The Choir of Canterbury Cathedral continues a centuries-old tradition of singing which dates back more than 1,400 years to the Cathedral’s foundation by St Augustine in 597 AD. Today the Choir comprises two separate treble lines – one of boy choristers (aged 7-14), and one of girl choristers (aged 12-18) – which sing alongside 12 professional adult singers, known as Lay Clerks. The Choir maintains a wide repertoire that ranges from the earliest plainchant and Renaissance polyphony to great choral works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and compositions by living composers.

The Choir’s primary purpose is to sing the daily offices which take place at the Cathedral. These services frequently attract hundreds of visitors; they are broadcast live online and are appreciated by a substantial global audience. The Choir sings at numerous occasions of national and international significance which take place at the Cathedral, many of which are broadcast live on radio and television.

Parallel to its liturgical work, the Choir pursues a varied programme of concerts, tours and recordings. It has performed extensively throughout the USA and in Europe, and it has appeared at high-profiles music festivals and at leading venues in the UK. Concerts are given on occasion at the Cathedral, including an ever-popular annual performance of Handel’s Messiah.

The Cathedral Choir has collaborated with leading ensembles including The English Concert, Fretwork, and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts; it enjoys a long-standing relationship with critically-acclaimed period instrument ensemble The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen.

The Choir has recorded for several high-profile labels, recently including Accent Records, Decca Records and Signum Classics. Information about its wide-ranging discography can be viewed here.  In 2024 the Choir embarked on an exciting new partnership with Resonus Classics, with whom a varied programme of future releases is planned.

In recent years, the Choir has worked with a particularly large number of composers. Premieres have been given of new works written for the Choir by, amongst others,  Richard Allain, Michal Berkeley, Kerensa Briggs, Jim Clements, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gabriel Jackson, James MacMillan, Owain Park, Francis Pott, Errollyn Wallen, Lucy Walker and Roderick Williams. Further commissions are currently in progress. 

News of the Choir’s activities is posted regularly on the Cathedral’s social media channels.