Our Music Strategy was presented to key participants of the Choral Foundation back in January 2023 and was warmly received. It confirmed the full commitment of Winchester Cathedral to a thriving Foundation with, at its heart, the continuing musical excellence of our Cathedral Choirs, including our lay clerks, boys, and girls. Despite the financial pressures of the last two years, the Cathedral has heavily increased investment in music which we have no plans to cut, quite the reverse. What we are doing is spending even more on girls’ voices without reducing our commitment to the boys’ numbers or to our ambition to increase the number of lay clerks. We are increasing our outreach/access choirs with a view to strengthening the great choral tradition here. By expanding the number of choirs, we can offer participation to many more children who now benefit from the joy of singing in the cathedral. This too is excellence: we are proud that we reach more children who might not otherwise ever consider this was possible.
We enjoy a very good working relationship with The Pilgrims’ School and our boy choristers will continue to receive excellent education there. Our plans include increasing the bursaries to children of the parents who would otherwise be unable to afford the fees, so that more boys can enjoy the magnificent benefits and opportunities offered by the school.
The Choral Foundation is a highly valuable spiritual and cultural institution in its own right, and a key feature of worship at the Cathedral. With the additional opportunity that digital brings, the potential for the power of English Cathedral choral music at Winchester to inspire, teach and transform lives in Winchester and beyond is enormous. We will continue the tradition of far-sightedness of previous generations to adapt and grow the Choral Foundation to serve everyone in the future.
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