We have just heard soem news from Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust
Friends of Cathedral Music join Advent Service

Friends of Cathedral Music from around the diocese and further afield will be joining a packed cathedral on Sunday 29 November at 3.30 pm for the Advent Carol Service, which will be followed this year by a reception hosted by Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust. During the reception, a gift of £25,000 will be presented to the Trust in support of the cathedral’s new choral scholar scheme.

‘We are delighted that the Friends of Cathedral Music have been able to help us with this new and exciting scheme for young singers, and we look forward to welcoming the first scholars in September next year,’ said the Dean of Hereford, The Very Revd Michael Tavinor.

‘The Advent Carol Service is one of the great services of the year, and it will be a particular pleasure to be able to welcome members of the Friends of Cathedral Music, along with the rest of the congregation, as we start our season of preparation for Christmas.’

The choral scholar scheme will start in September 2010 with three students (one counter-tenor, one tenor and one bass), mostly likely taking a gap-year, appointed for a 12 month period. The students, who are currently being recruited, will receive a small stipend and free accommodation in return for which they will augment the cathedral’s lay clerks and sing eight services each week.

‘We are tremendously excited about the opportunities that the introduction of choral scholars will bring, building on the success of our organ scholarship, which was launched in 2008,’ said the Dean. ‘We hope , having this group of young singers at the heart of our community, will also help give a vibrancy and life to the wider musical life in Hereford and the diocese.’

Everyone is welcome to attend the Advent Carol Service (tickets are not required) and the reception which follows it, during which Roger Bishton, Secretary of the Friends of Cathedral Music, will present the cheque to the Dean and Lawrence Banks, Vice-Chairman of the Perpetual Trust. Further information on the choral scholar scheme and service can be found at www.herefordcathedral.org, about the Friends of Cathedral Music at www.fcm.org.uk, and Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust can be contacted at perpetual.trust@herefordcathedral.org or 01432 374261.