The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral exists to sing services in Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire, England, and has probably been in existence since the consecration of the cathedral in 1258. The choir comprises twenty boy choristers and twenty girl choristers aged from 8 to 13 years, and six professional lay vicars singing countertenor, tenor and bass. [1]
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Salisbury was the first English cathedral to recruit a girl choristers' choir, in 1991. [2] The girls' choir is usually wholly independent of the boys' when in the cathedral. [3] Singing duties are equally divided between the boy and girl choristers. [1]
In addition to services, the choir is involved in concerts and CD recordings. It participates in the annual Southern Cathedrals Festival (despite initial resistance to the girls' choir). [4] The choir also broadcasts frequently on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. A documentary television programme about the choir was shown on BBC Four in March 2012 under the title Angelic Voices; it included episodes in the life of the members of both choirs over a four-month period. [5]
The choristers are educated at Salisbury Cathedral School, which is in the Cathedral Close. The choir is directed by the Director of Music, currently David Halls, [6] and accompanied by the Assistant Organist, plus an organ scholar, who is selected by audition on an annual basis.
