York Minster Choir

Arguably the world's oldest musical ensemble, the York Minster Choir continues to provide daily service music at England's York Minster Cathedral, one of the largest in Europe. In addition to its regular duties, the choir has toured widely and appeared on British radio and television. Among the ancestors of the present-day York Minster Choir (or Choir of York Minster) was a "song school" established in the year 627 by Paulinus of York, the first Archbishop of York. As the present-day cathedral took shape and was completed in 1472, the education, musical and otherwise, of young singers continued to be interwoven with the music made at the institution. The current choristers are educated at St. Peter's School, using buildings that date back several centuries and are themselves listed as sites of historical significance. Today's choir includes 40 choristers, both boys and girls, who sing at eight services a week at the Minster. Girls were first admitted in January of 1997, and although other choirs have since become coeducational, the sound of the York Minster Choir remains distinctive. Choristers also must rehearse both before and after their daily classes and perform at a Choral Evensong service. In exchange, between 60 and 100 percent of their tuition is covered. The York Minster Choir also includes seven Songmen who are paid professional singers, and five Choral Scholars, older students who are compensated and receive an in-depth musical education. The York Minster Choir records mostly for the Regent label, but it issued two successful albums of Christmas music on the major label Chandos, Favorite Carols at Christmas (1994) and Christmas Carols at York Minster (2001). The choir has also released two albums exploring the music of the English Golden Age (the period during and after the reign of Elizabeth I): Threads of Gold (2017) and Threads of Gold II (2021).