Reflections from the Director of Music, Timothy Parsons

Director of Music, Timothy Parsons reflects of the successes of the year so far and looks forward to some exciting events for 2026.

Wells Cathedral Choir is in excellent heart and voice, currently boasting the full complement of 18 boy and 18 girl Choristers (all educated at Wells Cathedral School), nine Vicars Choral and three Choral Scholars, led by the Director and Assistant Director of Music and Organ Scholar. Highlights so far this academic year have included, most notably, a live broadcast of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3, with music by Bruckner, Leighton and Sarah MacDonald, including a new work, Sing we merrily unto God our strength, especially commissioned from Matthew Martin. We are currently heading into the busy Christmas season and are particularly looking forward to our Carols by Candlelight concerts, some of the musical highlights of the year. In April, the choir will travel to Tuscany to sing in some glorious venues in and around Florence, Pisa and Lucca: this will be the first tour undertaken by the whole choir since well before the pandemic. We are magnificently supported by the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust, which this year has launched a new initiative following a quick and highly-successful period of fundraising: the Coronation Fund is restricted for providing bursaries for children who require discounts of at least 95% from their school fees.