Matthew, could you place a gif or jpg, please I can't see your swf format

Here you go:

here is the first image:



And an alternate, using FF Profile:

Matthew, in the first version the J (in John's)looks so strange, its visually out of sinc with the other characters. I'm also not loving th Of combination. I do like making connectors like (the and of) less important than the group title. Overall the first version feels forced. The second version gives me no emotional feeling at all. Think about using a symbol with the title. Are they a part of a religious order? How many gentlemen are they? If its a few maybe show their faces? So far I think you could use the same type and say John Deere Tractors, I'm not getting music or singing.

Mathew:

I like the general concept of the first design, but the execution needs a lot of work. I'm not sure if that's an off-the-shelf unicase font or not, but most of those letters just aren't working together. Also, I agree with Daniel in regard to downplaying the "the/of" connectors.

My initial thought with this type was to loosen it up and juxtaposition each of the letters so they look like dancing letters, but that doesn't really go to well with "sacred music".

The strong, tight verticals in this type actually remind me of a line of chior singers. Maybe use musical notes to make the letters sing, or actually morph the letters (or some of them if it's a small group...i.e. John) into the chior singers.

Keep working. I'm sure you'll come up with something that works.

Hi Matthew... here are some quick comments.

Bj, I'm not sure whether we would be modern or not - we are 14 singers who spend most of our time singing in the choir at St John's College, Cambridge. So there's a limit to how modern you can be. The previous logo (which uses ITC Tiffany) can be found here.
I was trying to get away from the staid image slightly, as it's not ideal for promotional material.

The latter logo was an attempt at a more professional look, but it is not engaging. Anyone have any ideas for typefaces that would suit?

Colour scheme: mostly red with 90% red, 10% white, black stripe through white.
In practice the logo would want to be either red or black.

Matthew