Winchester Cathedral Choir

Winchester Cathedral Chorister holding a Bach score

Winchester Cathedral Choir is an English Anglican choir based at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester in Hampshire. Until 1999 it was a men and boys choir, but there is now a girls choir which for some services sings separately from the boys. The choirs are currently directed by Andrew Lucas, who assumed the post in an acting capacity in 2024.

History

The exact year in which the chorus was founded is unknown, but it is likely to have been in the 14th century. The earliest historical document relating to the chorus dates from 1402, when a John Dyer was named as the cathedral's organist and chorus-master. A 1544 statute of Henry VIII of England decreed that the cathedral should have ten boys in the choir and a single organist.

Martin Neary, Organist and Director of Music from 1972 to 1988, extended the traditional choral repertoire at Winchester, commissioning new works from Jonathan Harvey and, in particular, John Tavener. (After Tavener´s death his widow commissioned a commemorative sculpture by Angela Conner which was installed in the cathedral). Neary was succeeded at Winchester by David Hill. In 1989 the choir made a recording for Hyperion of the 40-part motet Spem in alium. At the time the choir had 20 choristers and 12 lay clerks (adults), and to reach the size specified by the composer they were augmented by singers from Winchester College and elsewhere. Reviewers noted steady tempi to cope with the cathedral acoustic and "treble-singing of a fine standard" (Gramophone).

Andrew Lumsden moved to Winchester in 2002. He stood down as Director of Music in 2024. This has been seen as precipitating a crisis in the cathedral, and the Bishop of Winchester Philip Mounstephen commissioned a review to find a "way forward".

Membership

The choir currently consists of 18 boy choristers and 18 girl choristers with the number of lay clerks (officially 12) under strength. It sings eight services weekly in the Cathedral. The girl choristers typically sing one service a week as well as concerts. Sometimes the group augments its numbers when certain musical works require a greater number of voices. The boy choristers all attend The Pilgrims' School, where they study singing, music theory, music history, and at least one instrument in addition to general academic studies. The choir often tours internationally, has produced numerous recordings, and appears often in television and radio broadcasts.

The Girls' Choir was founded in 1999 by Sarah Baldock, who worked with them for ten years. Claudia Grinnell (who served as assistant organist before becoming the cathedral's sub-organist in 2021) had particular responsibility for the choir until 2024. As at 2025, the Girls' Choir is now under the joint leadership of the Acting Director of Music, Andrew Lucas, and the Sub-organist, Joshua Stephens. The girl choristers, who all attend local schools, sing at least one service a week during term-time. They sing with the boy choristers for most major concerts, at Easter and Christmas, and for the Southern Cathedrals Festival every summer (when they also sing with the girl choristers of Salisbury Cathedral). The girls have toured Europe on several occasions, and record CDs, both with the boy choristers and on their own. They have also appeared in many television and radio broadcasts, including singing live on BBC1 on Easter morning, and on Christmas Day.