Letters: Let the choirs sing or the whole tradition will crumble

SIR – The emergency funding for the arts announced by Oliver Dowden is hugely welcome. However, the work of church and synagogue musicians across the country is still under serious threat, with some professional choirs already facing permanent disbandment. We need clear steps towards the reinstatement of musicians’ work in religious services.

Many of us already work in a way that is very socially distanced – singing from balconies and organ lofts. Yet, the Government has made an un-nuanced statement regarding singing in places of worship: if possible, don’t do it.

It has even suggested that churches should replace musicians with recordings. If this happens, will live music-making in places of worship ever return?

Since March, singers and directors of music have been waiting for clarification on when (or if) we are likely to be reinstated. We want, and need, to get back to work keeping the great choral tradition in this country alive. Please allow us to do so.

Stephen Alder
Westminster Cathedral

Sapphire Armitage
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Pancras New Church

Emily Armour
St Bartholomew the Great

Andrew Arthur
Director of Music, Trinity Hall, Cambridge

Helen Ashby
St Margaret’s Church, Westminster

Kate Ashby
Associated with All Saints, Margaret Street, and Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Jenny Bacon
The Guards’ Chapel

Robin Bailey
Marylebone Parish Church

Leilani Barratt
Associated with HM Tower of London

Caspar Barrie
HM Tower of London

Ana Beard Fernandez
Carmelite Priory, Kensington

Peter Beavan
Director of Music, Royal Memorial Chapel, Sandhurst

Nicola Beckley
St Michael, Cornhill

Nicolaas Beemster
Lincoln Cathedral

Cathy Bell
Lincoln’s Inn Chapel

Olivia Bell
St Gabriel’s, Pimlico

Benjamin Beurklian-Carter
The Grosvenor Chapel

Simon Biazeck
The Choir of the London Oratory

James Birchall
Associated with Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral

Christina Birchall-Samson
Liberal Jewish Synagogue and St John’s Wood Church

Matthew Blaiden
Director of Music, St Stephen’s, Rochester Row

Sebastian Bosley
Associated with Guildford Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral

Frances Bourne
Farm Street Church

Vanessa Bowers
The Choir of the London Oratory

Morag Boyle
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Marylebone Parish Church

Emma Brain-Gabbott
Associated with St Clement Danes and St Margaret Lothbury

Verity Bramson
Associated with Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and St John’s, Hyde Park

Eleanor Bray
Associated with St George’s, Hanover Square

Alastair Brookshaw
Associated with Westminster Abbey

Zoe Brookshaw
HM Tower of London

Timothy Brown
Director of Music Emeritus, Clare College Choir

Bob Bryan
St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Jeremy Budd
Associated with St Margaret Lothbury and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Sebastian Budner
St George’s Cathedral, Southwark

Tara Bungard
Associated with Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral

Heather Caddick
St Peter & St Paul, Nutfield

Jessica Cale
The Choir of the London Oratory

Colin Campbell
St Lawrence Jewry and St James’s, Piccadilly

Hilary Campbell
Composer and choral director

Henry Capper-Allen
Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and St Margaret Lothbury

Edward Chaddock
St Michael Cornhill, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate and St Columba’s, Church of Scotland

Rachel Chapman
St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Bob Chilcott
Composer

Jillian Christie
Associated with Eton College Lower Chapel

Eleanor Clarke
HM Tower of London

Rosie Clifford
Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Aidan Coburn
Hampstead Parish Church

Claire Coleman
St James’s, Sussex Gardens

Dan Collins
All Saints, Margaret Street

Matthew Collins
Director of Music, Howden Minster

David Condry
Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey

Frances Cooke
Associated with HM Tower of London

Helena Cooke
Associated with HM Tower of London and Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Tristram Cooke
Westminster Abbey

Ben Cooper
Winchester Cathedral

Katy Cooper
The Grosvenor Chapel and All Saints, Margaret Street

Nicola Corbishley
Associated with the Guards’ Chapel and St Marylebone Parish Church

Sam Corkin
Associated with Canterbury Cathedral and Chapel Royal, Hampton Court

Carole Court
St Alban’s, Holborn

Hilary Cronin
St Bartholomew the Great

Hugh Cross
Carmelite Priory, Kensington

Cara Curran
St Mary Abbots, Kensington

Sarah Dacey
The Grosvenor Chapel

Alison Daniels
Ely Cathedral

Robin Datta
Liverpool Cathedral

Helen Daniels
St Pancras New Church

Andrew Davies
Lincoln’s Inn Chapel

Will Davies

Director of Music, St Magnus-the-Martyr

Peter Davoren
St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Leonora Dawson-Bowling

Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and St James's, Spanish Place

Julian Charles Debreuil
St James’s, Spanish Place

Peter Di-Toro
Associated with St Mary Abbots, Kensington, and St James’s, Sussex Gardens

Mimi Doulton
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Paul’s Cathedral

Stephen Douse
St Margaret’s, Westminster, and West London Synagogue

George Dyesmith
St Magnus-the-Martyr

Christiana Eastwood
St Stephen’s, Gloucester Road

Graham Eccles
Associated with Bangor Cathedral and St Asaph Cathedral

Yvonne Eddy
St Mary’s, Bourne Street

Joey Edwards
Associated with St George’s Cathedral, Southwark

Louise Eekelaar
Director of Music, Holy Trinity, Brook Green

Jon English
St Paul’s Cathedral

John Evanson
Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and Temple Church

Rowan Fenner
St George’s, Hanover Square

Martin Ford
Director of Music, the Guards’ Chapel

April Fredrick
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Peter’s, Eaton Square

Andrew Friedhoff
Associated with the Guards’ Chapel and St John’s Wood Church

Kate Fun
St Alban’s, Holborn, and Belsize Square Synagogue

Rosemary Galton
The Choir of the London Oratory

Robert Garland
The Guards’ Chapel

James Geidt
Associated with Temple Church

Oliver Gerrish
St John’s Wood Church

Izzy Gibber
Associated with St Peter’s, Eaton Square

Anna Gould
St Michael Cornhill

Jack Granby
Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace

Louisa Green
St Mary’s, Bourne Street

Donald Greig
Associated with St Clement Danes and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Mark Griffiths
Associated with Westminster Abbey and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Edward Grint
St Paul’s Cathedral

Jess Haig
St Martin-in-the-Fields

Marie-Anne Hall
St Mary, Brookfield, and West London Synagogue

Caroline Halls
Associated with St James’s, Spanish Place, and St Paul’s Cathedral

Jack Harberd
Associated with St Martin-in-the-Fields and HM Tower of London

Rebecca Hardwick
St Botolph’s-without-Bishopsgate

Jenni Harper
The Guards’ Chapel

Sebastian Harries
The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy

Steven Harrold
HM Tower of London

Rachel Haworth
Associated with St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Saviour’s, Pimlico

Felicity Hayward
All Saints, Margaret Street

Vanessa Heine
The Guards’ Chapel

Angela Henckel
St George’s Hanover Square

Katy Hill
Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Dr James Hobson
Holy Trinity, Sloane Square

Martin Hogben
The Guards’ Chapel

Kat Holdsworth
The Grosvenor Chapel

Ruth Holton
Director of Music, All Saints, West Dulwich

Jimmy Holliday
St Peter’s, Eaton Square

Kirsty Hopkins
St Margaret’s , Westminster, and St Margaret Lothbury)

John Hosking
Director of Music, Holy Trinity, Southport

Harriet Hougham Slade
Holy Trinity, Sloane Street

Matthew Howard
All Saints, Margaret Street

Helen Hughson
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Pancras New Church

Alastair Hume
Founding member of the King’s Singers, associated with Chichester Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral

Maisie Hulbert
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Martin-in-the-Fields

Oliver Hunt
St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle

David Hutchings
All Saint’s Church, Penarth

Eloise Irving
Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Dr Bill Ives
Former Director of Music, Magdalen College, Oxford

