A Choral Achievement

Musical director Peter Horley (centre of front row) and co-founder Canon Jonathan Young (centre of second row) with the Ascension Singers at Liverpool Cathedral, following the final service of their complete tour of the cathedrals of England.

A Cambridge-based amateur choir has completed a tour of all the cathedrals of the Church of England.

The Ascension Singers were founded in 1986 to sing concerts and services in the parish of the Ascension, Cambridge. They sang their first cathedral services at Ely in January 1987 and were soon invited back to sing at the ordination of the first women deacons. Invitations to other cathedrals followed and eventually the choir decided to visit all forty-three cathedrals, including Peel Cathedral on the Isle of Man.

In addition to the cathedrals of the Church of England, the choir has sung at Westminster Abbey, Tewkesbury Abbey, two Roman Catholic cathedrals and both Anglican cathedrals in Dublin.

Last month the singers completed their twenty-four year journey with a visit to Liverpool, where they sang on Saturday at the Metropolitan Cathedral and on Sunday at the Anglican Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. On every visit the Singers have been conducted by their musical director, Peter Horley. The choir’s repertoire has been extensive, favourite composers being Howells, Tavener, Stanford and Charles Wood, who is buried in the Parish of the Ascension.