Choristers past and present from Chester Cathedral Girls’ Choir came together on Saturday, May 21 to celebrate 20 years of singing.
The girls’ choir was founded in 1996 to give girls the same opportunities as boy choristers within the English choral tradition.
More than 200 members of the congregation packed out the quire of the cathedral for the festival evensong where 24 former choristers joined the 12 members and 10 lay clerks.
The service was organized by director of music Philip Rushforth and former chorister Elizabeth Coxhead.
Miss Coxhead said: “The 20th anniversary celebrations were particularly joyous. Seeing familiar faces brought back fond memories of looking at each other across the choir stalls every day. It was wonderful to be in the cathedral again and to be reminded of how beautiful the building is.
“It was very special that the girls’ choir received their surplices (the white robe that goes on top of the colourful red cassock) during the anniversary evensong - another sign of Chester Cathedral’s support of women in the church community.”
Mr Rushforth said: “The singing was superb, it was as if the former choristers had never been away and it was one of the happiest occasions I can remember in the cathedral.”
After the service, the choristers attended a private drinks reception and dinner hosted by Chester-based restaurateur Gianni Poletti and the refectory café staff.
Throughout the evening, reminiscences and stories were told by past choristers.
Miss Coxhead is a former girl head chorister and attributes her professional, working life to her time in the girls’ choir: “Performing at the highest level with other highly skilled musicians has led me to a career in the arts, and at the moment I am working for BBC Radio 3 with the BBC Singers and am just about to become assistant producer on Radio 3’s In Tune programme. I still sing every week; for the last seven years I’ve sung at St Luke’s Chelsea in London. I have my cathedral chorister training to thank for where I am today. I can’t recommend it highly enough to new recruits.”
Former chorister Suzi Humphries added: “Being a member of the Chester Cathedral Girls’ Choir was a wonderful experience. It formed long-lasting friendships and taught us how important things like discipline and team-work are. The lessons we learned in the choir have really helped all of us as we have grown up, with some of the girls now having careers in the music industry.
“Singing evensong with the choir again was amazing. With busy lives, careers and children, a lot of the girls no longer sing regularly, but meeting up for the anniversary has really encouraged us to get together to perform again.”
To find out more about joining the Chester Cathedral choir telephone 01244 500974 or email philip.rushforth@chestercathedral.com.