Charlotte Ives
St Paul’s Cathedral

Polly Jackman
St Columba’s, Church of Scotland, London

Jeremy Jackman
Musical Director of Laudemus

Dr Simon Jackson
Director of Music, Peterhouse, Cambridge

Polly Jeffries
Associated with the Guards’ Chapel and Farm Street Church

Robert Jenkins
Chelsea Old Church

Susan Jiwey
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St James Garlickhythe

Alexander Jones
St Pancras New Church

Anne Jones
The Guards’ Chapel

Carris Jones
St Paul’s Cathedral

Emma Louise Jones
Associated with St John’s, Notting Hill, and St John’s, Hyde Park

Ed Jones
Associated with Hampstead Parish Church and the Grosvenor Chapel

Rebekah Jones
St Mary’s, Bourne Street

Clara Kanter
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, The Latin Mass Society and West London Synagogue

Nicholas Keay
Westminster Cathedral

Cheyney Kent
Lincoln’s Inn Chapel

Jeremy Kenyon
St Margaret Lothbury

Anna Kenyon
St Michael Cornhill

Sean Kerr
Associated with the Choir of the London Oratory ans& St Margaret Lothbury

Ruth Kiang
Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Jessica Kinney
Associated with Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Cambridge,  and St Martin-in-the-Fields

Graham Kirk
St Mary’s, Bourne Street

Iris Korfker
Associated with St Clement Danes Church and Farm Street Church

Oliver Lallemant
Director of Music, Holy Trinity Sloane Street

Anna Lapwood
Director of Music, Pembroke College, Cambridge

Jack Lawrence-Jones
Our Lady of the Assumption & Saint Gregory, Warwick Street

David Le Prevost
HM Tower of London

Emma Lewis
St James’s, Sussex Gardens

Janet Lince
St Margaret’s, Westminster

David Lowe
Director of College and Chapel Music, Downing College, Cambridge

Tom Lowen
The Choir of the London Oratory

Robert Macdonald
Westminster Abbey

David Maguire
Interim Director of Music, Holy Trinity Brook Green

William Marsey
Holy Trinity, Sloane Street

David Martin
Westminster Abbey and Artistic Director of Ensemble Plus Ultra

Ellie Martin
Nottingham Cathedral

Piers Master
St James's, Spanish Place

Dani May
Lincoln’s Inn Chapel

Giverny McAndry
St Saviour’s, Pimlico

Clare McCaldin
St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge

Eve McGrath
St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

Martha McLorinan
The Choir of the London Oratory

Angus McPhee
Royal Hospital, Chelsea

Nathan Mercieca
Associated with Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey

Alastair Merry
Temple Church

Rosie Middleton
Associated with St James Garlickhythe and St Augustine’s

Jonathan Midgley
Ely Cathedral

Nicolas Moodie
Director of Music at St Peter and Paul, Kettering

Rev Richard Lloyd Morgan
Emeritus Chaplain, King’s College, Cambridge

Amanda Morrison
St Margaret’s Church, Westminster

Timothy Murphy
The Choir of the London Oratory

Philippa Murray
Temple Church

Graham Neal
The Choir of the London Oratory

Scarlett O’Shea
Associated with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge

Keith Orrell
Choirmaster of St Agnes Church, Liverpool

Miranda Ostler
Associated with St Stephen’s, Gloucester Road, and St Peter’s, Eaton Square

Emily Owen
St Bride’s, Fleet Street, St Michael Cornhill and West London Synagogue

Henry George Page
St Olave Hart Street

Paul Parfitt
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Farm Street Church

Roxanna Panufnik
Composer

Adrian Partington
Director of Music, Gloucester Cathedral

Katie Peacock
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Emma Peaurt
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Clement Danes

Richard Pinel
Director of Music, Jesus College, Cambridge, and Director of Edington Music Festival )

Charles Pott
St Michael Cornhill and St Botolph’s-without-Bishopsgate

Sarah Probert
Chelsea Old Church and St Mary Abbots, Kensington

Alexander Pullinger
Associated with Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral

