The next generation

Here at the Diocese of Leeds, not only do we teach children to sing, we're also training up the next generation of choir trainers. Peter Thompson, Head Chorister at Leeds Cathedral and Year 10 pupil at St John Fisher School in Harrogate, chose to do his work experience with us and got a taste of what life is like as a member of staff in the music department. As well as receiving his first organ lesson from Diocesan Director of Music Ben Saunders, Peter joined Choral Director Christopher Johns in three primary schools and actually took part of the rehearsal in two of them! In the picture on the right, you can see him teaching the choir of St Cuthbert and the First Martyrs' Primary School in Heaton the three-part round 'Any time you need a Calypso'.

Who knows, perhaps we'll see Peter as a permanent member of the music department staff in ten years' time!

Wharfedale Festival Sucesses

It has been a busy week for BYC at the Wharfedale Festival!

For the first time, the Bradford Boys' Choir competed in the Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts. As choir in residence at St Josephs Church in Bradford, the choir were eligible to compete in the Church Choirs class of the Festival.

Conducted by Dr Christopher Johns, and accompanied on the organ by Cathedral organ scholar Daniel Rathbone, the choir sang 'All things bright and beautiful' by John Rutter. Awarding the choir first place, the adjudicator praised the choirs diction and sense of ensemble, whilst also giving pointers for the future. The choir returned home with the 'Duncan Challenge Shield' pictured below.

The Craiglands School Choir day saw no fewer than 12 BYC school choirs compete! A busy day for singers, accompanists, conductors and adjudicator alike! In the secondary school platform, St Josephs Catholic College retained the 'Elizabeth Ingle Trophy,' for winning the Church Music School Choirs class, beating Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College into a close second place. Of St Josephs College, the adjudicator praised the choir for 'wearing the music of their faces!'

In the very competitive primary school classes, there were some excellent performances, with St Walburgas and St Francis clinching 2nd and 3rd places respectively in the 11 and under class.

BYC success was not just limited to our choirs: Elizabeth Cockshott and Hayley Nolan, both long standing members of the BYC Girls choir enjoyed success in solo classes. Elizabeth won first prize in the Junior organ solo class (winning a £15 gift token!) whilst Hayley achieved a creditable 3rd place in the Vocal solo 17 and under, singing the Handel song 'Where'er you walk.'

Congratulations to all!

Click here for an updated BYC roll of honour

New organ in Ilkley

The pipe organ has long played an important part in Christian worship: indeed The Liturgical Constitution of the Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concillium, had this to say:

In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things. (# 120)

It is therefore a cause of great joy when a church in the Diocese is able to install a new organ.

The church of the Sacred Heart Ilkley took delivery of a new organ last week. The instrument is made my Schumaker of Germany and has mechanical key and stop action. It was installed by Peter Collins with consultant John Rowntree (Director of Music at Doui Abbey.)

Catholic Girls' Choir Festival in Leeds Cathedral

Around 100 girls performed in the beautiful setting of Leeds Cathedral on Sunday 4th May. The occasion was the first ever ‘Catholic Girls’ Choir festival Concert.’ Joining choirs from the Diocese of Leeds was special guest choir: The Schola Puellarum of Ampleforth Abbey. The choir’s began and ended the concert by singing as a 100 strong choir. Particularly well received by the audience was a beautiful rendition of ‘Panis Angelicus’ by Cesar Frank which brought the concert to a close.

In addition to these joint items each choir presented a selection of their own repertoire. First up was the Bradford Girls’ Choir, who have a busy Summer ahead of them with a tour to France, and an appearance as finalists in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod! They sang music from France, America, Africa and the UK ranging from 16th century polyphony through to the well know African chant ‘Freedom is coming!’

Next to perform was the Schola Puellarum of Ampleforth Abbey, directed by Kate Morgan. Founded in 2004 when Ampleforth College went co-educational, the girls’ choir was formed with the aim of giving girls an opportunity to contribute to the thriving choral tradition of the school and the liturgical life of the Abbey Church. The schola performed movements from Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ with some outstanding solo contributions from members of the choir.

Finally, the host choir, Leeds Cathedral girls’ choir performed. The Cathedral girls’ choir is the longest established choir of its type in an English Catholic Cathedral and acknowledged as ranking amongst the finest of cathedral girls' choirs, they have broadcast nationally many times on BBC Radio to considerable critical acclaim. Their wide ranging program included works from the Baroque period (Vivaldi, Pergolesi and Couperin) alongside works from the 20th Century, including a setting of Panis Angelicus by Giles Swayne, commissioned by the Cathedral.

