St Paul’s appoints first full-time female chorister in 1,000-year history
St Paul’s Cathedral has appointed its first full-time female chorister in its 1,000-year history.
Carris Jones, 35, was unanimously selected to join the choir’s alto section by a panel including the cathedral’s director of music, organist and team of clergymen after several rounds of auditions.
St Paul’s musical director Andrew Carwood said Jones stood out because of her powerful and lyrical voice.
Most cathedrals now accept female choristers, and until recently St Paul’s was one of only four Anglican cathedrals without any women, along with Chichester, Oxford and Hereford. However, girls are usually accepted into separate all-female choirs, and mixed-sex choirs are still quite rare.
Following her appointment, Jones tweeted: “Well, it’s been quite a 24 hrs! Thrilled beyond measure to be joining @StPaulsChoir and @StPaulsLondon and overwhelmed by kind messages.”
The singer applied for the role after spotting an advert that stated that both women and men would be considered for the role. She told the Daily Telegraph: “It wasn’t just for me, it was for lots of my other female colleagues as well.
“I feel very lucky to be joining a choir that has been so keen for so long to get women involved.”
Carwood said he hoped the new appointment would inspire other women to apply in future. He told the Guardian: “Carris stood out as a singer with a beautiful voice which has both power and lyricism.
“She was flexible in her approach to different styles of music and an excellent sight-reader – which is very important for us. Her personality also seemed a good fit to work with all the staff at St Paul’s.
“We are certainly very happy to welcome sopranos, mezzos and contraltos if they can meet the very high standards which we require. I certainly hope that other singers will feel empowered by Carris’ appointment as it is important that women have a strong voice in cathedral music.”
The introduction of female singers into the traditional world of cathedral choirs was fiercely resisted in some quarters. In 1991, a group called the Campaign for the Traditional Cathedral Choir was founded in response to the creation of a girls’ choir at Salisbury Cathedral. It warned against “sacrificing a wonderful, ancient tradition of men and boys’ choirs for political correctness”.
The CTCC was not immediately available for comment about the new appointment at St Paul’s.
Jones, a Cambridge history graduate, will earn £24,000-a-year in her full-time role on the St Paul’s choir. She previously worked as a freelance singer and has performed across the world with various different musical groups, and worked on the soundtracks for the Harry Potter and The Hobbit film franchises.
She had worked with several members of the choir – which comprises 12 vicars choral, eight probationers and 26 boy treble choristers – in previous roles.