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St Paul's Cathedral appoints first female chorister in 1,000-year history

St Paul's Cathedral has appointed the first-ever female chorister to join its choir full-time. 

Carris Jones, 35, a Cambridge history graduate, was unanimously confirmed as the choir's newest alto singer by a panel after several rounds of auditions. 

The £24,000-a-year full time role as a "Vicar Choral" - the name for an adult member of the choir - will start in September, as Mrs Jones is due to give birth to a baby daughter in May. 

The former freelance singer has worked on soundtracks to Harry Potter and the Hobbit, and joined Sting on his "lute tour" in 2006.

The singer, who has a son, Robin, 2, with husband Oliver Hunt, also a musician, had ambitions to work in the Foreign Office after she graduated from Cambridge with a 2:1 in her master's degree in history. 

Instead - after a brief period in the Civil Service - she became a musician, singing on film soundtracks and in operas before joining the choir at Catholic church the London Oratory.

She got the job after responding to an advert which made it clear women and men would be considered, and beating tough competition - from both genders - over several rounds of auditions. 

She feels a "responsibility" being the first woman in the cathedral choir. 

"It wasn't just for me, it was for lots of my other female colleagues as well. I feel very lucky to be joining a choir that has been so keen for so long to get women involved.

"These posts just don't come up very often.  I feel really privileged to have been in the right place at the right time," she said. 

She knows many of the choir members already, having worked with them on other projects - and says she only anticipates awkwardness when touring. 

"I'm sure things will come up. I'm sure touring with a largely male group will be interesting.

"But a number of people in the choir are already colleagues of mine so it's all very friendly," she said. 

Now a practising Anglican, Mrs Jones did not grow up Christian but found religion while at Cambridge, where she also met her husband, who was in a rival college choir. 

St Paul's Cathedral choir includes 26 boy treble choristers, eight probationers and 12 Vicars Choral, the professional adult singers who take the alto, tenor and bass parts.

Almost all other cathedral choirs have started accepting girls. Last year, St Paul's was one of four Anglican cathedrals left without girl choristers. 

Andrew Carwood, director of music at St Paul’s, said: ‘We are delighted that Carris is joining the Choir. The final round of auditions was of a very high standard and her appointment was a unanimous decision.’