Holy mess is spreading at Winchester Cathedral
NewsWinchester Cathedral, having farewelled its director of music Andrew Lumsden two weeks ago, has quietly advertised for an interim successor. The ad appears only on the cathedral website and applications close next week. Interviews will be held the following day.
It looks suspiciously like a stitch-up.
Here are the details:
An exciting opportunity has become available for a full time Interim Director of Music to join us at the Cathedral on a fixed-term basis for 9 months. This position offers a salary of £44,990.40 per annum and rent-free accommodation inclusive of bills.
Working within the Liturgy and Music and reporting into the Canon Precentor and Sacrist, the post holder will be responsible for working with colleagues to organise music provision for worship and to direct the ongoing development of the Music team.
Why interim? Does this imply that there will be no permanent position in nine months or thereafter?
Hmmmmm…
And 9 months is only enough to see you through until the start of June, which coincides with nothing helpful for a cathedral musician who works within an academic year’s cycle.
Another forgone conclusion? The end of days is 1st June 2025? Or is this yet more evidence of Winchester Cathedral finding it hard to distinguish an elbow from an arse?
Not sure any of those are selling points.
Oh come on Winchester. Do you not realise the eyes of the Choral World are watching…?
I do hope that the Cathedral appoints an excellent interim successor to Andy, but I can’t imagine many (or any?) directors would want to have the current line management structure…
Perhaps the Cathedral Mouse has a former colleague lined up already hence the lack of publicity around the new role and the suspiciously tight timetabling of the application process and the interviews?
Wrath: Word on the street has it that you’re spot on.
A miraculous turn of speed to get the advert for the Interim out within a couple of weeks. There’s been no advertisement for a new sub-organist to replace Claudia Grinnell despite her departure being announced months ago.
Guitarist, drummer, banjo player, perhaps?
Stitch-up, plus added decorative embroidery…!
Sooooooo…. No cover letter required. <24hrs from close to interview. How is this not a stitch-up??
Always is a stitch up! Look at what happened at Wakefield in the name of so-called God and music but really power-orientated sacking and a sewn up appointment after the very fine Ed Jones.
If Winchester had hoped to keep this job advert discreet they are now going to be very disappointed. There is no way I could even pretend to be a candidate but there must be many readers of SD who, though not seriously interested, could foul up the system by applying.
Go on, then report back your experiences.
Indeed. One can only imagine the chaos that would ensue should every cathedral and college organist in the UK and wider Anglican communion apply for the post.
This is the current state the C of E is in.
There is something about Winchester Cathedral in the opening.
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/05/14/a-trans-senior-leader-who-teaches-that-god-is-a-witch-and-jesus-is-a-woman-the-church-of-england-now-worships-at-the-altar-of-diversity/
Another poisoned chalice!
What intelligent musician would even be interested in working in such an unchristian job these days?
Might the sudden turn of speed be that if Winchester want someone to start on September 1, unless the candidate is currently unemployed, whoever gets this job will presumably have to give three months’ notice (or maybe half a term if they are currently a teacher) to their current employer, i.e. hand in their notice before May 31.
The job description lists that the temp DofM will lend a hand in the recruitment of Sub-organists [their plural] but in the long list of “essential” and “desirable” attributes, possessing any musical ability only starts to get a mention at #4 (and yes, “diversity and inclusion” is #1). Slightly baffling is that “educated to degree level” is only “desirable”, yet an undergraduate degree is “essential”. Make of that what you will.
Read more here: https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/get-to-know-us/careers/
Winchester Cathedral, you’re bringing us down. You stood and you watched as Andrew left town.
This just gets more and more depressing. Winchester Cathedral’s Chapter is fast becoming a laughing stock. When will the Precentor and Dean come down off cloud cuckooland and realise the immense damage they are doing to their choral foundation? It saddens me greatly that one of the finest choirs in the land is not being looked after because of someone’s petty and ill-informed personal grudge against the quality of the musicians in their mist. I gather they will only have seven full-time lay clerks in post from the end of this term. From a choir that used to have the full twelve, this is a most concerning turn of events, but frankly, who would want to work there right now?
A letter in today’s Hampshire Chronicle makes for interesting reading. Time for the chapter to wake up and work out what the real problem is.
Well, that shouldn’t take long… then again, something about not being able to find their backside with both hands springs to mind.
