Take a pew in the choir stalls

The idea of becoming a cathedral-choir chorister, often with a significant reduction in school fees, seems to have fallen slightly out of fashion with parents, yet it offers a wonderful education for life, believes Andrew Green

- Andrew Green

STANDARDS of singing across the nation’s cathedral and collegiate choirs are generally as high as they’ve ever been, with girl choristers now offering a welcome dimension. Yet these establishments no longer take for granted that queues of prospective choristers will snake back from their doors. In terms of raw numbers, the presence of girls has boosted total chorister numbers to perhaps record levels, but this hides a concerning trend in recruitment. The word from one cathedral is that recently only two boys applied to be auditioned for six places on offer and a mere eight girls for five places.

‘It’s a real issue generally,’ says Clive Marriott, chairman of the Choir Schools Association (CSA) and headmaster of Salisbury Cathedral School. ‘Choir schools are having to be more agile. The CSA is currently keen to work on a national campaign to promote choristerships.’

King’s College, Cambridge hasn’t been immune from the challenges, admits Yvette Day, head of King’s College School. ‘One factor for many establishments is the decline of parish church choirs across the country. They used to play a vital role. When it was clear a child was talented, somebody would likely have said: “Why don’t you try for a choristership at a cathedral?” Things have moved on.’

Adrian Partington, director of music at Gloucester Cathedral, also suggests the situation has deteriorated, ‘because in many schools not enough emphasis is placed on the benefits of music. Fewer children are learning an instrument. Parents tend to be always in a rush—and, unless the child is boarding at a choir school, the demands of ferrying him or her to practices and services are very real’.