Salisbury Diocesan Choral Festival Group

After over 160 years of service to the Diocese, the Salisbury Diocesan Choral Festival Group has been wound up, and responsibility for arranging Choral Festivals and the organisation of Chorister Awards passes to the Royal School of Church Music.

The Salisbury Diocesan Choral Association was founded in 1858 and was succeeded by the Salisbury Diocesan Church Music Committee, and again in 1997 by the Salisbury Diocesan Choral Festival Group. During this period, the various groups normally organised one or more festivals each year in the Cathedral and other churches for the choirs of the Diocese.

The Bishop’s Award to Choristers was the first of the awards to be presented and was well established by the 1980s. In the mid-1990s, it was joined by the Dean’s Award to Choristers and both awards were, until 2020, validated by the Royal School of Church Music as equivalent to their bronze and silver awards.

The 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

David King, Hon Treasurer of SDCFG, says:

“A big ‘thank you’ to all the choirs that have supported the festivals over many years, to all the conductors and organists who have created memorable festivals for the choirs and to all the composers who have written new works for the festivals.”

An archive of the festivals from 2000 onwards is available here.

Visit the RSCM website here.

Any enquiries relating to the Salisbury Diocesan Choral Festival Group or its predecessors should be directed, in the first instance, to Canon Jonathan Triffitt, Director of Mission and Ministry and Deputy Diocesan Secretary, via 01722 411944 or jonathan.triffitt@salisbury.anglican.org.

Jonathan will also be able to advise on the availability of festival books from the period 2000-2021 and replacement medallions.