Cathedral choirs struggling as roadmap fails to make clear when singing can return

Cathedral choirs are struggling to survive, amid frustration that the Government's lockdown plan fails to make clear when singing can safely return.

On Friday, the charity the Cathedral Music Trust closed applications for its latest round of funds after being inundated with appeals for help.

Forty choirs have made bids for £1.5 million, appealing for help to keep their music going in the coming months. It is a major rise on the last round of bids in December, when 30 choirs asked the Trust for £1 million worth of aid, but the charity could only meet a third of the requests.

While the Government has laid out the country’s path out of lockdown, cathedrals face continuing lack of income from congregations and from tourists.

Even though Easter is just a few weeks away, there is no sign that there will be the usual Good Friday and Easter Sunday services with congregations and choral singing.

Peter Allwood, chair of the Trust, said: “The cathedrals need help if they are to be able to restore music when normality returns.

“However, the Government’s most recent roadmap does not make it clear when that will be. At the moment it is not looking good for Easter”.

According to one member of the Government's Places of Worship task force, faith organisations have been lobbying for months to get ministers to discuss when singing can return to churches and other places of worship.

"Singing keeps being raised by faith groups for discussion at the meeting," said the member.

"Easter isn't on the Government's wavelength at the moment."

But with a task force meeting due to meet Wednesday, and singing on its agenda, there is hope it may return as lockdown ends.

Running a cathedral choir costs between £100,000 to £500,000 a year, depending on the number of choristers and tenor lay clerks, with much of the money spent on choir school fees.

Last year, the Church of England’s Church Commissioners and Archbishops’ Council provided emergency funding after the larger historic cathedrals, such as Canterbury and St Paul’s which rely on tourism from overseas, were badly affected by lockdowns; Durham’s 750,000 visitors provide one fifth of its annual revenue of £7 million.

Around £7 million was also awarded to cathedrals from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to help offset the loss of income during the pandemic and help keep skilled jobs going.

Now cathedrals are anxiously waiting to hear if they will receive grants in the next Culture Recovery Fund phase as they struggle to balance their books and fear job losses once the Chancellor’s furlough scheme comes to an end.

Nick Edmonds, from the Church of England, said: “We urge the Government and to commit to sustained investment so that our cathedrals can continue to serve their communities economically, spiritually and as beacons of culture and heritage”.