St Alban's Cathedral

About the choir

St Albans Cathedral Choir consists of up to 26 boys between the ages of 8-14 and is directed by Andrew Lucas, Master of the Music. It is regarded as one of the finest Cathedral Choirs in the country. Each week the boys rehearse six times and sing five services. For three weekend services they are joined by up to twelve Lay Clerks – professional musicians who sing the lower parts.  There is no residential choir school: the choristers are drawn from local schools. Weekday rehearsals therefore take place before or after school. Becoming a chorister means joining a musical heritage which stretches back to the Cathedral’s monastic roots.

St Albans Cathedral Girls Choir was formed in 1996 and consists of up to 26 girls between the ages of 8-14 and is directed by Tom Winpenny, Assistant Master of the Music. The Choir sings Evensong twice a week, and the choristers are drawn from many local schools. The girls rehearse three times each week, before or after school. The girls sing certain weekend services each term alongside the Lay Clerks of the Cathedral Choir.  The choir is regarded as one of the finest ensembles of its type in the UK, and has made CD recordings including releases for Naxos of music by Felix Mendelssohn and William Mathias. The choir has recently made tours to Sweden and Paris and has given the first performances of works by Judith Weir, Carl Rütti, Alec Roth and Cecilia McDowall. The choir has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and has sung live broadcasts of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3. 

Abbey Singers is a youth choir for recent former choristers of the Cathedral Choirs. It offers them an opportunity to continue to enjoy singing to a high standard in a friendly and informal context. Membership is by invitation only.  The choir sings around three times a term: typically at an Evensong in Advent and Holy Week, at the Parish Eucharist, and for other special services. Concert work has included Mendelssohn’s Elijah alongside the Cathedral Choirs and St Albans Bach Choir, and performances alongside the King’s Singers and Jethro Tull. At Easter 2018, the choir broadcast Easter Sunday Worship live on BBC Radio 4.

The Parish Singers is a mixed-voice auditioned choir who play a significant role in the Cathedral’s Sunday morning worship. Besides leading the congregational singing at the 9.30am Parish Eucharist they perform a wide-ranging repertoire of inspiring choral music written over the past centuries through to the present day. They sing at other Cathedral services, too.  If you would enjoy singing high-quality liturgical music in a wonderful building and can get out of bed in time on a Sunday, why not consider joining us? The fortnightly one-hour Wednesday rehearsal is led by their Director, Christopher Muhley. 

The Parish Junior Singers is a group of young people aged 6-12.  They sing lots of different styles of music and the group is open to anybody who is enthusiastic about music. They rehearse on Monday afternoons 5pm-6pm.

The Parish Orchestra is a group of musicians of all ages that plays at the 9.30am service once a month. They rehearse on the preceding Thursday evening.

To find out more about any of these groups please email the Cathedral's Music Department. 

N.B. For Music List, please follow the link above, then click on 'Music' on their header, and then select 'Monthly Service & Music List' from the drop-down menu.