The Precentor, a bullying narcissist, is expecting quickly to appoint a friend of his, a mediocre musician in his 70’s, as an interim. No one else would even consider this job, and the very few who have, have already received health warnings and are pulling out. The mass media, print and television, now have all the many details, large and small, of exactly what has been going on here over the last 4 and a half years since this man was appointed. I can only hope the publishing switch will be tripped very soon, and the cathedral authorities will be unable to hide any longer. The plan all along has been to bring “woke” culture and DEI nonsense into the choral foundation, whether people want it or not. Andy Lumsden resisted this and was bullied relentlessly for that resistance, especially since last autumn. He couldn’t take any more. Now with Lumsden seemingly out of the way, the cathedral thinks as long as they keep lying, they are untouchable.
Proverbs 6:16 KJV
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
POLL
Should the current Precentor Andy Trenier be removed from office?
(Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no)
His background (including an option to send him a direct message) :
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-trenier-ab546167
Unfortunately, I don’t do LinkedIn…
You can probably still access his ‘page’. Try it. He has a very varied background.
I did! Required sign in. Shame, but thanks.
The weird thing here is that it was advertised at all.
Wouldn’t an interim appointment like this normally be invitational – the whole point being to allow some healing time and a steadying of the ship before you advertise for the full-time role?
If it’s being advertised on a short window, it’s likely that someone is in mind, and this is an HR requirement, but that might not be a bad thing for an interim role. Not everything is a conspiracy.
If the advertisement is an HR requirement, how strange then that no advertisement has been required in the last couple of months for the soon-to-be vacant sub-organist post. Recruitment is apparently “progressing well” – albeit silently – for that role.
Something somewhere doesn’t add up. Could be [mess] up, could be conspiracy. The cures for both are the same. Transparency and accountability.
It’s so obvious there is a puppet about to be installed. If they are being ‘brought out of retirement’ then they probably don’t care that they are going to be forever associated with a regime which ‘got rid of’ Andrew Lumsden. They obviously don’t have any respect for our established cathedral DoMs and are happy to take the shekel of 9 months decent salary and a rent-free package. If they are somewhat younger, then I would suggest it is career suicide for them – at least in the mainstream cathedral world.
Whilst browsing the Hampshire Chronicle for any (local) update, I found this. More bad publicity. P*ss up in a brewery comes to mind. https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/24317907.customers-demand-refund-beatles-gig-winchester-cathedral/
Readers here might want to have a quick look at the Quentin Letts piece in the Daily Mail today… Just a bit of an ‘appetizer’ perhaps…
The article in question for those interested, paywall removed :
https://web.archive.org/web/20240517024337/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13427677/QUENTIN-LETTS-save-Britains-cathedrals-Church-cultural-terrorists-embarrassment.html
It’s behind a paywall. Any way of getting behind that?
Winchester Cathedral is not the only Cathedral to use flawed employment procedures when appointing or dismissing church musicians.
It’s not the first time a Precentor has invited a musical friend in the procedure to give his un bias opinion towards the lack of transparency and correct procedure when making a Cathedral music appointment.
From reading what has been widely reported on here at other English and Welsh Cathedrals over the last few years, it seems as though the Dean and Chapters with their management teams seem to consider themselves above the usual employment procedures and law and dismiss or appoint who ever they wish, even against the advice of those having to work or be directed by the chosen appointee.
In the real world and anywhere else this would not be allowed, but as usual, the church consider themselves only answerable to their own agendas and unacceptable behaviour in the excuse and name of Gods will.
The Dean, Precentor (historically a cleric appointed to liaise with music leaders) and Chapter (who run the building and personnel employed within) should bow their heads in shame for continuing to allow the desecration of this Cathedral to their own unchristian and selfish ends.
An excellent article in the Telegraph by the brilliant David Hill, former Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral, as if he needs any introduction.
Hopefully the powers that be at Winchester and higher up in the Church of England have read this and are having a serious think about the damage they are doing, not just to Winchester but to the Church of England as a whole.
The link below should remove the paywall for those who don’t have a paid Telegraph subscription :
https://web.archive.org/web/20240516182120/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/david-hill-save-our-english-choral-tradition/
Thank you so much for posting this link. What a tremendously written and hugely wise article.
A personal short story if you will indulge me…
I used my plus one ticket several years ago, to take a colleague to one of the Cathedral Carol Services. I remember my friend sat absolutely entranced by the music, the darkness and light, and the drama of everything – my friend’s words not mine. They wanted to experience it all again, and took their daughter the following evening. They have been each year since, and my friend also now attends other services, to experience the spiritual uplift of the music.
