New Chorister Bursaries Announced

Wells Cathedral School has today announced that all cathedral choristers will be entitled to a 50% reduction on boarding fees.

The places will be offered in a newly refurbished boarding house for children in Years 4 to 8, which will be opening in September 2021.

Wells Cathedral Choir is a world class choir, gracing one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, offering equal opportunities for boys and girls between Years 4 and 9. Alongside performing in regular services and concerts, this award-winning choir makes regular recordings, TV and radio broadcasts, and has toured the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Beijing in recent years.

Announcing the move, Head Master, Alastair Tighe said:

“In these difficult times, we know that so many schools and cathedrals have been struggling financially, and have been forced to reduce their provision. We also know that many parents have been finding it hard to cope.

Wells is larger than many cathedral schools, with 700 pupils aged 2 to 19, and we are in the very fortunate position of continuing to thrive as we celebrate our 1,111th birthday. I’m therefore absolutely thrilled to be able to make this offer.

All of our choristers already receive a 25% discount on their tuition fees. Many of them also benefit from significant additional bursaries and funding – which we either provide ourselves or help them to obtain from third parties such as the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust – and on average end up with around 50% off tuition fees. We also support choristers for the remainder of their school life at Wells Cathedral School with a ‘pension bursary’ which reduces fees after they leave the choir. I’m delighted that we can now go even further, and add this 50% reduction for our boarding fees.

We hope that this will encourage parents from across the country and beyond to consider sending their children to join our wonderful, friendly community, and to benefit from the astonishing range of opportunities that are open to our choristers – not to mention being part of what has been described as the best children’s choir in the world!”

The Dean of Wells, the Very Reverend Dr John Davies DL, said:

“The Chapter of Wells welcomes this announcement as we seek to open up this terrific opportunity to more gifted young people. Both the cathedral and its school are committed to the flourishing of music and the arts as contributors to the well-being of wider society.”

Wells Cathedral School was founded in AD 909 to educate cathedral choristers, but has grown significantly over the centuries, and now offers specialist programs in music and maths, as well as exceptional sport and outdoor learning. Wells is rated among the top 10% all independent schools for academic “added value”, with its pupils enjoying exceptional results at GCSE and A-level, and was named Independent School of the Year 2020 for Performing Arts.

Choristers normally join Wells Cathedral School Choir in Year 4, but applications into later years will always be considered.

To find out more about chorister life at Wells, please visit https://wells.cathedral.school/choristers.

To make an informal enquiry or to arrange to meet the cathedral’s Director of Music, Mr Jeremy Cole, email admissions@wells.cathedral.school

The Choristers Sing for Hollywood

You’d be forgiven for wondering why, at this current moment in time, we’re looking forward to the release of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster about a crisis engulfing the world… The reason for our enthusiasm is that the Wells Cathedral Choristers feature prominently and wonderfully in the movie’s soundtrack!

Hollywood composer and former Wells Chorister, David Buckley flew in from LA just before the first lockdown in March 2020 to record the Choristers’ tracks with Director of Music, Jeremy Cole conducting (see here).

The Choristers provide what Buckley describes as the ‘choral theme’ in the film, and you can hear that theme here in this track from the score:

David explains: ‘The choral theme was intended to provide a sense of innocence lost. All parents want to shield their children from danger, but this becomes impossible when you have a comet hurtling towards earth; parents become as helpless as children, governments become as helpless as parents. Wealth and power buy you nothing. Catastrophic events such as those in Greenland are massive levelers to society – no one is immune from the fallout. So I wanted this theme to have a universal feel to it which can sound like the voice of one small child or the whole of mankind.’

David’s connection to Wells stems from his time here as a chorister himself. In a recent interview for The Film Music Institute, David explained: ‘I recorded Wells Cathedral Choir, a group which has been in existence with only a few interruptions (one of them being now, during this pandemic) since the early 10th century. I sang in the choir as a boy chorister.’

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Greenland was originally supposed to hit cinemas back on June 12th, 2020 but like many other movies was a casualty of the current pandemic, instead releasing on streaming services. The film will be available in the UK soon (see https://www.greenlandfilm.co.uk for more details).

The soundtrack to the film is now available.

Hollywood composer and former Wells Chorister, David Buckley

Virtual Carols by Candlelight

 To donate and watch the concert, please visit the Wells Cathedral website HERE.

In an effort to bring the annual Carols by Candlelight concert to as many people as possible, the Cathedral Choir spent time in early December busily preparing and filming the entire concert for viewing online.

Now, after being premiered to a live audience on Thursday 10 December, you can enjoy this breathtaking performance from the comfort of your own home by clicking on the link above.

A Musical Advent Calendar!

The Choir and Organists of Wells Cathedral have spent the second lockdown recording plenty of music for online offerings during Advent, ensuring that there is a much provision as possible for those who won’t necessarily be able to visit the Cathedral in person this season.

One of these projects is a set of 25 pieces for 25 days – the perfect way to count down to Christmas! A new musical gift will be available every morning throughout Advent from 9am, so don’t forget to visit daily for a festive treat!

The trailer below will give you a wonderful taste of what is to come!

CLICK HERE to visit the Choral Advent Calendar page

Online Advent Carol Service

The Cathedral Choir has spent time during this second lockdown preparing music for an online Advent Carol Service. The Choristers, Vicars Choral and Organists have worked hard to produce what is a wonderful celebration of the start of Advent, at a time when the hope of light out of darkness is particularly poignant for us all.

