Herbert Sumsion host cities, along with Worcester and Hereford, of the Three Choirs Festival, an annual festival of choral emphasis first held in the early 18th century. Sumsion would later write of his musically formative experiences at the cathedral: ‘Quite soon after my entry into the choir I was singing with the [Three Choirs] Festival Chorus and gradually absorbing the choral music of the great classical composers and the contemporary writers, of whom the giant was certainly Elgar.' When Sumsion’s treble voice broke at age 15, he became an ‘articled pupil’ to Brewer, a designation connoting a three-year apprenticeship in organ, choral
Andrew Millington the longstanding conductor. He moved on to Downing College, Cambridge, serving as organ scholar between 1971 and 1974. It was during this time that he became a fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO). At Cambridge he obtained his degree. His teachers included David Willcocks, George Guest and John Rutter. In 1975 he was appointed assistant organist at Gloucester Cathedral, a role he combined with a teaching post at the cathedral school (King's School). He stayed at Gloucester till 1983, during which time he was centrally involved in various aspects of the Three Choirs Festival. In 1983 he took