The Cathedral Choir 

Derby Cathedral Choir is made up of boy and girl choristers and professional Lay Clerks (adult professional singers), and is one of the only professional ensembles of its kind within the East Midlands, singing a broad range of repertoire to the very highest standards from medieval plainsong to newly commissioned works.  Our choirs continue to be a very vibrant part of the musical life of the city and county, and their ever-growing reputation for excellence spreads far and wide. We offer a musical education programme of which we are hugely proud, and provide life-enhancing, life-changing opportunities to children from a wide range of backgrounds. 

Choristers 

We are especially pleased to welcome boys and girls from age 7 to come forward for a short informal voice trial. The choirs are open to all, though children need to have an enthusiasm for singing, be keen to learn, and be prepared to make the necessary commitment. All our Choristers receive a world-class musical education, including free one-to-one singing lessons and music theory lessons. Furthermore, all our Choristers are paid a termly scholarship for their work at the Cathedral. Throughout their time in the choir, our Choristers are trained in professional music-making; receive a unique all-round cultural education; acquire a sense of self-confidence and purpose; gain vital leadership and team work skills; develop lifelong friendships; and have plenty of fun in the process! We also encourage all our Choristers to work their way through the Royal School of Church Music’s Voice for Life scheme, with most Choristers leaving with either a Silver or Gold award. A number of schools in and around Derby offer bursaries and free instrumental lessons to Cathedral Choristers. 

The Cathedral Choir undertakes tours both within the UK and abroad. Previous tours include Paris, Belgium and Rome. A tour planned to Greece is in the pipeline post COVID. CD recordings and BBC broadcasts are regular features of the Cathedral Choir’s schedule, as are concerts and performances with professional orchestras and soloists, and international artists; including the Sixteen, John Rutter, Alexander L’Estrange, Jethro Tull and Sinfonia Viva. 

For more details please contact the Director of Music, Alexander Binns at alexander@derbycathedral.org or by calling 07760 766199. 

The Choristers' weekly schedule looks like this:

FAQs 

We’re not quite sure – are we able to bring our child to see what it’s like? 

We hold an annual ‘Be a Chorister for a day’ event, usually in January or February. Outside of that there are also regular ‘taster sessions’. Contact the Director of Music for more details. 

My child isn’t a musical genius – is there any point in sending him/her along to a voice trial? 

We aren’t looking for geniuses, nor are we looking for children who already display musical talent – we do all the musical training here! All we are looking for is an eagerness, a team-player, and a child who we feel would suit the Chorister lifestyle. 

We’re busy on the dates advertised for the Voice Trials – is there any other time we could come along? 

Almost certainly! Send us an email (music@derbycathedral.org) and we’ll see if we can arrange a better time for you. 

Lay Clerks 

Lay Clerks sing at services on Thursdays and Sundays. All our Lay Clerks are accomplished musicians and excellent sight-readers. Anyone interested in becoming a deputy Lay Clerk at the Cathedral should contact the Director of Music, Alexander Binns by email, alexander@derbycathedral.org