Music at Rochester Cathedral
Departmental Staff Changes
Organist ~ After many years as Director of Music, Roger Sayer has decided that the time has come to develop his freelance career beyond the cathedral. A part-time post of Cathedral Organist covering the weekends and major services has been agreed, to allow Roger to build up a portfolio of freelance work around his cathedral commitments.
Director of Music ~ As a consequence of Roger becoming Cathedral Organist, the post of Director of Music will become vacant in September. Further details are now on the Cathedral News page.
Assistant Director of Music ~ The creation of the post of Cathedral Organist will free up some of Dan Soper's time to manage the web-site and provide some general IT support alongside his musical commitments.
Organ Scholar ~ William Baldry will complete his year with us in July and be leaving at the end of the school year. Tamsin Brown has been appointed as the new organ scholar. She is currently organ scholar at Carlisle, and will be joining us at the start of the Autumn term.
Choral scholars ~ From September we will have 3 choral scholars (one each of alto, tenor, bass) singing alongside three Deputy Lay Clerks. We have granted scholarships to an Alto and Tenor so far, and are interested in hearing from any Basses - details are available here.
Music is a central part of the living heritage of Rochester Cathedral. The existence of a choir of boys and men can be traced back many hundreds of years, and the continuation and enrichment of this tradition serve as a link between past and present generations of worshippers and visitors within its walls.
At the heart of the work and witness of the Cathedral are its daily services, and the first duty of the Cathedral’s musicians is to provide music for the liturgy as it is celebrated week in, week out. The Office of Evensong is typically sung on six days each week, and the Cathedral Choirs also play a central role in the gathering of the wider Cathedral community at the three choral Sunday services.
Music both reflects and helps to shape the pattern of worship throughout the Christian year, especially at the great celebrations of Christmas and Easter, and at every service it acts to bring worshippers closer to the beauty and majesty of God.
This work would not be possible without a dedicated team of musicians of many ages and backgrounds. To find out more about this dedicated team please go to the Who's Who page.
Worship and Music Policy
In November 2007, the Dean and Chapter published the Cathedral's Worship and Music Policy, which will come into effect from September 2008. It is available to download as a PDF here.
If you would like to receive a copy of the monthly Music Sheet please contact Kay McDowell on 01634 810062. There is an annual charge of £5 for providing this service.