This very special offering can now be viewed here:

Candlelight Concerts 2020

This year there will be one Candlelight Concert on the 10th December at 7pm, and an online version available later in December on the Cathedral website. Together, these concerts are an unashamed festive fundraiser in aid of the Bounce Back Appeal as we seek to raise £8,000 to replace a small portion of the income lost through the second lockdown.

Tickets will be available from Eventbrite HERE from 9:30am on Monday 30th November.

Look out for news of the virtual concert here on our website soon!

Booking for Christmas Services

As we know, Christmas will be very different this year. The requirement to be socially distanced means that far fewer people can be seated at services than in previous years. Therefore, the Cathedral team must operate a booking system for most services from 20th December 2020 (Christmas Carol Service) through to 25th December (Matins on Christmas Day) to provide a safe experience and to manage expectations fairly and transparently. There will sadly be no entrance possible on the day without an online booking.

The Cathedral and Chorister Trust recognise this is far from ideal, and we really wish it wasn’t so. However, it would be irresponsible to do anything else. For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no charge per booking.

All services can be booked through Eventbrite HERE.

For more details, please see the Cathedral’s website HERE.

Celebrating the work of the Trust

Choral Evensong at Wells Cathedral this afternoon marked the work of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust. Directed by Jeremy Cole and accompanied by Alex Hamilton, the Cathedral Choir sang at full strength - Decani singing from the West End and Cantoris on the Nave Dias - and we were treated to a musical feast including works by John Rutter, Percy Whitlock, Gabriel Jackson, William Harris, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

During the service, thanks was given for the contributions of former supporters of the Trust, including Bill Baker, Iain Ball, Hon. Vice-Admiral Sir Donald Gosling, Sir Ronald Hobson, Janet Jones, and Angus Watson.

It was a particularly special service for the family of former Chairman of the Trust, Iain Ball, as the first Choristership in his name was awarded to Boy Chorister, George (pictured above, right).

Whilst it was sad not to be able to host the usual reception afterwards, it was wonderful to see so many of the Trust’s supporters present. Arnold Wills, the present Chairman, wrote the following in his preface to the service:

“Where children are unable to take up offered places to be a chorister, often through nothing more than a lack of funding, their voices may lost forever. Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust has a large and growing family of regular and occasional supporters, who appreciate and admire our Choristers. We would like you to be part of the WCCT family so that together we can all help to ensure that there are no ‘lost voices’.

Never has this been more true than now. Please do consider supporting us. You can find out more about the work of our Trust HERE and about our regular donor scheme HERE.

An Invitation to our Celebration Evensong

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I am so very pleased to invite all of our supporters to attend the Annual WCCT Evensong in Wells Cathedral. This is a difficult time as we all know, therefore the seating will be limited and we are unable to hold a reception afterwards. However, the Boy and Girl Choristers and the Vicars Choral will sing Evensong in the Nave and it will no doubt be a joyous and uplifting occasion.

We will also use this occasional to launch the first Chorister Award in Memory of Iain Ball, former Chairman of this Trust.

Also, the Trustees wish to record at the Annual Evensongs a Thanksgiving in Memory of those who have been supporters of the Chorister Trust over the years. If you wish to include names of your loved ones to be included in this, please reply accordingly to the WCCT Administrator, Hannah Unwin who is compiling a list (not to the Cathedral Administrator, to avoid confusion)

Timescales are tight but at least we now know we can hold this event.

Next steps:

• If you’re able to come, please confirm the number in your party (up to a maximum of six) as soon as possible and definitely no later than Tuesday 6 October to Hannah Unwin, our new Administrator (administrator@wcct.co.uk). We also need to be aware of any wheelchair users to ensure appropriate seating. These details will be passed to the Cathedral Office with your email contact so that they can send you final arrangements before the Evensong.
   

• If you cannot join us but still wish to help by making a donation to the Chorister Trust then please click here to visit the relevant page on our website.
   

• Send the names of loved ones who have been supporters of the Trust by email please to administrator@wcct.co.uk
   

• At the Evensong, the collection this year is shared with the Cathedral's 'Bounce Back Appeal' as the Cathedral copes with the current financial uncertainty.

• I would always love to hear from any individuals, even just to say ‘hello, here I am’! My email address is: chairman@wcct.co.uk

I hope to see you on the day and if not, to hear from you.

With very best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Arnold Wills
Chairman
chairman@wcct.co.uk
07808 803674

Chorister and Budding Author

Elizabeth, one of our Deputy Head Choristers, is the winner of the Antarctica Creative Writing Competition in the age category 11 to 13 years. The competition – run by the Natural History Consortium, which includes the BBC, Bristol and Bath universities and the National Trust among its 13 members – was set up in celebration of Antarctica Day and formed part of the Festival of Nature in Bath and Bristol.

The judge commented on Elizabeth’s story: “This was an exciting and effectively structured story with a good build up and moments of tension. It is fluently written, with some lovely phrases and word choices. The writer has got involved in their topic: I can see that research has gone into creating a strong sense of place and activity. Well done.”

Elizabeth has now set her sights on the HG Wells Fiction Short Story Competition as she pursues her quest to be a published author.

Find out more about the work of Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust