Church and cathedral choirs across England and Wales are to benefit from almost £440,000 in grants aimed at protecting choral music and encouraging more children and young people to get involved.
The Cathedral Music Trust has awarded £438,955 across 27 grants, supporting projects ranging from new junior choirs and singing tuition to school outreach programmes and musicians' salaries.
Its chairman, Jonathan Macdonald, said many church and cathedral music departments continued to face "significant financial pressures".
He said the latest funding would help churches develop sustainable programmes which "invest in people and communities, strengthen musical excellence, and ensure that this remarkable tradition continues to flourish."
Kendal Parish Church has been awarded £4,000 to provide singing tuition for its choristers. Jonathan Bielby, its director of music, told Premier "it's life-changing".
Lancaster Priory will receive £8,655 to establish a junior training choir, designed to provide an inclusive route into choristership. Holy Trinity in Stratford-upon-Avon will receive £3,800 for a similar project. Halifax Minster has also been awarded £3,700 to launch a school's singing programme.
The Cathedral Music Trust was established in 1956, originally as the Friends of Cathedral Music, and has since awarded more than £8 million in grants. It has previously highlighted the importance of ensuring children from less affluent backgrounds can access choral scholarships and the opportunities offered through church music.
The awards come alongside a separate £400,000 Church of England and Royal School of Church Music project announced earlier this year, aimed at establishing or renewing more than 200 church choirs involving children and young people.
