Cathedral Music Trust invites applications to its 2026 Cathedral Music Support Programme.
The Programme will be open for applications from Monday 8 December 2025, until Monday 9 February 2026.
Eligible organisations may apply for up to £30,000 to be spent within two years. We will accept applications for support of ongoing work, as well as new activities that make a strong case for long term sustainability. New for 2026, we will be able to accept applications for work relating to setting up or growing a music endowment fund.
Our webinar on 9 December (12:00pm) will explore the programme in more detail and we strongly recommend that you register to attend.
An organisation can apply for support if:
- It is a place of Christian worship of a recognised denomination from the UK, a UK Crown Dependency or the Republic of Ireland (e.g. cathedral, collegiate chapel, church)
- It promotes the performance of cathedral-style choral repertoire
- It sings a regular pattern of choral services most weeks during term time (e.g. Evensong, Vespers, Matins, Eucharist)
- It did not receive an award from Cathedral Music Trust in 2025
We will accept applications from cathedrals and royal peculiar foundations irrespective of the number of weekly services they sing.
We will accept applications from churches and other places of worship which sing three or more choral services most weeks during term time. Churches which sing fewer than three choral services each week are invited to apply to the Church Choir Award, which opens for applications in March.
The programme has three priority areas: Pathways to Music, Training and Development and Supporting the Workforce. Find out more about these areas and read guidance on how to apply. We anticipate that we will receive many more applications than we are able to fund and recommend that you read and follow the guidance carefully to give your application the best chance of success.
You are encouraged to email or speak to us in advance of making an application if you have any questions about your eligibility or your proposed application.
There is a two-stage application process: stage 1 involves the submission of an online form; stage 2 (for applicants successful at stage 1) will comprise an online discussion, at which we will look more deeply into the application, exploring the expected impact and how your work could be evaluated.
Through the Cathedral Music Support Programme, the Trust aims to offer more than financial support. We will keep in contact with recipients of our funds, offering help at key points along the way (e.g., how to evaluate and communicate the impact of your work) and opportunities for recipients to share learning. Our involvement will be ‘light touch’. In most cases it will take the form of a listening ear, our aim being to help recipients make the best use of our funding.
We look forward to receiving applications for work that will make a real, measurable and lasting impact, transforming lives through the power of cathedral music.
Find out more about organisations who have previously received funding through the Cathedral Music Support Programme.
