experience
Music
Ripon Cathedral has a vibrant choral tradition that has spanned 14 centuries, since St Wilfrid introduced cantors from Canterbury Cathedral in AD680, and it remains at the heart of our worship. The uplifting sound of the cathedral’s outstanding choirs, as well as the dramatic notes of the mighty pipe organ, can be experienced at regular services such as Choral Evensong.
Cathedral Choir Christmas CD
Support the cathedral’s wonderful choir
support our
Appeal
Music is the heartbeat of our lives and the talented choristers are on a mission to raise money for their music tuition, scores, and chaperones. They’re building up to a CD release and tour to Bavaria in July, and they need your help!
Last year, you supported music at the cathedral with a tremendous £14,500. Now, we hope to exceed that with a series of fundraisers. Help us match the generous donor pledges and ensure the music of Ripon flourishes and prospers for years to come.
World class choral music in Ripon
It costs £300,000 a year to keep the choir singing and the music playing at the cathedral.
The choir will sing at some 220 services in the year and undertake almost 28,000 hours of rehearsals. Your donations will go towards the weekly training of our choristers.
£25 will help with a chorister’s travel costs to practice and events.
£60 will help towards a chorister’s cassock or the sheet music.
£150 will provide one term of private music tuition.
£500 will provide a year of music tuition.
£2,500 will support the tuition, travel, sheet music and cassocks for two choristers
£10,000 will pay for for all 48 choristers to have one term of private music tuition.
choral
Tradition
The choral tradition continues to evolve, ensuring a high standard of music and a focus on inclusivity, providing a fulfilling and life-changing experience for boys and girls in North Yorkshire, recruited from schools in the region, both state and independent.
Up to 24 boy choristers from Year 4 to Year 8.
Formed in 1996, a group of up to 24 girls between the ages of 8 and 14.
Ripon Cathedral is the only cathedral in the north to offer scholarships to teenagers, with two entry points at 13+ and 16+.
Six professional singers who provide the alto, tenor and bass parts in the choir for six services a week.
We are always happy to hear from prospective new choristers and their parents. If your son or daughter is aged 7-11 and loves singing, please get in touch by email:
Upcoming
Cathedral Concerts
The historic
Pipe Organ
Ripon Cathedral is home to an historic and celebrated organ and an equally celebrated team of organists. The magnificent pipe organ is revealed in all its glory each year in June, with a Summer Organ Festival, showcasing the organ with resident and guest organists, playing a series of unique concerts in the nave.
Organ visits
It is possible to book a visit to play the cathedral organ. Organ visits are restricted to times when the building is closed to the public and staffed by a member of the music department; there is a charge for this service (although it may be waived for students in full-time education). Visits are subject to availability, both in the cathedral diary and of music department staff. If you would like to arrange a visit, please email Laura Jones for further information.
The call of the
Bells
Ripon Cathedral has a wonderful peal of 12 bells, the 10 heaviest of which were cast in 1932 and were augmented in 2008. Since then, they have sounded out in celebration and sorrow for many significant national occasions, the most recent of these was the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.
They call people to worship and provide an atmosphere of celebration for weddings and many significant events.
The Ripon Cathedral Society of Change Ringers practises each Wednesday evening from 7.30 until 9.00pm.
visiting
Choirs
Visiting choirs wishing to sing for a whole week or just for one service are very welcome to apply. Typically, these opportunities fall during half term holidays, after Christmas, either side of Easter and during July and August.
If you haven’t visited before, please send a recent recording of your choir, taken live at a service or concert.
come to a
Concert
We host a wonderful range of musical events at the cathedral from guest choirs and organ recitals to pop concerts and silent discos.
All held in the atmospheric surroundings of the beautiful cathedral nave.