| Worcester Cathedral Voluntary Choir | |
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The choir in 2010 |
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| Origin | Worcester Cathedral, England, UK |
| Founding | October 1874 |
| Choirmaster | Christopher Allsop |
| Organist | John Wilderspin |
| Associated groups | Worcester Cathedral Choir, Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir |
| Website | www.worcestercathedral.co.uk |
The Worcester Cathedral Voluntary Choir is an Anglican choir made up of boy trebles and male voices. The choir is based at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, United Kingdom and regularly sings at the 6:30pm Sunday Evensong.[1]
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The choir was founded in October 1874 primarily to sing at the newly formed 6:30pm Sunday Evensong and to sing other services for the Cathedral Choir during school holidays.[1] Since its inception, the choir has been under the direction of the Cathedral's Assistant Organist, as well as having an organist of its own, who has often taken on additional roles as secretary.[1] Although the choir also gets time off during school holidays, it still sings at a number of important services each year during the school holidays, including the Palm Sunday morning Eucharist,[2] maintaining some of its original aim of relieving commitments from the Cathedral Choir.
The choir has released two CDs in recent years,[3] and sang in the live BBC television broadcast of Christmas Day morning Eucharist in 2007.[4]
The choir has also been on a number of tours, including to Paris in 2008 and Belgium in 2010, singing at Notre Dame Cathedral and Brussels Cathedral, respectively.[5]
The choir is now notable for being one of the last remaining English cathedral voluntary choirs to be made up of entirely male voices,[1] and still routinely sings the 6:30pm Evensong on Sundays.[2] The choir's treble line is composed of boys aged 6–14, whilst the lower parts are made up of men, many of whom previously sang as trebles. Today the choir numbers approximately 35 singers.[1]
The choir is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), and many choristers and men take exams and receive RSCM awards as recognition for their achievements.[1] The choir also sings at the annual award ceremony for the Diocese of Worcester.[2]
At various services each year, the choir sings alongside the Worcester Cathedral Choir and Chamber Choir, creating a more substantial sound than from either choir on its own, or creating impressive, multi-directional soundscapes in the cathedral.[2]