- Celebrating 60 years!
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Date Posted: Fri, 3 Jul 2026
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Saturday 27th June saw current and former members of the Chapter House Choir join together in song and friendship to celebrate our 60th anniversary in style.
The gala concert took place at St Olave’s Church and was the culmination of our birthday season. The programme reflected the whole of the choir’s history and included Britten’s Hymn to St Cecilia which was in the repertoire from the earliest days and Are you going? a Yorkshire-inspired commission by David McGregor, first performed in our God’s Own Country concert in April this year. Shruthi Rajesekar’s Numbers, commissioned by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain in 2019, was new to the choir and, with its exhilarating, complex rhythms was a particular favourite with the audience. And, of course, no anniversary concert would have been complete without a work by our wonderful founder, Andrew Carter, who sadly passed away during the year. We were proud to sing his haunting setting of John Donne’s poem No man is an island.
It was a treat for the current choir to see former members enjoying favourites from the repertoire such as the Moses Hogan arrangement of the spiritual, My soul’s been anchored in the Lord and for us all to sing together after the interval. Former conductor, Jane Sturmheit, joined us to direct two other great favourites, Shenandoah and Finzi’s My spirit sang all day and gave a moving speech acknowledging Andrew Carter’s influence and the sense of camaraderie that continues to make the choir such a special community for us all. These sentiments were later echoed in speeches by our Musical Director, Ben Morris and Chair, Sarah Hewlett at a fabulous reception in the Hospitium in York’s Museum Gardens. We also said a very fond farewell to one of our longest-standing members, David Frith, who, over more than 40 years has made a tremendous contribution to the choir.Huge thanks are due to the committee and the many choir members who made the day such a success and we are glad so many former members, now living right across the country, came back to join us. We leave the last word to one of them:
“It was such a joy and privilege to sing with your wonderful choir, as well as to hear them sing on their own…it was lovely to meet up with old friends and maybe to make new ones.”
Written by Rachel Hicks
Photography by Gular Abbasova
- Former members and supporters - do come to our Gala Concert!
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Date Posted: Wed, 3 Jun 2026
On Saturday 27th June, our 60th anniversary celebrations reach their peak, with a gala concert at St Olave's, Marygate, York. Please note the early start time of 6.30pm.
The programme is packed full of great choral treats, including Britten's Hymn to St Cecelia, Parry's There is an old belief, Sullivan's The long day closes, and many other glorious works. For part of the concert we will be joined by over 30 former singers, some of whom began singing with the choir not long after it started in 1965! We have had a fantastic time rehearsing for the concert, and look forward to welcoming you.
If you or your friends would like to purchase tickets to attend the concert please visit our ticket tailor website link. Tickets are £20 each
If you are a former singer in the choir and would like to sing with us, please use this link to get more information and fill in a brief form. Former singers who are singing, and a plus one will be able to attend a special reception following the concert. Your guest will need to purchase a ticket using the ticket tailor link above.
We need to finalise former singer numbers by June 12th, to ensure we have enough copies for everyone, so please do not delay in signing up!
Any queries, please email Fran Reid using this link.
- Are you a former member of the Chapter House Choir?
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Date Posted: Fri, 20 Mar 2026
This is our 60th anniversary year, and to celebrate we are inviting former choir members to join us for a Gala Concert and reception on Saturday 27th June.
Would you like to come and sing in part of the concert? Or would you just like to attend?
Either way, please email us, and we will keep you informed of the plans as they develop.
There will be a rehearsal at 4pm on the day, when former members will join forces with the current choir. The rehearsal will end at 5.15pm, with the concert starting at 6.30pm. As a former member you will be welcome to join us for our 60th birthday reception which will start immediately after the concert. We will email you further details.
GDPR means we have not kept old email address, so please do not hesitate to get in touch!
- We are looking forward to celebrating all things Yorkshire!
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Date Posted: Sun, 18 Jan 2026
Our April concert is called 'God's Own Country' and is a celebration of all things Yorkshire.
We will be featuring composers or librettists who hail from this wonderful county, or music that has strong associations with the places and people who live here. Nicola LeFanu and David McGregor have been commissioned to write two new pieces for the concert: Nicola having a long association with the city of York and its university as a former Professor of Music, and David McGregor, who studied at York, is composing a piece around the tune of 'Scarborough Fair'.
Andrew Carter spent decades living and working in and around the York music scene. He was the founder of our choir, and is well known for his choral compositions worldwide. He died in January 2026, and we will take time in our Yorkshire themed concert to celebrate and give thanks for his enormous contribution to the musical life of the county, and our choir as founder, musical director and then Vice President.
Tickets will be on sale on the York Minster website shortly.
Patrons of the Chapter House Choir will be invited to attend a pre-concert talk. You will have the chance to meet Nicola LeFanu and David McGregor, and hear about their new compositions. To find out more about our patrons and how to become one, visit this page of our website
- In memory of our founder, Andrew Carter
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Date Posted: Thu, 8 Jan 2026
The members of the Chapter House Choir are profoundly grateful for the life, creative vision and verve of their founder, the late Andrew Carter.
In this, the 60th year of the choir, we join with choral singers, handbell ringers, and organists throughout the UK and beyond, in giving thanks for Andrew and the wonderful music he composed. Together with them, we mourn his passing.
We will take time in our concerts in April and June to remember and showcase some of his beautiful work as we continue to celebrate our 60th year.
- Carols by Candlelight - almost SOLD OUT
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Date Posted: Fri, 5 Dec 2025
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT 19th DECEMBER - ALMOST SOLD OUT
We are very much looking forward to our annual Christmas event with the Youth Choir and our handbell ringers in the Nave of York Minster. If you haven't already got your ticket, the event is almost sold out. Whilst the Minster website is saying 'sold out' we do understand there are some returns and a few unreserved aisle seats. Contact them on 01904 557200, Monday-Friday 10am to 4pm.
If you sign up for our newsletter, you will be alerted in the future, when tickets go on sale.
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We hope to see you at one of our forthcoming performances or services.
Wishing you all a merry Christmas!
- A fresh new look and website to celebrate 60 years!
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Date Posted: Tue, 14 Oct 2025
As part of our discussions on how to shape our 60th anniversary year, we took the opportunity to look forward as well as back. This has led us to refresh both our logo and our website.
We love the new logos, and we hope you do, reflecting the glorious internal roof of the Chapter House at York Minster, andthe choir's deep connection to its historic and architectural setting. The radiating lines and interlocking shapes echo the geometric elegance of the original ceiling, and somehow also remind us voices singing! Our very appreciative thanks go to Lucy Aitken for working on the designs and colourways. They offer us great flexibility.
We have also updated our website to a new platform which we hope will be easy to navigate, and provide us with an easy way to manage the administration of the choir and events, and our communication with you. We hope to see you soon!