Both the Bradford Girls’ Choir and the Cathedral Girls’ Choir were directed by Christopher McElroy, Assistant Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds. Organ accompaniments for the concert were provided by William Dore (Assistant Director of Music and College Organist, Ampleforth) and Christopher Johns (Choral Director, Diocese of Leeds.)

The concert was introduced by Mgr Michael Mcquinn, Vicar General who said how proud he was of the flourishing music program here in the Diocese of Leeds, and how delighted he was to welcome singers from Ampleforth Abbey to perform at the concert. The Diocese of Leeds runs the largest Catholic youth singing program in the UK, with over 100 children taking part in singing activities each week.

The concert was well received by the packed Cathedral – one member of the audience commented “We really enjoyed the programme this afternoon, especially the opportunity to see three such talented and yet quite different choirs, each with their own distinct identity. Hope this will not be the last such festival!”

For more photo's, click here.

For all the Saints

St Josephs Catholic College, Bradford, yesterday celebrated their Centenary with a special mass with the whole school for the feast of St Joseph.



The College Choir lead the singing at Mass which included a wide variety of music in both English and Latin, ranging from 12th Century plainsong through to offerings from the Taize community, based in France.

Two items were specially commissioned for this centenary celebration. Elizabeth Stratford, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Arundel Cathedral composed a setting of the Ave Maria for choir and congregation. Included in the verses is a prayer to St Joseph -


'O, St Joseph by your protection I place in you all my objects and desires

obtain for me from your divine son, all spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ.'


The liturgy concluded with the singing of 'For all the Saints' with a specially composed verse by Headteacher, Mr Pat McDermott relating to the feast of St Joseph, and thanks for his patronage of the College over it's one hundred year life!

Sing Up in the Cathedral!

The joyful voices of over 60 children from diocesan schools flooded Leeds Cathedral on the evening of April 23rd in the first of a series of ‘Sing Up!’ concerts.


Children from Holy Rosary and St. Anne’s Primary, Leeds; St. Benedict’s Primary, Garforth and St. Ignatius’ Primary, Ossett entertained their audience with a variety of songs from different cultures and languages, including Italian, Zulu and Polynesian. They were joined by choristers from the Cathedral’s own Boys’ and Girls’ choirs, who complemented the schools’ music with that of Pergolesi, Franck, and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous Pie Jesu. The children were also treated to hear the Cathedral Organ being played at full capacity by Christopher McElroy, the Assistant Director of Music at the Cathedral, who played J.S. Bach’s dazzling Toccata in D Minor.

The whole evening was topped and tailed by massed choir pieces, including Go Down Jonah from Jonah Man Jazz, the musical cantata by Michael Hurd. Every song was sung from memory; the effort, discipline and enthusiasm of every child was outstanding and made the evening into a very enjoyable event.

The concert was introduced by Mgr Michael Mcquinn, Vicar General, who welcomed the children and their families to the ‘mother church’ of the Diocese.

The concert, directed by Charlotte Kitson, (Choral Director for the Diocese of Leeds) forms part of the Cathedral’s commitment to the ‘Sing Up!’ programme, facilitated by the Government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families. The aim of the programme is to make singing central to children’s lives in school, in the home and in the wider community. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to learn things when you sing them?

Cathedral Choirs are becoming increasingly involved with promoting singing and instrumental playing in their locality and are at the forefront of the ‘Sing Up!’ campaign to boost singing in primary schools. The Diocese of Leeds operates the largest Catholic youth singing program in the UK, with over 1000 children taking part in singing each week!

The next ‘Sing Up!’ concert will take place on Tuesday 17th June in the Cathedral, and will feature six primary schools from the Kirklees area, joined by the choir of All Saints’ Catholic College, Huddersfield a few weeks before they travel to compete in the World Choir Olympics in Austria!

Photos: © Patrick Sice

Catholic Girls' Choir Festival

Sunday 4th May sees an exciting concert at Leeds Cathedral.

Make a date in your diary now!

Oh when the Saints!

All Saints Catholic College in Huddersfield, who created a choir from scratch eight months ago in a project inspired by TV documentary The Choir, has sung its way to a coveted place in the World Choir Games in Austria this summer.

All Saints is one of two schools selected from ten from across the country who performed in a dedicated showcase for The Opal Choir Project this week (16 April) at the Royal Albert Hall. The event, The Magic of Music, was the culmination of a challenging journey of hard work and training with Choir Director, Christopher McElroy, Assistant Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds. The concert was the highlight of an expenses-paid trip to London, which included a visit to the Natural History Museum and a trip on the London Eye.

