HRH The Duchess of Gloucester becomes Royal Patron for Cathedral Music Trust
24 January 2022
The Cathedral Music Trust is delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester has agreed to become its Royal Patron. The Duchess’s long-standing association with the Cathedral Music Trust began in 2016 with Her Royal Highness’s patronage of the Trust’s Diamond Fund for Choristers, which has funded considerable work to support choristers, their training and recruitment across the UK.
The Cathedral Music Trust aims to enrich lives through the power of cathedral music; as a voice for cathedral music, it campaigns on behalf of cathedral musicians, supports choristers and choirs in need, and encourages the pursuit of excellence in organ and choral music. The Trust is committed to enabling children from a diverse range of backgrounds to experience the many benefits that come from being a chorister.
The announcement of The Duchess of Gloucester as Patron was made following a special celebratory service of Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the conclusion of the Trust’s Diamond Fund for Choristers campaign. The service included well-known former chorister Alexander Armstrong, and leading composers John Rutter CBE, Judith Weir CBE and Roxanna Panufnik.
The Duchess of Gloucester shares the Trust’s belief that music has the power to help young people to realise their full potential, and that every child should have the opportunity to experience a quality music education. The Cathedral Music Trust is committed to supporting chorister training through grants to choral foundations and education initiatives which benefit young people and the communities they live in. Through its work, the Trust is dedicated to inspiring more young people from across the UK to experience and benefit from engagement with world-class choral education programmes.
Peter Allwood, Chair of the Cathedral Music Trust said: ‘We are thrilled that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester is extending her support for talented young singers and cathedral musicians by becoming Royal Patron of the Cathedral Music Trust, having supported our Diamond Fund for Choristers since 2016. As evidenced by Saturday’s Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, the UK’s cathedral choirs are performing to a higher standard and a wider audience than ever before. But they face huge challenges to maintain their long tradition of choral excellence, not least as we emerge from the pandemic crisis. With support from The Duchess of Gloucester, the Cathedral Music Trust aims to be a strong and effective voice for all those who want to see cathedral music not just survive but evolve and flourish.’
The Cathedral Music Trust is at a key moment in its evolution: as cathedrals continue their recovery from the devastating loss of income during national lockdowns, the Trust has repositioned itself to respond more strongly and rapidly to the needs of cathedral choirs across the UK and Republic of Ireland as they seek to reestablish a full programme of choral services.