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Friends support Minster Choristers
Published: on 22nd June 2006 by Eleanor Course in Friends of York Minster News
The Friends of York Minster have raised £167,000 to provide an endowment for a chorister scholarship, as part of the Minster’s £30 million Development Campaign. The Friends’ choristership endowment will be presented to the choir at Evensong on 24 June, as part of the annual Friends of York Minster Festival.
The focus of the Development Campaign is the £23 million project to restore the Minster’s East Front, but £7 million is also being raised to support the music and educational life of the Cathedral.
The Honorary Secretary of the Friends of York Minster, Barbara Westray said, “When the Campaign was launched, members of the Friends immediately wanted to support it. It was important to find a way to do this within our constitution, and our comparatively modest funds, and the Friends’ Council proposed an endowment for a chorister scholarship. To provide the annual amount of £5,000 required to fund an individual chorister requires an endowment of £167,000, so some serious fundraising was needed.
“There have been three key fundraising events: the Minster Choir concert in October, Lord Hurd’s lecture in November, and a Mozart concert at Sledmere in May, all splendid evenings which helped to swell the fund. There have also been contributions from various Friends’ outings and events during the year. However, the generosity of Friends’ individual donations has confirmed that this is a cause worthy of our support. It has been a joy to read their letters with memories of special occasions, both nostalgic and poignant, connected with the Minster and its music.”
If you would like to help the restoration of York Minster’s East Front, or help preserve its music and educational life, please send a cheque made payable to the ‘York Minster Fund’ to the Development Office, Church House, Ogleforth, York YO1 7JN; telephone 01904 557245 or email richards@yorkminster.org.