Derby Cathedral Music
The Cathedral warmly welcomes visits from choirs to sing Evensong on Saturdays throughout the year or to sing Sunday services during school holiday periods. There is a most grateful acoustic and a fine organ to play. If you are interested in helping us in this way please contact the Assistant Organist, Tom Corfield, via the Cathedral Office: 18-19 Iron Gate, Derby DE1 3GP Tel: 01332 341201 Fax: 01332 203991 Email: office@derbycathedral.org
Please click here for the February 2012 Music Scheme
MUSIC PLANNER 2012.
To see the current Cathedral Music Planner, please click here.
DERBY CATHEDRAL CHOIR
In 1983 when Peter Gould was appointed ‘Master of the Music’ in Derby Cathedral an all-male traditional choir of boys and men was re-formed to provide the back-bone of the choral worship in sung services, both on Sundays and some week-days too. In 1997 an additional choir of girls’ voices was formed to relieve the pressure on the boys but also to increase the number of sung services each week. There is also a Voluntary Choir, run by Tom Corfield, the Assistant Organist, consisting of adults who sing the services, principally during choir holidays.
The Cathedral Boys’ Choir normally has a maximum of 20 voices with an age range of 7 – 14. Ideally they join at the age of 7 or 8 and by the time they are 11 they are taking a musical leadership within the choir before their voices change. They rehearse four times every week during term time and also sing at the major festivals of the religious season. They sing Evensong on their own on Tuesdays at 5.15.p.m., Thursdays with the songmen at 6.30.p.m. and at one of the Sunday services.
The Cathedral Girls’ Choir normally also has a maximum of 20 voices with an age range of 10 – 18. They rehearse three times every week during term time singing Evensong on their own on Mondays at 5.15.p.m. and also with the songmen on one of the Sunday services.
The Songmen are a group of 12 singers contributing the alto, tenor and bass lines underneath the trebles of the boys or girls. Many of the current songmen are ex-trebles and some are still at school, others have full-time employment from a variety of occupations in and around Derby. The Songmen additionally sing services on their own a few times each year.
Apart from singing regular services in Derby Cathedral the Cathedral Choir does perform at services and concerts around the Diocese and much further afield. Foreign tours have taken them to Italy, Germany, Ireland and France and they have sung in many English Cathedrals including several appearances in St Pauls’ Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and York Minster. There are many C.D. recordings on sale that have been made over the past ten years and the choir has broadcast on BBC Radios 2, 3 and 4 at regular intervals. They have also sung carols and appeared on BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ several times. One recent highlight was to sing at the Royal Maundy Service in 2010 when the Queen was present and the Chapel Royal Choir also sang with us.
It’s not all singing. The choristers and their families have fun too and, apart from the singing tours social events are arranged that often also give scope for fund raising. Recent events have included a Christmas party, a beetle drive, quizes, bar-b-ques and bowling.
Many of our choristers have gone on to do great things in music in the wider world and they look back on their time in Derby as being the best musical education that they could receive. The experience of the discipline and musical standards required by membership of the choir is second to none and friendships built during this time can prove to be lifetime links.
Auditions to the choir for boys and girls are normally in the February or March of each year though informal auditions may be held at any mutually convenient time. For more details of membership please contact the Master of the Music on 01332 292919 who will be pleased to furnish further information.
See also: http://dcvoluntarychoir.weebly.com/ - The Derby Cathedral Voluntary Choir which works alongside the Cathedral Choir
