The Choir of York Minster

York Minster, known in full as the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York, is the seat of the Archbishop of York, who is the Anglican Primate of England. The Minster is the Mother Church of the Northern Province of the Church of England as well as the Diocese of York.

In his History of the English Church and People, the Venerable Bede notes that in 627 St Paulinus appointed James the Deacon to found a school attached to the Cathedral in York. It would be fanciful to claim that there has been an unbroken history of a choir school since 627, but there has undoubtedly been an educational presence attached to the Minster, and the present school represents a continuation of the tradition inaugurated by St Paulinus.

At the heart of the Minster Choir's work is the singing of the daily services. Today's Choir sings eight services each week. Since 1997 there has been a treble line of girls, who rehearse and perform separately from the boys. Most of the services are sung either by the boys and men or the girls and men. All the Choristers attend the Minster School, a day preparatory school, and they have a daily practice at 8.15 each morning. The Songmen of the choir are all professional singers and join the choristers each day for a rehearsal before Evensong.

As well as its work in the Minster, the Choir has toured extensively, both in England and abroad. The Choir performs frequently on Radio and Television and has a number of commecial recordings to its credit. The Choir also pays termly visits to churches in the Diocese of York.