The Cathedral Choir comprises girl and boy Choristers (who sing separately) and 12 semi-professional Lay Clerks. As well as singing the regular routine of weekly services at the Cathedral, the Choir has made numerous recordings and appearances on national radio, as well as tours abroad to France and Belgium. The choir occasionally collaborates with other musicians, notably The Sixteen and Jethro Tull.

Choristers

Being a Cathedral Chorister is a remarkable experience for a child. 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 for their work at the Cathedral. Throughout their time in the choir, a Chorister can expect to: be trained in professional music-making; receive a unique all-round cultural education; acquire a sense of self confidence and purpose; develop lifelong friendships; and have plenty of fun in the process! We 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 a gold award. Many of our former Choristers have gone on to very successful careers – both in music and other spheres – and most of them agree that it was their rigorous training as a Chorister that gave them the skills and confidence to succeed! All our choristers are drawn from a variety of local schools, and the choir terms usually respect school term dates. Notable exceptions to this are the Christmas Carol Services, and Services at Easter. Boys begin in the Cathedral Choir as early as school year 3 and continue until their voices change (around school year 8). Girls begin at school year 5 and continue until they leave school in year 13.

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 February. More information about this can be found here .

 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 are expected at both Sunday services (1000-1200 and 1710-1910) and on Thursday Evenings (1755-1930). All our Lay Clerks are accomplished musicians and excellent sight-readers. Anyone interested in becoming a deputy Lay Clerk at the Cathedral should contact music@derbycathedral.org.