Blackburn Cathedral Choir Shines Under the Dome at St. Pauls Cathedral

The Festival Service, the oldest choral music event of its kind in the world, featured choirs from Blackburn Cathedral, St. Albans and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Clergy Support Trust is the largest and oldest charity focussed on the wellbeing of clergy and their families and the service was an opportunity to honour and give thanks for the faithful ministry of clergy and all who support them.

The service is a key date in the Church, City of London and choral music calendars, and over the years composers including Edward Elgar have written music especially for the event. It includes a majestic procession of The Lady Mayor of London, Bishops, Masters of Livery Companies, Judges of the Old Bailey, representatives of the City of London, and many other civil dignitaries.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Revd. and Rt Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally, one of the Trust’s Honorary Presidents, gave the sermon.

Following the service, John Robinson, Director of Music at Blackburn Cathedral said:

It was such an honour to be invited by St. Paul’s Cathedral to take part in such a prestigious event – the oldest continuous music festival in the world.

Without weighing our young choristers down with too much expectation, it gradually dawned on them that they would be in St. Paul’s Cathedral, singing for the Archbishop of Canterbury, alongside two of the country’s great cathedral choirs in front of 1,500 guests.

Their experience could not have been more positive.

Our young choristers had the time of their lives. The adventure of a six hour coach journey, leaving Blackburn at 6am, the experience of singing in one of the world’s greatest buildings, and witnessing the pageantry of a major national service at St. Paul’s was intoxicating.

The singing of the other choirs was very exciting, and we very much felt an equal part in all that took place.

We were so pleased to receive the most generous feedback from esteemed colleagues including Carl Jackson RVO, long-term Director of Music at The Chapel Royal, Jonathan Mayes, COO of Cathedral Music Trust and Andrew Carwood MBE, Director of Music at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

From the outset everybody was so welcoming, the hospitality was outstanding, and we express our grateful thanks for the invitation to take part and to all those who helped ensure our choristers could experience such a wonderful occasion.

Also in attendance was the Revd. Canon Andrew Horsfall, the Interim Dean of Blackburn and The Bishop of Burnley, The Rt Revd. Dr Joe Kennedy.

About Blackburn Cathedral Choir

There have been choirs singing on the site of Blackburn Cathedral for over a thousand years and today, Blackburn Cathedral maintains a vibrant choral tradition, with choristers drawn from a wide variety of local schools. Diversity and inclusion are intrinsic to its identity, and to the choir’s quality.

Open to girls and boys from age seven, the choir represents a unique free start to musical life for local children, most of whom have no musical experience when they begin their musical journey.

Learn more about our choirs.

About Clergy Support Trust

Clergy Support Trust is the largest and oldest charity focussed on the wellbeing of clergy and their families. In 2024, they supported almost 2,800 households, with more than £6m across over 6,700 grants. This is the highest annual number of people ever supported by the charity.

The Trust, originally founded in 1655, provides help for Anglican clergy and their families across the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Diocese in Europe. The Trust is confidential, independent, inclusive, and impartial, and supports clergy from training through to retirement.

Learn more about Clergy Support Trust.

Images © Clergy Support Trust | Graham Lacdao