Welcome to the Music Department of Worcester Cathedral

Singing has been part of the daily worship at Worcester Cathedral for many hundreds of years. The glorious sounds of the Cathedral Choir and new Quire Organ fill the building each day at Choral Evensong and at the main services on Sundays.  If you would like to attend a choral service and hear the Cathedral Choir, please see the monthly music scheme (viewable via the link at the bottom of this page) for full details of the music.  If you have any general enquiries about music at the Cathedral, please contact us.

The history of music in the Cathedral stretches right back to monastic singing in the Benedictine abbey, which existed until it was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540. Today the thriving musical life of the Cathedral incorporates many choirs, organists, conductors and other musicians. To find out more about what goes on, click on the links on the left.

Recordings of our choirs and organ are available from the Cathedral Shop, in the Cloisters.

The Cathedral Choir offers choristerships for boys and girls. The boy choristers sing the greater portion of all the sung services (5 days a week on a regular basis) and are complemented by the girls who mainly sing services on Saturdays. Prospective choristers should be aged between 6 and 10 (boys) or between 12 and 15 (girls). Places are highly sought-after and are offered through an audition process. Boy choristerships are required to attend the King's School and are given a 50% bursary towards their fees for the duration of their time in the choir. The girls attend a variety of local schools. Those wishing to seek further help and advice usually make contact in the first instance with the Organist & Director of Music, Peter Nardone, to arrange an initial meeting and an informal vocal assessment. 

Choristers need to have some instrumental experience, even if only at a basic level for 6 and 7 year olds. Their audition will require them to do some simple warm-up exercises and to sing a pre-prepared song of their own choice. They will then be given a sequence of aural tests which will ascertain their musical potential in both pitch and rhythm. They will be given a passage of prose or poetry to read at sight and will be asked to perform on their chosen instrument. We are looking for youngsters with potential and energy to become part of this exceptional choir and to maintain the wonderful centuries-old tradition into the future.

An alternative for boys is provided by the Voluntary Choir: a robed choir of boys and men which sings the 6.30 Sunday service each week as well as making visits to Diocesan churches and occasionally further afield. All boys with unbroken voices will be considered for membership, but preferably they should be aged between 7 and 11 years of age. The Voluntary Choir Choristers rehearse twice a week on Tuesday and Friday evenings and have a fine record of achievement through the RSCM chorister award scheme. Boys interested in joining should contact Christopher Allsop, the Assistant Director of Music for further details.

Our Junior Choirs offer a good place to start for younger children. They operate on Saturday mornings with boys and girls operating as separate groups. These are run by Carol Green and new members are always welcome.

Click on this link for more detailed information about our choirs (including the adult Chamber Choir) and for video and sound files.

Listen to the live recording of the anthem from Evensong on Sunday 28th April 2013 - Mendelssohn's Hear my Prayer. Sung by the Boys and Men of the Cathedral Choir, directed by Peter Nardone, with Christopher Allsop accompanying on the organ. The soloists are Cosmo Bellamy, Charlie Pollard and Benedict Madden.

Click here to see photos and some video clips from the Cathedral Choir's April 2013 tour to Guernsey

The Monthly Service/Music Scheme

Click here to view the Cathedral Service/Music Scheme for the current month.