Winchester Cathedral has announced it is looking to recruit five ‘highly talented’ singers as Lay Clerks to fill the current vacant positions in the Choral Foundation.
Lay Clerks are professional adult singers who perform alongside choristers in the Cathedral choirs. The Cathedral is looking for two altos, two tenors and one bass to bring the choir up to its full complement of 12. The recruitment process was paused to allow Andrew Lucas, the Interim Director of Music, time to assess the choirs’ needs after his arrival in September.
Mr Lucas said: “We’re excited to be in a position now to start the recruitment process and I’m looking forward to getting our ‘back row’ up to full strength.
“A choir like Winchester Cathedral’s needs adult singers of the highest calibre. It’s not just a question of making up the numbers but finding singers who can meet our criteria.
“We have an excellent team of Lay Clerks in place and we’re looking for people with the necessary musical skills and the professional commitment to join them.
“Because of this it might take time to get back to full strength, and we are aiming to complete the process as quickly as we can, but only with singers who can meet our criteria.”
The posts will be advertised this month for auditions and interviews in Spring 2025, with the aim of having a full complement of twelve Lay Clerks by the Autumn term. The Cathedral says it welcomes applications from singers with a range of experience, including current university students who will graduate in the summer.
Dean Catherine Ogle said, “Our wonderful worship at Christmas, led by our Choral Foundation, is still ringing in our hearts. We look forward to the fruits of this recruitment drive for Lay Clerks and to welcoming new singers into our community to lead the praises of God.”
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