Beverley Minster Choir was delighted to recruit its 100th chorister (we’re now at 102!) in September this year. This has been a culmination of lots of hard work from many people, but also testament to the enduring power of traditional church music and the great sense of community belonging to a church choir can bring.
The statistics are encouraging when broken down into the choir’s individual sections:
- Junior Choir (aged 4-8): 20
- Boys’ choir: 16
- Girls’ choir: 16
- Consort (older girls): 17
- Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses: 33 (some of whom are under 18)
That’s 73 aged 18 and under and 29 adults singing with us on a weekly basis. Our choirs sing in various combinations and work on a rota basis, coming together for special occasions and major services. We sing three services a week, choral evensong on a Thursday and a Sunday and the Eucharist on a Sunday morning. All our services are live-streamed so do have a listen to us on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
Choir members come from across the East Riding to sing with us, some travelling considerable distances. At the moment, we have choristers from 21 different schools and colleges in the choir as well as a number of home educated children too. It is a marvellous cross-section of our region, and lovely that they are all drawn together with a common aim – to sing in worship at our Minster.
Recruiting has been a constant thread to our growth. We have run ‘Be a Chorister’ days, voice trials, and kept quietly adding to our number. Our greatest success has been in developing our Junior Choir for very young singers. This lively group, expertly lead by Rachel Dent, has provided a steady stream of children for the older choirs. We established the choir in 2017 and some of the original members are now in our Consort or singing Tenor!
Whilst we are encouraged to reach this milestone, we will keep on going with the aim to keep all three top lines at around 20 singers and to keep growing our Junior Choir. As the only member of staff in the Music Department, things are hectic and challenging at times, but I am indebted to the support, encouragement and dedication of so many associated with the choir – it is very much a shared group and one I am always humbled to be part of.
by Robert Poyser, Director of Music, Beverley Minster
