Girl Choristers' 30th Anniversary Concert

About

To mark the 30th anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral's Girls' Choir, a large group of former girl choristers will be joining our present Girls' Choir and Lay Vicars in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for a special celebratory concert.

In a wide-ranging programme designed by the Chairman of the Salisbury Cathedral Girl Chorister's Foundation, Lady Chichester, the concert features music by Purcell, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Britten, Vivaldi and Stanford, with solos sung by award winning former choristers.

A highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of a new work that's been specially commissioned by the renowned composer Roxanna Panufnik for the occasion. Words will be narrated by Anna Botting of Sky News.

The Gala concert takes place three decades (almost to the day) after the girls' choir sang their first Evensong on October 7 1991, an extraordinary moment not just in the history of the Cathedral but in cathedral music. At the time there were some girls singing in other cathedrals, but Salisbury was the first English Cathedral to admit girls on parity with the boys and to establish an independent foundation to support girl singers.

The youngest of that first intake of girl choristers, Amy Carson, returns to perform a solo, Pamina's aria Ach, ich fühl's from The Magic Flute by Mozart.

Another award-winning soloist, Camilla Harris, also a former chorister and recent graduate of Royal Academy Opera, sings Let the Bright Seraphim, the aria from Handel's oratorio Samson, in which the soloist summons the celestial hosts of seraphim and cherubim to hail the dead hero.

Please note that as this is a full Nave capacity concert; unreserved but in zones, we respectfully request the following:
- Please wear a face mask, especially when moving around the space (our staff and volunteers will be wearing them).
- Please take a lateral flow test before attending.
- Please do not attend an event if you have any Covid symptoms.
- Please be aware that guidance is constantly changing. The Cathedral will notify ticket holders of any changes and we ask visitors to check our website for updates before visiting.