In line with the aims of the Music Manifesto, The Opal Choir Project was created with the ambition of “helping bring music back into education”. At a time when Britain is facing a crisis of confidence in its teenagers, it has offered everyone involved an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a new set of skills and to perform in one of the most iconic concert halls in the world. Whilst offering the children from All Saints Catholic School a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the World Choir Games in Austria, the project will leave a lasting legacy of music in all ten schools.

The Magic of Music was hosted by Songs of Praise and ex Blue Peter presenter Diane-Louise Jordan and featured guest performances from the London Metropolitan University Choir and award-winning trio Tenors Un Limited. The evening featured a wide range of musical style and genres,- from classical through to traditional African, gospel and pop - and climaxed in a rousing finale of Nessun Dorma and You Raise Me Up with all the choirs.

An expert panel of judges included: singer and actress Sharon D Clarke (best known for her roles as Dr Lola Griffin in Holby City and Mama Morton in Chicago), Founder and Principal of The Voices Foundation Suzi Digby, and vocal coach and musical director Stuart Barr.

In the judging, Sharon D Clarke praised All Saints Catholic School Choir for:
“Clear, tuneful, beautiful harmonies” and “a wonderful blend with fabulous bases from the boys”.

Stuart Wall, Founder of The Opal Foundation, said:
“The Magic of Music was a real tribute to the courage and commitment of all the young people taking part, their choir masters and teachers. Our congratulations to All Saints Catholic School School for its tremendous performance. We will now be supporting the choir all the way through to The World Choir Games and wish them all the best for this next stage of the musical journey!”

UPDATED: click here for an article in the Huddersfield Examiner.

School Choir triumphs at the Royal Albert Hall

BREAKING NEWS:

All Saints Catholic College, Huddersfield last night took first prize in the OPAL 'Magic of Music' choir competition at the Royal Albert Hall in London!

They will travel to Austria in July to represent England in the choir Olympics, all expenses paid through the generosity of the OPAL choir foundation.

Well done All Saints!!!

Stay tuned for a full report shortly!

African Sanctus

In addition to their role as 'Choir in residence' at St Josephs Church in Bradford, the Bradford Boys' Choir also regularly perform at concerts in West Yorkshire and beyond.

Last night saw the boys' take part in a concert in Bradford Cathedral. Performing alongside the Bradford Festival Choral Society the choirs performed 'African Sanctus' by David Fanshawe.

On the composers website, we read about the striking work:

African Sanctus is a universal work whose impact is immediate, whose message is simple, the driving force is one of Praise and a firm believe in One Music - One God. It informs both listener and performer about African music and its relationship to Western polyphony and captures the eternal and spiritual soul of music. It is an event, a celebration of power and energy, both visual, aural and multi-cultural, now performed live all over the world. For David Fanshawe there are no musical barriers.

African Sanctus is an unorthodox setting of the Latin Mass harmonised with traditional African music recorded by the composer on his now legendary journeys up the River Nile (1969-73). The taped music from Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya is heard in counterpoint with the live chorus, soprano soloist and instrumental ensemble. The work is composed in 13 movements and reflects geographically the composer’s cross-shaped pilgrimage, from the Mediterranean to Lake Victoria, whereby Kyrie represents Cairo and Sanctus Northern Uganda.

The Bradford Boys' Choir with Neville Creed, Conductor and Maureen Brathwaite, Soprano.

Ready to Raise the Roof

Only three days till All Saints Catholic College Choir, Huddersfield and St Bedes Male Voice Choir, Bradford perform in the Royal Albert Hall in London!

The choirs performed last week in a concert at Bradford University, their final performance before traveling down to the nations most hallowed concert hall on Wednesday.

On Wednesday they will compete in the OPAL 'Magic of Music' concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Formed from scratch only one year ago, both school choirs are raring to go and hope to do West Yorkshire and the Diocese of Leeds proud!

Click here to read a report in the Bradford T&A Ready to raise the roof !

Also - West Yorks school singers aim for World Choir Games

Sacred music program on BBC Four

BBC TV is running an excellent new series called 'Sacred Music' on BBC Four. It's not often that we see whole TV programs devoted to such topics, so this is definately worth a watch!

The program airs on Friday nights, 8pm on BBC Four.

Last week's program focussed on the 'Gothic revolution' - charting the story of the early development of Christian church music from the haunting simplicity of plain song to the full glory of gothic polyphony.

Tonight's program is intruigingly entitled 'Palestrina and the Popes' - sounds very relevant to Catholic Music!

If you miss the program, catch it agin on BBC IPlayer.

