Salisbury celebrates 30 years of its Girls’ Choir

Salisbury Cathedral will celebrate the founding of its girls’ choir almost 30 years to the day since the girls sang their first Evensong with a gala concert – the first concert to be held in the cathedral in person since the pandemic.

Salisbury Cathedral was the first English Cathedral to admit girls on parity with the boys and to establish an independent foundation to support girl singers.

The anniversary on Saturday 9 October celebrates this important date and will be marked by a Gala Concert in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

The girls and adult singers from the Cathedral Choir will be joined by former girl choristers including the award-winning soloists and former choristers, Amy Carson and Camilla Harris, and the SouthBank Sinfonia, a showcase for emerging musical talent.

The evening also sees the premiere of a new work by the renowned composer Roxanna Panufnik, which has been commissioned specially for the occasion. Panufnik has taken George Herbert’s poem, The Pearl, and created a choral work to be sung by the whole girls’ choir (former choristers and current choristers).

Book here for the Girl Choristers’ 30th Anniversary Concert.

Salisbury Cathedral too has announced a return to its chorister recruitment Be a Chorister for a Day which takes place on Saturday 2 October and is the first step on the road to joining the Cathedral choir which will culminate in voice trials early next year. Children are recruited from across the country, so regional boundaries are not an issue.

When Be a Chorister for a Day was cancelled last year, Cathedral choristers made a virtual tour with TV presenter Alexander Armstrong which you can see here.

To register for the event, either fill in the application form on the Cathedral website or contact Jo Jo Orange by email – orange.j@salisburycathedralschool.com

Photo by Ash Mills of the girls of Salisbury