CHBC Team for the Fall Team Challenge, then this step is already done and you do not have to repeat this step again.
3) Join the Virtual Team Challenge:
– Important: each rower needs to join the team AND join the challenge, these are two separate steps.
– Each rower needs to join the challenge for their ergs to be counted in the challenge
4) Log your ergs:
– RowHero/Concept2 apps: if you use either of these apps, link these to your Concept2 account for automatic uploads of your ergs
– Or manually input erg details (date, distance, time, etc)
For more information, please visit the Concept2 Challenge website here
Burns Night 2026 |
Wednesday 28 January 2026, from 6:45 pm
Join us for an unforgettable Burns Supper, an evening filled with Scottish tradition in celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns. The event will feature live bagpipes and a Ceilidh band, creating an authentic and lively atmosphere. Warm thanks go to Lady Patricia Mirrlees (Life Member) and Prof David Cope (Foundation Fellow) for their generous support in making this occasion possible.
Tickets are now sold out.
Please note that tickets may become available again if there are cancellations, so do check back on Upay if you are interested in attending this event.
Pool and Gym Membership Sale 2026 |
Sign Up by Saturday 31st January
Clare Hall is pleased to offer a 6 months sports membership at a discounted rate if you sign up before the 31st of January. This will give you access to our heated pool and gym located in West Court.
Please read our Gym and Pool Membership Rules and complete this Membership Form, also sending a completed copy of this PAR-Q to porters@clarehall.cam.ac.uk.
➢ Lectures and talks
Clare Hall Colloquia |
Tuesday 20 January – Tuesday 10 March 2026, 7.15pm
The Clare Hall Colloquia provide members of the College – especially (but not exclusively) Visiting Fellows and Life Members – with an opportunity to present their research, whether in its early stages or already published, in a friendly setting. They are a great way to discuss your ideas, meet fellow members and to contribute to our vibrant community. Sessions take place on Tuesday evenings during term time, 7:15–9:15pm, in the Clare Hall Meeting Room. Refreshments are provided.
The first session of the term is on 20 January 2026, with speaker Professor Sidnie Crawford (Visiting Fellow, University of Nebraska-Lincoln).
Title: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Cairo Genizah: What has Qumran to do with Cambridge?
What has Cambridge to do with Qumran? In 1896, Solomon Schechter, Reader in Hebrew at Cambridge, discovered a storehouse of medieval manuscripts in an old synagogue in Cairo. Among the thousands of fragments he brought back to Cambridge were two copies of a Jewish work of unknown origin, which Schechter titled “Fragments of a Zadokite Work.” Fifty years later, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves in the Judean Desert. Among those fragmentary manuscripts were eight copies of Schechter’s “Zadokite Work,” one thousand years older than the Cairo copies. What is the path that the “Zadokite Work,” now known as the “Damascus Document,” took from Qumran to Cairo? The lecture will include short introductions to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Taylor-Schechter Genizah collection, with lots of pictures.
Please see the full Lent programme here.
English Literature SIG |
Friday 23 January 2026, 5pm
All Clare Hall members are welcome to attend the meetings for the English Literature SIG this Lent term. Meetings are held at 5pm in the Clare Hall Meeting Room, followed by a group dinner in the Dining Hall.
For further details please contact Professor Eric Nye, SIG convenor, at ewn10@cam.ac.uk. Zoom link provided on request.
The full schedule can be found here.
➢ Music
Fitzwilliam String Quartet: Beach, Shostakovich, Beethoven |
Saturday 17 January 2026, 7.30pm
Join us for an evening of remarkable music as the Fitzwilliam String Quartet return to Clare Hall on 17 January with a programme that spans three distinct musical landscapes. The evening begins in America with Amy Beach’s String Quartet in One Movement, inspired by expressive Alaskan Inuit melodies. It then moves into the intimate and emotionally charged world of Shostakovich through his String Quartet No. 9, a continuous five-movement work known for its depth and intensity. The concert closes with the majesty of Beethoven’s String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127, one of his late masterpieces and a pillar of the quartet repertoire.