Songs of Praise from Leeds

This Sunday sees the second 'Songs of Praise' program to be broadcast this year on BBC 1 TV from Leeds Cathedral.

The theme of the program is Confession, and features music from the Cathedral Boys, Girls and Adult Choirs as well as a large congregation drawn from across West Yorkshire. Hymns include favorite such as 'Praise my Soul the King of Heaven' and 'Just as I am, without one plea.'

The Cathedral Boys' and Adult choir sing a beautiful setting of Psalm 51 by Spanish composer Pedro de Christo: 'Miserere Mei Domine'

BBC 1 TV - Sunday 30th March 2008, 5-5.35pm.

Don't miss it!

Lunchtime Recital at Leeds Cathedral

Tom Leech
Ripon Cathedral
Thursday 6 March 2008 1.10pm


A selection of movements from Klavierübung III J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Praeludium pro Organo pleno BWV 552, i

Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit alio modo, manualiter, BWV 672
Christe, aller Welt Trost BWV 673
Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist BWV 674

Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr a 3, Canto fermo in Alto, BWV 675
Fughetta super Allein Gott manualiter, BWV 677

Vater unser im Himmelreich a 2 Clav. et Pedal e Canto fermo in Canone, BWV 682

Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam a 2 Clav. e Canto fermo in Pedale, BWV 684

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir a 6 BWV 686

Duetto II BWV 803

Fuga a 5 con pedale pro Organo pleno BWV 552, ii


Thomas Leech became Assistant Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral in September 2004 following three years as Organ Scholar at Norwich Cathedral. He graduated from Downing College, Cambridge, in July 2001, after spending three years there as Organ Scholar. Whilst reading for a music degree at the university he conducted Downing College Chapel Choir and Darwin College Choir, also conducting a number of major orchestral works. With Downing College Chapel Choir he toured to Belgium, Holland, Hungary, Poland and the U.S.A. and with Norwich Cathedral Choirs to Italy, Norway and Belgium. He has also given concerts in France and Portugal. In addition to playing for the daily choral services at Ripon Cathedral he has performed as a soloist in numerous English venues, his playing has been broadcast on BBC1, Radio 3 and Classic FM and recorded on acclaimed discs with Norwich Cathedral Girls’ Choir on Lammas Records and Ripon Cathedral Choirs on Regent Records and York Ambisonic. Festival engagements have included the Cambridge Summer Music Festival and the Ripon International Festival (with trumpeter Alison Balsom) and last October he was Festival Organist for the Yorkshire Three Choirs’ Festival. Concerts in 2008 include solo recitals in Coventry and St. David’s Cathedrals, The Temple Church and Westminster Abbey. He studied organ with David Sanger and in November 2002 studied in Germany with Johannes Geffert and at Klais Orgelbau with the inaugural Klais Organ Scholarship from the Eric Thompson Trust. He has participated in masterclasses and academies with many of today’s leading organists. Thomas is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, winning the Durrant and Turpin prizes in the Fellowship examinations. He became Musical Director of Bradford Festival Choral Society in January of this year, and is honoured to be President-Elect of Leeds Organists’ Association.

BYC Choirs to perform at Bradford University

This tem sees two of our BYC choirs plus the Choir of All Saints, Huddersfield perform as part of the University of Bradford Spring/ Summer 08 concert series.



On Saturday 8th March, the Bradford Girls' Choir will join the University Singers and Orchestra in a performance of John Rutter's 'Requiem' alongside other English music.



Wednesday 9th April sees a concert in the glass atrium that dominates the universities skyline entitled 'Young Voices' which will feature St. Bedes MVC and the choir of All Saints Catholic College, Huddersfield. Exactly one week later, both choirs will feature in a singing competition in the Royal Albert Hall in London!



Click here for further details about both these concerts, as well as many other musical and artistic events that will be taking place at the university this term.

BYC on BBC R4

The Bradford Youth Choir today broadcast the Daily Service live on BBC R4 LW. The BBC's longest running program, the Daily Service is transmitted live each day from Emmanuel Church in Didsbury. The service is usually led by a professional choir, but occasionally choirs are invited to lead the music, so it was a great privilege for 50 youngsters from Bradford to be able to use their musical talents to an listenership of around 200,000 people.




The Bradford Youth Choir is part of the Diocese of Leeds singing program: the largest catholic singing program in the UK. Drawn from Catholic schools across Bradford and Keighley, the young singers sing both in and out of school under the direction of Diocese of Leeds musicians Christopher Johns, Charlotte Kitson and Christopher McElroy.



