Chorister Scholarships
Chorister Scholarships: Sustaining the Glory of Our Choral Tradition
For over 500 years, Choristers and Lay Clerks (professional adult singers) have led the daily worship of Gloucester Cathedral. The Choir provides boys with the opportunity to sing in a professional choir with an international reputation.
Choristers at Gloucester Cathedral are encouraged to offer nothing less than the very best, thus their musical gifts are cultivated in an atmosphere of support and team playing. When they eventually leave the choir they take with them a sense of responsibility, confidence and a rich experience which benefits them forever.
The Cathedral has offered chorister scholarships to exceptional boys based on a combination of need and musical ability for generations. This is a direct result of the long standing belief that supporting exceptional talent results in exceptional contribution. The Scholarships are crucial to the Cathedral’s musical life, and without them we would not continue to attract some of the most talented young singers in the area.
We are committed to maintaining the chorister scholarships. The reasons for this are simple:
• they are fundamental to the excellence of the choir
• they ensure the continuation of an Anglican choral tradition dating back 500 years
• scholarship funding is consistent with the Cathedral’s values that the choir should be talented, and not exclusive to those who can afford it
Our choristers are fortunate to benefit from the continued support of scholarship sponsors, many of whom have been associated with the choir for decades. Yet, the expense of maintaining the choir continues to increase (it currently costs £160,000 a year just to support the choristers), and as things stand there is an annual funding gap of £25,000. New funding must be found if we are to sustain the outstanding quality of music Gloucester is renowned for.
The Cathedral is therefore seeking new sponsors to establish 3 new fully funded chorister scholarships to help secure the future of the Choir. Each scholarship costs £8,400 per annum, and pays for:
• bursary to the King’s School
• musical training, including weekly singing lessons
• robes and music
We aim to secure support for a minimum term of 3 years. Chorister Sponsors will receive exclusive benefits, including invitations to special services and events, reports and acknowledgement in Cathedral publications.
Music is at the heart of all the Cathedral does, and with your help we can make sure it stays there. If you are interested in sponsoring a chorister, or supporting the musical life of the Cathedral in other ways, please get in touch with our Development Manager, Theo Platt
Thank you for your support.