Members of Gloucester Cathedral choir join virtual evensong to raise money for charity

Members of Gloucester Cathedral's choir have joined others across the South West in a virtual evensong to raise money to support cathedral choirs through the pandemic.

Twenty-one choral scholars from Bristol, Exeter, Truro, Gloucester and Wells, say they hope it'll raise money for the Cathedral Choirs Emergency Fund and elevate the profile of the choral tradition.

Daniel Maw, 23, a third-year choral scholar at Exeter Cathedral and one of six scholars taking part from Exeter, said: "The English choral tradition is unique and really important to us all – it has certainly taken over my life," said Daniel. “We wanted to come together and use our connected network to show, as young adult musicians, our real passion for this musical tradition and being in lockdown created the perfect storm for us to do just that. I can’t think of my life without it."

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Esmee Loughlin-Dickenson, 20, is a choral scholar at Truro Cathedral.

"This project is going to be very special," she said. “I hadn’t done many virtual choir projects and I really wanted to do something very personal that I would be able to look back on and be very proud of.  We’re all involved in it, it’s giving us a lot to do and it is definitely giving us a sense of purpose while we wait to hear when we can come back together again physically."

The Cathedral Choirs Emergency Fund was set up to raise £1 million to offer grants to cathedral choral foundations, after a survey showed many would struggle without additional funds once lockdown restrictions are lifted. The fund now stands just short of £850,000.

The virtual evensong will be broadcast on 28 July on YouTube.