Westminster Cathedral Choir is today acknowledged to be one of the finest choirs of its type in the world. The establishment of a fine choral foundation was part of the original vision of the founder of Westminster Cathedral, Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, then Archbishop of Westminster. Vaughan laid great emphasis on the beauty and quality of the new Cathedral's liturgy and music.
     A vital element in realizing this vision was the inauguration of a residential choir school for the boy choristers. Daily sung Masses and Offices were immediately established when the Cathedral opened in 1903, and have continued without interruption ever since.
     Under the brilliant first Master of the Music, Richard Runciman Terry, the choir was soon regarded as the finest in England. Terry and the choir took the church music world by storm, reviving countless works which had not been heard for centuries and vigorously adding newly commissioned works to the repertoire (Britten, Holst, Howells, Mathias, Vaughan Williams, for example).
     The Westminster Cathedral Choir was among the first in Britain to make recordings; its first acoustic recording dates from 1908. Many more have followed, most recently the acclaimed series on the Hyperion label which has won many awards from critics all over the world. In 1998 its recording of Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir and Pizzetti's Requiem won the Gramophone Awards for both the "Best Choral Recording of the Year" and the prestigious "Record of the Year," the only cathedral choir to have ever won in either of these categories.
     In 2000, the choir sang at the first performance of a Mass composed by James MacMillan, which was later released on compact disc. The choristers participated in the 2003 International Gregorian Chant festival in Watou, Belgium, and the full choir performed at the Oslo International Church Musical Festival in March 2004; in April 2005 they performed in the "Due Organi in Concerto" festival in Milan.
     The Westminster Cathedral Choir's tour of the United States in October, 2006 was under the direction of Martin Baker, with Matthew Martin, organist.

"Westminster...yet another of their supreme performances."
The Musical Times

"The Westminster Cathedral men and boys carry the lyricism and harmonic luxuriance to an ethereal plane. The choral singing is superb…."
The Daily Telegraph

"The Choir is outstanding in tone, precision, and rhythmic stability."
Fanfare

RECORDINGS:  Hyperion, L'Oiseau-Lyre, Pickwick

Link to Westminster Cathedral website: http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk