Durham Cathedral Choir

Choral singing at England's Anglican Durham Cathedral dates back to its founding in the late 11th century. In addition to its responsibilities at daily cathedral services, the choir has toured across England and in several countries abroad, including the U.S. The group consists of both children. The Durham Cathedral Choir has recorded for the Priory and Regent labels, issuing the album Herbert Howells: Psalms and Psalm Preludes on the latter in 2025. Work on Durham Cathedral began in the year 1093, and two years later, a document mentions "monks in quire" who performed at cathedral services. By 1416, the monks were joined by boys who not only sang higher parts in polyphony but were also given an education in what became the cathedral's Chorister School, which still exists and is integral to the choir's operations. In the 1540s, the monks were supplanted by six Lay Clerks, singers who were not ordained but who were literate. They are adult professional singers who also work with other choirs, and they were supported in the 1960s by six Choral Scholars, students at Durham University who perform at services in exchange for tuition discounts. In 2009, the choir was opened to girls. Children still sing the top lines, with the Choral Scholars performing alto, tenor, and bass lines; the choir's website does not specify gender requirements for the Choral Scholars. An early digital recording by the choir was Choral Evensong for St. Cuthbert's Day, with director James Lancelot; it was released in 1989 on the Priory Records label, and the group continued to record there. The choirs of boys and girls sing separately but come together as a mixed choir for the year's most important festivals, Easter, Advent, and Christmas. There are as many as 24 boys and 24 girls at any given time, ranging in age from seven to 13, and all continue to receive musical and general education at the Chorister School. Any child from the second through the sixth year of school can submit a recording for an informal voice trial through the choir's website. The Durham Cathedral Choir performs at eight services weekly during the university term and also appears more widely, across England and also in Ireland, several continental European countries, and the U.S. The choir often performs in the Choral Evensong segment on the BBC Radio 3 network and has sung in a variety of outside projects, including Ian Anderson and the Christmas Jethro Tull. The choir supports several other ensembles, including the Durham Cathedral Young Singers (with members as young as one year old), the Junior Consort (with young singers who have aged out of the Cathedral Choir), and the adult volunteer Durham Cathedral Consort. The Durham Cathedral Choir has continued to record, focusing mostly on traditional repertory but also commissioning new works; in 2013, it recorded James MacMillan's Missa Dunelmi. In 2025, the choir moved to the Regent label for Herbert Howells: Psalms and Psalm Preludes, its first release under new director Daniel Cook. ~ James Manheim, Rovi