Welcome to The Choirbook Trust

About Us

The Choirbook Trust came into existence as the result of an inspirational idea from Robert Ponsonby and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies some eight years ago : to produce a Choirbook for The Queen, a collection of contemporary anthems, published for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen in 2012 and accompanied by a year-long celebration of services that will showcase the excellence of choral writing and the continuation of the choral tradition by cathedral choirs and other choral foundations around the country.

Since the idea was suggested, plans for the Choirbook have been developed carefully, allowing for consultation with composers, publishers and choral foundations; when it is published at the end of 2011, the Choirbook will contain forty four anthems, including eleven new anthems commissioned by The Choirbook Trust. Eighty cathedral and choral foundation choirs will sing the anthems during the Jubilee year in the context of services, many of which will be broadcast by Radio 3 and on local radio.

Fundraising for the production of the Choirbook and the commissioning of the new anthems is now complete, thanks to extremely generous support from the Foyle Foundation, Friends of Cathedral Music and a number of other trusts, Further fundraising from our Diamond Suscribers has enabled all of the participating choral foundation choirs to own a set of Choirbooks, so that they may be used in 2012 and for many years beyond, enriching the choral repertoire and creating a legacy that is a testament to the creativity and endurance of the choral tradition of this country.

We very much hope that you will join us in 2012, for this celebration of our great choral heritage.

Professor Peter Toyne

Chairman, The Choirbook Trust