Festival of St Cecilia
24th November 2010 at 11:00 am
The Festival of St Cecilia, a Musicians Benevolent Fund annual event, is a celebration of the Patron Saint of Music and Musicians. The festival has been held in London each year since 1946, on the Wednesday nearest to St Cecilia’s Day, 22 November.
The festival service rotates between St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. The music is sung by the combined choirs of the three churches and a new anthem is specially commissioned each year. The Service also features a spectacular robed procession by the City Livery Companies.
This year’s festival service took place on Wednesday 24 November at Westminster Abbey and included the anthem by composer Jonathan Dove. There were readings by Diane Louise Jordan (presenter of BBC 1’s Songs of Praise) and Sean Rafferty (presenter of BBC Radio 3’s In Tune).
The Musicians Benevolent Fund was founded in 1921, in memory of an English tenor called Gervase Elwes. Since then the Fund has grown to be the largest charity of its kind in the UK. The Fund supports music professionals throughout their working lives when a crisis such as an accident or illness can have a devastating impact and, in later life, with the challenges that growing older can bring. It also supports talented, financially needy young musicians to enable them to fully develop their creativity and musical potential, ensuring they enter the profession with the best prospects of success.