About the challenge
Our CEO takes on an epic cycling pilgrimage, visiting over 100 choirs across England and Wales in just 50 days of cycling. This mammoth challenge covers a whopping 2,700 miles, with JJ raising much-needed funds for cathedral music along the way.
Hear from JJ: “I’m raising vital funds for Cathedral Music Trust, so we can continue to support cathedral musicians and choirs through our programmes – including the Cathedral Music Support Programme and Church Choir Award. In 2024, we invested £500,000 in the sector, giving grants to 28 Anglican and Roman Catholic music departments across the UK.”
Wait… but, why?
14 May 2025
This week I had the pleasure of attending Clergy Support Trust’s annual ‘Festival Service’ at St. Paul’s cathedral – an event that has literally been running for centuries (this was the 370th iteration!)
The premise is quite simple; an opportunity to celebrate the work of this important charity by bringing together three cathedral choirs from around the country and inviting friends and supporters into the large and famous environs of St. Paul’s. It’s a breathtakingly impressive building and it was a treat to hear the choirs of Bradford, Lichfield & St. Paul’s cathedrals singing beautifully both together and individually. It was also a wonderfully edifying event that used music so effectively to help tell the story of why the work of the Clergy Support Trust is so important in the life of the Church of England.
So why start a blog-post about a bike ride around England and Wales, kicking off in Durham, with an account of an event in London? Because it gets to the heart of why I’m undertaking this cycling pilgrimage. Big events have an important role in making the case for the quality of music-making that is so integral to this country’s cultural and spiritual heritage. But so do small events; every day events. You don’t need to travel to a world-famous cathedral in London to hear world-class singing from choristers and top-notch organ playing. You don’t have to be in a huge congregation in order to participate in glorious cathedral music. You can do these things right around the UK, and part of the purpose of my ride – as I set off from Durham on Friday, onwards to Newcastle (16 May), Hexham (17 May), Carlisle (18 May), Kendal and Lancaster (19 May), is to demonstrate quite tangibly how geographically accessible this music is on a near-daily basis. On every single one of my fifty days of cycling, I’ll be visiting at least one cathedral, church or abbey where great music is at the heart of everything that happens. I think that’s an extraordinary fact. (View the full map and schedule here)
As much as anything, I’m aiming to demonstrate that connectedness of our cathedral music tradition by sharing my travels with you, through photos, recordings of music and conversations, and my thoughts on each place I visit. What I expect to become clearer as I travel across the next twelve months is how very distinctive each place is and yet, part of a symbiotic whole that sustains this tradition. It’s also about showcasing the range of people who dedicate their time and expertise – indeed, their lives – to making it a living tradition full of vitality and growth. I think that is what makes this a pilgrimage rather than just a fundraising ride. To that end, please do be in touch if you are in one of those locations I’m visiting and would be interested in riding with me or meeting to talk about music! Get in touch
But, in the same breath, this adventure is also about raising awareness and raising funds. Just as the Clergy Support Trust exist to support Anglican ministers and their families, the Cathedral Music Trust exists to transform lives through cathedral music. Many people may wonder why there is even a need for both charities – after all, the Church and the music that is so interwoven through the life of the Church is part of the tapestry of our country, an integral element to our history and heritage. That viewpoint often leads to the assumption that the music-making (and, for that matter, the clergy) is fully funded, somehow propped up by invisible hands: the State; the vocation of the practitioners; the buildings themselves… That’s an assumption that causes great challenge in how we go about sustaining our world-class choral heritage. It quite literally won’t exist if we don’t support it. The small part played by Cathedral Music Trust in that support is critical, as we seek to ensure access, excellence and sustainability.
So please do engage with my ride. Engage through following my journey and learning more about music-making around the country. Engage through sharing your love and passion for this music with others. And engage through your donations, which – helpfully – you can do at the top of this page! Every penny will go towards supporting musicians and choral foundations in the coming years.
Thank you!
Photos of some of the places I’ll be cycling to:
Lichfield Cathedral (11 June 2025):
St Paul’s Cathedral (4 April 2026)
Bradford Cathedral (May 2026)
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