Search for new choristers at Hereford Cathedral

Cathedral choirs are always on the look-out for new choristers! Each year the senior boys and girls will leave the choir and a new generation gets started. Many cathedrals and choir schools hold open days for children to get a taste of what a chorister’s life is really like.

Hereford Cathedral Choir has organised an open morning for prospective choristers at the cathedral on Saturday 10 March 2018 between 9.30 am and 12 noon.

The open morning is an opportunity for boys aged 6 to 8, who might be interested in joining the choir, to come to the cathedral with their families and experience what it is like to be a chorister.

‘The life of a chorister is a busy one, but one which will give them experiences and skills to last a lifetime,’ said Geraint Bowen, the cathedral’s director of music. ‘The open morning includes an opportunity to take part in a short workshop with the choristers and sing with some of them in the cathedral.’

‘When parents hear the choristers sing for the first time, they often think that they must all be brilliant singers before they join the choir and are put off from enquiring further as a result,’ said Geraint Bowen. ‘In fact, what we are looking for are boys who enjoy singing and being part of a team, and it is not necessary for them to have had any previous experience. It is the training they receive at the cathedral and the hard work that they put in which produces the results.’

Some of the choir’s most recent recruits are pictured above and the search is now on for the next generation of boys, currently aged 6–8, to join the choir in 2018 or 2019.

Geraint Bowen continued: ‘As well as singing some of the most beautiful music ever written, our choristers have the opportunity to visit some amazing places. In 2010 we toured South Africa and in 2016 we visited the USA for the sixth time since 2002. Earlier this month the choir sang in a concert at Buckingham Palace in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales.’

As places at the open morning are limited, anyone planning to come is asked to book a place by contacting the cathedral office on 01432 374212 or office@herefordcathedral.org

Details of choristerships can also be found on the cathedral website www.herefordcathedral.org/choristerships