Westminster Abbey recruits 30 new choristers
NewsMessage from Master of Choristers Andrew Nethsingha:
Extremely exciting to have thirty new choristers starting here! @wabbey @WAbbeyChoir I hope this will be the beginning of a very happy journey for them all. A warm welcome to the singers and their families! pic.twitter.com/718Pjtdd8V
— Andrew Nethsingha (@ANethsingha) September 12, 2023
Very gratifying progress after prolonged decline.
What’s happened to all the other existing ones?
Does this 30 include girls…?
In what way was the Abbey Choir in prolonged decline?? Under James O’Donnell the choir reached and maintained an impeccable level during his 22 years as Organist and Master of the Choristers. I’m sure the choir will continue to flourish under the very talented Andrew Nethsingha, building on the work of his predecessor.
Absolutely right! O’Donnell did a superb job (as the King’s Coronation proved). Other cathedral choirs have declined because the church hierarchy would not support them (Llandaff and Sheffield spring to mind).
And don’t forget about the alleged disgraceful behaviour of some priests at Wakefield Cathedral! Easy to forget as it’s not London! But both Thomas Moore and Ed Jones were forced out as music directors. Assistant now appointed without scrutiny and the job vacancy was not advertised. At least there the precentor priest was sacked bit too late for Ed Jones to continue!
Sorry, that was Andrew Nethsingha at the Coronation. James O’Donell left last year.
He’d already left by the Coronation
Very steady but hardly exemplary even compared to some regional cathedrals 30 years ago.
Hope 15 of these choristers are girls, and not just all boys!!!
Why?
FYI the new girls choir (St Margaret’s Choristers) directed by Greg Morris has just started singing – they’ll be doing weekly evensong in the Abbey as well as services at St Margaret’s in due course
Don’t really understand this post. I was educated at the WA Choir School about 65 years ago, and it was a self-contained little boarding school for 36 children aged 8-13, and incidentally provided a good musical education. They seemed to have a good roster of boys at the Coronation, so where are these 30 new choristers going to be based ? I presume it is the big change to having girls, but no details are given. More info needed.
As an ex-chorister in one of the best all male choirs of the 70’s I appreciate this tradition but equally times change and surely the most important thing here is that cathedral and church choirs not just survive but flourish in this country with boys, girls, whoever wants to join – enthusiasm, talent and commitment are more important than gender!
30 girls to supplement the boys?
I do hope so! It is about time that this type of elite childhood musical education ceased to be the default preserve of males – even unto Westminster Abbey. It is a blatant piece of educational discrimination.
Men need to stop monopolising the good things in life: expecting women and girls to continue to sit back and take it – meekly and docilely.
mf.
14th. September
Hear! Hear!
Girls?
(Yes, why no details?)