Programme:
- Beach: String Quartet in One Movement
- Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9
- Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127
Tickets are available via Eventbrite: General Admission – £20, Clare Hall members – £15, students – £5.
Continuum: British Vocal Music |
Saturday 24 January 2026, 7.30pm
The Continuum choir presents an evening of exceptional British choral music spanning five centuries. The programme features works by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Robert Parsons, Charles Villiers Stanford, Edward Elgar, and Benjamin Britten, performed alongside contemporary settings by Owain Park, Janet Wheeler, and Alex Hopkins. The concert will also include a premiere by Clare Hall’s Composer-in-Residence, Lucy Walker, written especially for this occasion. The evening concludes with Herbert Howells’ Requiem, one of the most moving and celebrated works in the British choral tradition.
*Please note that this concert is taking place at Clare College Chapel.
Tickets are available via Eventbrite: General Admission – £20, Clare Hall members – £15, students – £5.
➢ Art
All your Demons will with Wither Away by Marguerite Horner |
Friday 16 January – Thursday 26 February 2026, 10am-4pm
Clare Hall is proud to present All your Demons will with Wither Away, a remarkable exhibition by Marguerite Horner, which will be open for public viewing between 10am to 4pm. It demonstrates afresh this college’s interest in the diversity to be found in contemporary art and its ability to provoke thought and feeling. The dominant images in this show are concerned with light on water.
The exhibition’s title is explained by the artist. Drawn from Fatboy Slim’s Demons (sung by Macy Gray), it carries the lyric: “All of your demons will wither away, ecstasy comes and they cannot stay.” It therefore speaks to transformation – to the quiet promise that illumination, however brief, can dissolve the shadow.
Marguerite Horner
Learn more about the exhibition here.
The Bell Collection of British Studio Pottery, 1920-1980 |
Ongoing
A rotating display of some 400 pieces of studio ceramics. Learn more at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/bellcollection/
➢ University events
➢ Activities and Societies
Clare Hall Book Club |
Monday 2 February 2026, 8pm
Join the College’s Book Club as they discuss Flesh by David Szalay. All College members are welcome to attend in-person, meeting in Clare Hall’s Meeting Room, or via Zoom. If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, please send an email to gloria.carnevali@icloud.com, confirming your Clare Hall connection and putting the following as the email title: I would like to join the Book Club mailing list.
Learn more about the Book Club on this page.
Pilates Sessions |
Mondays, 9 January – 20 March 2026
We are delighted to host pilates classes at Clare Hall throughout the Lent Term. The classes will be held on Mondays during lunchtime. Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while improving postural alignment and flexibility.
A full list of dates and the sign up sheet can be found here.
Taiji (Tai Chi) and QiGong Sessions |
Wednesdays, 14 January – 18 March 2026
We are pleased to host Taiji (Tai Chi) and QiGong sessions at Clare Hall in the Lent Term. The sessions will be taking place in the Richard Eden Suite on Wednesdays during lunchtime, starting on 1 October 2025.
A full list of dates and the sign up sheet can be found here.
Choir Practice |
Various Dates
A reminder that Clare Hall Choir practice takes place in Robinson College Chapel every Monday (in term-time, but not always restricted to the official Cambridge term dates) from 7.30-9pm. New members are always welcome, and no previous singing or musical experience is necessary. The only requirement is that you want to sing and have fun doing it! If you are interested in joining, please email Ben de Souza, the Choir’s Director, who is a Clare Hall Associate, freelance choral conductor and accordionist: bd402@cam.ac.uk.
Recent recordings of the choir can also be found on our YouTube channel.
Clare Hall Families |
Various Dates
Clare Hall Families is an informal group that holds events throughout the year, centred around our popular Family Suppers, which take place each term.
Join the Clare Hall Families mailing list and WhatsApp group by filling out the form.
For any enquiries, please contact Chandy Nath at chandy.nath@gmail.com.
Find a full range of events at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/events