The broadcast can be listened to for the next seven days on the BBC's 'listen back' feature. Click here to listen (Thursday 28th February, Persistent Prayer)

Diocese of Leeds choirs hit European City of Culture!

Liverpool is the European City of Culture 2008 - as a result, many special events are taking place around the city. This Wednesday, two schools choirs from the Diocese of Leeds accepted an invitation to perform at Liverpool Hope University.

The Concert took place on the Everton Campus, in the great hall at Cornerstone. The concert entitled 'OPAL voices' involved St. Bedes Male Voice Choir, Bradford and All Saints Catholic College, Huddersfield alongside St. Francis of Assisi Academy in Liverpool. The choirs were welcomed to Liverpool Hope University by Philip Duffy, Director of Performance and Exhibitions (and for many years Master of the Music at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, building up the fine choral tradition that exists there today.)

Both All Saints and St. Bedes choirs only began life in September of this year, working in partnership with the Diocese of Leeds music department who direct the choir in each school. In April both choirs will compete against seven others choirs from around the country in a competition in the Royal Albert Hall in London to win a place in the coveted Choir Olympics which take place this Summer in Austria.

Each choir sang a selection of their repertoire, beginning and ending the concert with all the choirs singing on stage together. The Choir of St Francis of Assisi was directed by Phillip Arkwright, Sub Organist at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The choirs of St. Bedes and All Saints were Directed by Christopher McElroy, Assistant Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds.

After the concert the children from All Saints received an unexpected treat when they went to see the Metropolitan Cathedral. They entered the cathedral to find that the final rehearsal of a new work by John Tavener was being rehearsed: his Requiem, composed for the 2008 City of Culture celebrations. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Vasily Petrenko left the children spellbound for 20 minutes before they boarded their coach back to West Yorkshire!

HCPT Charity Concert

Each year HCPT organise a pilgrimage to Lourdes, the Marian shrine in the South of France. As part of the fund raising for the local HCPT a charity concert was staged at St. Winefrides Catholic Church in Wibsey, Bradford featuring local choirs and soloists.

Featured soloist was baritone Mr Dominic Rose, a member of Leeds Cathedral Adult Choir and a local music teacher. Dominic enthused the audience with a wide variety of music ranging from 'Panis Angelicus' through to 'The Last Chord' by Arthur Sullivan.

The concert opened with St. Bedes Male Voice Choir under the direction of Chris McElroy. In just 6 weeks time the choir will compete in the OPAL Choir competition in the Royal Albert Hall in London! This was the first of 4 'warm-up' performances for the big day in April, and the choir did a great job singing music from America, England, Italy and Spain. Watch out for more info on this choir soon!

BYC works with 18 catholic schools in the Bradford area, and we were fortunate that two of our primary school choirs were able to perform at this concert, braving the sub zero temperatures outdoors! Hosts St Winefrides delighted the audience with a performance of 'All things bright and beautiful.' This was followed by St. Anthony's, Clayton who sang the Lenten song 'Praise to you, O Christ our Savior.' Both choirs, trained by Christopher Johns (Choral Director for the Diocese of Leeds) filled the church with their singing!

The evening concluded with performances from the Bradford Boys' Choir, the elite choir for Boys singing in Bradford. The choir sang music by Malcolm Archer, Vaughan Williams and Moses Hogan.

After the concert choirs and audience alike retired to the church hall for refreshments and to learn more about the work of HCPT.

Redefining Outreach

Click here to read an article about the 'outreach' singing program here in the Diocese of Leeds. The article is taken from Church Music Quarterly, the magazine of the Royal School of Church Music.


With a readership of 80,000 worldwide, CMQ is an influential periodical illustrating the happenings of the church music world. Each issue offers a wide range of articles and interviews by distinguished musicians, theologians and scholars, providing expert advice, information and inspiration for readers.

Redefining Outreach, written by Benjamin Saunders, Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds illustrates how the Diocese of Leeds has broken new ground in its Diocesan singing program. Unlike the traditional Anglican Cathedral model, here in the Diocese of Leeds we consider all of our singing schools to be 'Choir schools' in their own right - each receiving training from high calibre cathedral musicians.

This article was published in ‘Church Music Quarterly’ June 2007 and is reproduced with permission of The Royal School of Church Music, with thanks. It may not be further reproduced without the permission of the RSCM.

One year and running!

Happy birthday dear blog!!




It is now one year since we have begun chronicling happenings in the Diocese of Leeds Music Department - with singing programs in Leeds, Bradford, Keighley and Huddersfield there's plenty going on!


Click here for the very first post once year ago - I hope you enjoy reading these posts, and you find them informative!