Forgive me, but it’s very doubtful whether they would have ever walked through the doors of the Cathedral had it not been for the music they not only heard, but also FELT!
Whatever the circumstances of this interim appointment, the people who will really suffer if someone isn’t in place in September are the choristers and other cathedral musicians. Choristers who might be entering their final year in the choir or just beginning that journey. When you’re 8 or 13, that time is precious. Some have suggested on various fora that the management can be given their “comeuppance” if nobody comes forward for this role. It won’t be the management who are punished by that. Quality in cathedral music can go downhill terrifyingly quickly particularly when morale is low. As a supporter of Cathedral Music, I think that surely the best way to sustain Andrew Lumsden’s brilliant work and ensure its legacy is long-lived is for the cathedral to find a skilled musician to steady the ship until there can be a full review of what has clearly gone so wrong here and then move forward.
I would not disagree with that sentiment, but would say that in order for a skilled musician to go near Winchester and for a review to be able to happen, the managers responsible need to be gone.
Without the few key characters that have created the situation, I’m sure there will be interim DoMs, Deans and Precentors with a love of and loyalty to the place and its cultural heritage that can be found to sort it out. You’ve got an institutional mechanism that has helped enable the current situation, so it’s obviously going to need some very thorough sorting but, with a mandate to do so and support from the community, the right people could manage it in relatively short order.
Of course, step number one is for members of the apostolic succession to entertain the concept of their own fallibility…
I have heard from two different sources – though not officially confirmed I must stress – Andrew Lucas has been appointed – which would be some relief in relation to the excellent points you make regarding the choir and the choristers in particular….
If it looks like a stitch up, smells like a stitch up, then it most definitely is a stitch up. Sadly, this particular denomination lost its way many years ago. The C of E has, like so many organisations these days, become so namby-pamby that it has lost touch with what its original aims were. Decent choral musicians are wasted in today’s ecclesiastical environment, as in the modern vogue it’s far more fashionable to be trendy and get the Pop groups in. Anyone who applies for an interim post is a fool, as that sort of position offers no job security, no real chance to develop a working relationship with the choral forces at one’s disposal and is a gateway to being treated as an emergency stop-gap and nothing else. Shame on the Winchester assassins!
Just think, Derby isn’t soooo far away…
Derby has a cathedral? Now that’s funny! Have any Americans here even heard of Derby? No, not the one in Kentucky, which is also pronounced differently.
Thank you so much for bringing some humour to this otherwise tragic situation!
And now have a look at today’s little revelation…
Search NDA if you haven’t already seen it. It’s a gem!
When I was involved with recruitment (in industry) the process (over the years) became much more formal. The interview process had to be fully documented and each candidate scored against a list of ‘essential and desirable’ requirements. Why ? Simply to protect the company against any complaints the process had been biased, flawed or involved any discrimination, whether racial or sexual. I assume these are essentially legal requirements enshrined either formally (or by implication) in employment law. Is the process different for ‘interim appointments’ or – as ‘Lapsed Organist’ has suggested, the Dean & Chapter work ‘above and outside the law’ ? If there is just one other candidate with qualifications and experience better than the (already) ‘chosen one’, then the cathedral might just have scored yet another own goal.
There was hope that the newly-appointed bishop of Winchester would undertake a full investigation, but he has kicked the can down the road and officially said he has “no power to intervene”. Ironic because the appointment of a precentor at Winchester has always been in the remit of the bishop.
https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/24316517.letter-questions-departure-cathedral-director-music/
Do please sight an item in this weeks Private Eye…
You will get a very accurate idea of what is happening at Winchester Cathedral…
Confirmed, they’re a joke. I hope nobody applies. That’s what they deserve. As many people are saying, they’re poison right now.
Welcome new interim. Have you signed your NDA yet?
If the C of E wants to reclaim any sense of decency heads need to roll both amongst the clergy and administration staff at Winchester Cathedral . The a full investigation needs to be carried out into who else was, at best, economical with the truth and they need to go as well. Collectively these morons have potentially destroyed the careers of two top class musicians all under the cloak of Christianity. Shame on you all and, for good measure, the Archbishop needs to go as well.
Lies ‘by collusion’. Lies are lies, whatever they’re dressed up as.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13460091/England-winchester-cathedral-bullying.html