Celebrating music and musicians at the annual Festival of St Cecilia

On Wednesday 22 November 2023 we welcomed over 1,000 music lovers to Westminster Cathedral for our annual Festival of St. Cecilia.

The festival has been the flagship event in Help Musicians’ for over 75 years. It’s an opportunity to come together and celebrate music and musicians. With the current set of unique challenges musicians face it is as important as ever to remember the value of music and the vital role it plays in our lives.

This year we enjoyed performances from Help Musicians supported cellist, Margarita Balanas, the choirs of Westminster Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and the premiere of a special anthem by composer Joseph Phibbs; commissioned by the Vaughan Williams Foundation.

Olivier Award winning actor Miriam-Teak Lee, who the charity supported in 2016, delivered a speech talking about the difficulties and financial barriers faced by young musicians hoping to study their craft, and the importance of supporting these musicians of the future, with resources to help them reach their potential. Miriam-Teak went on to describe her own career and her Help Musicians journey. 

We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that helped to make the day a success, from the performers to the volunteers, to everyone in attendance and to anyone that donated.

If you are interested in supporting Help Musicians we would love to hear from you. Please contact fundraising@​helpmusicians.​org.​uk to discuss how you can be involved in our work.

Look back at photos from the event.

All photos: Chris Lopez

Save the date: on Wednesday 20 November 2024 we will join together once again to celebrate music at the Festival of St. Cecilia. 

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