The celebration comes ahead of RSCM International Chorister Day on Sunday 4 October, when churches and cathedrals around the world will celebrate choristers and the opportunities that singing in a choir can provide.
Wakefield Cathedral celebrates its choristers and a £22,650 grant from the Cathedral Music Trust
Wakefield Cathedral marked the achievements of its choristers at a special Choral Evensong on Sunday, which also recognised a £22,650 grant from the Cathedral Music Trust (CMT).
Choristers, their families and friends gathered for the presentation of Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) Voice for Life awards. The awards recognise choristers’ musical development, commitment and achievement through formal examinations at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels.
The celebration comes ahead of RSCM International Chorister Day on Sunday 4 October, when churches and cathedrals around the world will celebrate choristers and the opportunities that singing in a choir can provide.
The Revd Canon Dr Kathryn Goldsmith, Canon Precentor at Wakefield Cathedral, said:
“We are incredibly proud of our choristers and it was wonderful to celebrate their achievements with their families and friends. They give so much to the life of our Cathedral, and these awards recognise the commitment and hard work they put in week after week.
“We’re also enormously grateful to the Cathedral Music Trust for their generous support. This funding will make a real difference as we continue to grow our choral provision and give more children and young people the opportunity to experience everything that singing in a cathedral choir can offer.”
Supporting choristers and widening opportunity
The grant, awarded through CMT’s Cathedral Music Support Programme, will help Wakefield support its choristers, strengthen its choral provision and create more opportunities for children and young people to take part in the centuries-old tradition of cathedral music.
The Very Revd Dr Philip Hobday, Dean of Wakefield, said:
“Singing together not only contributes to sustaining a precious, living tradition of English sacred music and worship – it also helps build skills, confidence, friendships, and faith. We are so grateful to the Cathedral Music Trust for this wonderful award. Their generous support will make a real difference to the work we do with an increasingly diverse group of children and young people, generating creativity and aspiration in areas of notable deprivation. We are deeply grateful for the Trust’s confidence in our work and for our partnership in making cathedral music flourish for generations to come.”
Part of a national programme
Wakefield is one of twelve English cathedrals to benefit from the latest CMT grants, announced as part of the Trust’s 70th anniversary year. In total, the Trust has awarded £438,955 through 27 grants: £410,000 from the Cathedral Music Support Programme and £28,955 from the Church Choir Award. The funding will help cathedral music departments and parish church choirs nurture young musicians, invest in music staff, strengthen musical standards and widen participation.
Jonathan Macdonald, Chair of the Cathedral Music Trust, said:
Among the other recipients, Chelmsford Cathedral has been awarded £22,500 by the Cathedral Music Trust. The grant will go towards continuing to build and strengthen the Cathedral Choir, nurturing young musicians and supporting the high standards of music at the heart of worship at the Cathedral.
Emma Gibbins, Director of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral, said:
“We are delighted and deeply grateful to the Cathedral Music Trust for this generous grant. Their support will help us continue to grow and develop the Cathedral Choir, nurturing high standards of music and liturgy and opening up access to first-rate musical training. This award will help us build a confident, well-supported choir, and strengthen Chelmsford Cathedral’s reputation for musical excellence.”
Chelmsford will mark the grant with a special Choral Evensong at 3.30pm on Sunday 18 October, to which all are welcome.
Throughout December, the Trust will highlight the people, choirs and communities supported by the grants through a series of celebration services at each recipient cathedral and parish church.
Wakefield Cathedral has a long choral tradition, with music at the heart of its daily pattern of worship. Alongside maintaining that tradition, the Cathedral is committed to widening opportunities for children and young people to experience high-quality music-making.
The cathedrals receiving awards are Wells, Wakefield, Birmingham, Blackburn, Truro, Coventry, Ripon, Bradford, Newcastle, Chelmsford, Derby, Peterborough and Llandaff (Church in Wales).
The Cathedral Music Support Programme, now in its third year, invests in three priority areas: Pathways to Music, Training and Development, and Supporting the Workforce.
Founded in 1956 as the Friends of Cathedral Music by the Revd Ronald Sibthorp, Precentor of Truro Cathedral, the Cathedral Music Trust was established in response to the decline of cathedral music after the Second World War. It has since awarded grants totalling more than £8 million. It is an independent charity and the national advocate for cathedral music across the UK and Ireland. Find out more at cathedralmusictrust.org.uk.
