Planning your visit? Remember to check our closures.
For children with a love of singing, there can be few more rewarding experiences than being a Chorister at Canterbury Cathedral.
Girl Chorister auditions
Our next round of auditions for girl choristers will take place on Saturday 29 June 2024.
These auditions are for girls looking to join the choir when they begin year 8 in September 2024.
If you are interested in taking part, please fill in the online form below by Sunday 23 June to book a place. We will then write to you the following week with more information and timings for the audition day. Please note that parents/guardians (at least one) are asked to stay at the Cathedral with their child throughout the audition.
See 'The audition process' below to find out what will happen during the audition itself, including an instructive video.
Also, all of the information about being a chorister and what it entails can be found in our helpful Chorister Information booklet.
If you would like to observe a girl chorister rehearsal, we are planning to hold an open rehearsal for interested applicants on Monday 17 June at 7pm. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected] for more details.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
Boy Chorister auditions
Our next round of auditions for boy choristers will take place on Saturday 11 May 2024 at Canterbury Cathedral.
These auditions are for boys currently in Years 2-6. Successful candidates will be invited to join the choir in June 2024 (Years 3-6) or September 2024 (Year 2).
If you are interested in taking part, please fill in the online form below by Sunday 5 May to book a place. We will then write to you the following week with more information and timings for the audition day. Please note that parents/guardians (at least one) are asked to stay at the Cathedral with their child throughout the audition.
See 'The audition process' below to find out what will happen during the audition itself, including an instructive video.
Also, all of the information about being a chorister and what it entails can be found in our helpful Chorister Information booklet.
If you would like to observe a boy chorister rehearsal, we are planning to hold an open rehearsal for interested applicants on Monday 29 April at 4.45pm. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected] for more details.
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
The audition process
The Director of Music is looking primarily for children with a love of singing, with a flair for performing, and with a good musical ear (i.e. an ability to recognise and imitate pitch and rhythm). Whilst previous experience of singing or playing a musical instrument is welcomed, it is by no means essential.
Auditions, which are informal in nature, generally last between 10 and 15 minutes. All prospective Choristers will be asked to:
- participate in a warm up;
- sing back pitches played to them on the piano;
- sing scales (no previous experience necessary);
- clap back a rhythm clapped to them;
- read out loud (not sing!) a passage from a book, which will be given to them in the audition;
- sing the first verse of the hymn O praise ye the Lord by C.H.H. Parry. Sheet music and words to help candidates prepare this hymn can be downloaded here, and a recording of the hymn being sung at the Cathedral can be viewed here. You can also watch our 'How to prepare for your chorister audition' video (right)
A conversation between Cathedral Music staff, the prospective Chorister and their parent(s)/guardian(s) forms the final part of the process.
Stay in the loop
Sign up to our newsletter and stay up to date with all the latest events, news and offers
By adding my email I confirm my subscription to the newsletter and understand that the email address provided will be held by the Cathedral and the email service company (dotdigital) to use for distributing this newsletter only. For more information please see the Cathedral Privacy Notice.
Was this page useful?
There seems to have been an error while submitting your feedback
Thank you for submitting your feedback