Natalie Raybould
The Guards’ Chapel

James Rhoads
Associated with St Paul’s Cathedral and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Robert Rice
St Margaret’s Church, Westminster

Charles Richardson
Associated with Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral

Marianna Ritchie
Associated with St Mary, Brookfield, and St Simon Zelotes

Suzy Robinson
Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea

Tom Robson
Westminster Cathedral

Graham Ross
Director of Music, Clare College, Cambridge

David Saint
Director of Music, St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham

Melanie Sanders
Associated with St John’s Wood Church and West London Synagogue

Matthew Sandy
Temple Church and Coventry Cathedral

James Savage-Hanford
St Etheldreda’s, Ely Place

Matthew Schellhorn
Director of Music for London, Latin Mass Society of England and Wales

Juliet Schiemann
Associated with Oratory of St Mary Magdalen, Wandsworth and Royal Hospital Chelsea

Francis Shepherd
St Mary’s in the Lace Market, Nottingham

Charlotte Shipley
Associated with Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace

Nigel Short
Artistic Director of Tenebrae; associated with St Bartholomew the Great

Dr David Skinner
Osborne Director of Music, Sidney Sussex College Cambridge

Julian Smith
St George’s Hanover Square

Madeleine Smith
St Magnus-the-Martyr

William Smith
Associated with Holy Trinity Sloane Street and St Giles in the Fields

James Soriano
Chelmsford Cathedral

Susanna Spicer
The Choir of the London Oratory

Julian Stocker
Westminster Abbey

Caroline Stormer
Farm Street Church and The Liberal Jewish Synagogue

Clare Sutherland
St George’s Church, Bloomsbury

Oliver Tarney
Head of Academic Music, Winchester College

Phil Tebb
St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Ben Thapa
St George’s Cathedral, Southwark

Gareth Thomas
St Peter’s, Eaton Square

Daniel Thomson
Associated with St Bartholomew the Great and St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

Jeremy Thurlow
Director of Music, Robinson College Cambridge

Sophie Timms
Holy Trinity Brook Green

William Townend
St Margaret Lothbury

Richard Townend
Director of Music, St Margaret Lothbury

Felicity Turner
HM Tower of London

Shirley Vaughan
St George’s Hanover Square and West London Synagogue

Dominic Veall
Associated with St Luke’s and Christ Church, Chelsea, and All Saints, Fulham

Matthew Venner
St Paul’s Cathedral

Genevieve Wakelin
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and St Clement Danes

Graham Walker
Precentor, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Director of St John’s Voices, St John’s College, Cambridge

Robin Walker
Director of Music, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Simon Wall
Westminster Abbey

John Alexander Ward
Director of Music, St Mary, The Boltons

John Ward
Chelsea Old Church

Judith Weir
Composer, Former Master of the Queen’s Music

Elizabeth Weisberg
Associated with the Choir of the London Oratory and St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Emily Wenman
St Pancras New Church and St Francis of Assisi, Pottery Lane

Lawrence White
St Clement Danes Church

Edward Wickham
Director of Music, St Catharine’s College, Cambridge

Hannah Wight
Associated with St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, and St Aloysius, Oxford

Phil Wilcox
Associated with Manchester Cathedral and Bradford Cathedral

Mark Wilde
Lincoln Cathedral; Professor of Singing, Royal Academy of Music

Bethan Williams
St Silas, Kentish Town

Claire Williams
Associated with St Margaret’s, Westminster, and Guildford Cathedral

Francis Williams
Associated with St Bride’s, Fleet Street

Lawrence Williams
Associated with Chelsea Old Church and Westminster Abbey

Christian Wilson
HM Tower of London

Gareth Wilson
Director of Music, Christ Church, Chelsea; Director of Chapel Music, Girton College, Cambridge

Suzanne Wilson
St Margaret’s Church, Westminster

Thomas Wilson
Lincoln Cathedral

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