Festival Announces Award Winner 2022

After a Covid-induced gap of two years, Edington Music Festival is delighted to be able to announce the winner of the 2022 Edington Festival Award: St Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton. The announcement was made on Wednesday 24 th August during the Festival with the St Peter’s Church’s Director of Music, Callum Alger, in the congregation.

The award was set up by the Edington Music Festival in 2019 using a legacy from a festival supporter, through the offices of the Cathedral Music Trust, which administers the award as part of its grants scheme.

Its aim is to support musical training, and vocal training in particular, for boy and girl choristers at churches which have an established choir and regularly sing services. These choirs have an ambition to improve and expand the scope of their activities, but do not have the infrastructure or budgets to achieve it. The award is entirely inclusive, so that training will be supported for all choristers in the winning church. The choristers at St Peter’s are drawn from across the city of Wolverhampton, and this award – £3000 this year – will mean that every chorister will be able to access quality musical tuition, regardless of background or education.

Callum Alger, Director of Music at St Peter’s, is delighted that his church has won the award; “St Peter’s has a proud record of supporting vocal education for our choristers, particularly through schemes such as the Royal School of Church Music’s Voice for Life awards. Covid has had quite a profound effect on what we have been able to offer, and this has also impacted upon recruitment and membership. Our plans to expand the music department with additional staff, in addition to regular singing lessons for the choristers will aid our recruitment drive and help us go from strength to strength. The generous grant from the Edington Festival will go a long way to help with this. Thank you, Edington Music Festival!”

Edington Festival Director Robert Quinney adds; “We are delighted to give support to the excellent work being done at St Peter’s, Wolverhampton. The energy with which their long tradition is being renewed is truly impressive, and we hope that our support of the choristers’ vocal training will enhance their education. It has been good to welcome Callum Alger to the Festival and hear more about his work and future plans.”

Previous Winners

2020 – Portsmouth Cathedral

2021 – Leicester Cathedral