Festival of St Cecilia 2025

This week over 1,000 people joined us at Westminster Abbey in London for our longest running annual celebration — the Festival of St Cecilia.

This year’s event marked the 79^th time we have run the festival, and was once again an inspiring showcase for the power of music. 

We enjoyed performances from the choirs of Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral, under the expert direction of Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey. We also heard the premiere of a specially created anthem by Piers Connor Kennedy called Anthem for St. Cecilia’s Day, and a performance by soprano and Help Musicians-supported artist, Sophie Bevan, who then spoke about the impact our support has had for her. 

The service at the Abbey was followed by a lunch at nearby One Great George Street. There guests were treated to a performance from Chad Saint Louis, a musician who, after receiving our Ian Fleming award, has gone on to star in the West End. It’s always a pleasure to welcome supported artists to our events, and to be reminded of their talent, their passion and the joy that their gifts can bring. 

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who performed and helped make the day possible. A special thank you as well to all our guests. We know that many who attended are also supporters of our charity in other ways, and we could not do what we do, including events like this, without your ongoing generosity.

To spend a day in such surroundings, with those who share our love of music, is a pleasure and privilege for all of us here at Help Musicians. We’re very pleased that the 80th Festival of St Cecilia will be happening on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at Westminster Cathedral — we look forward to seeing you there!

To read more about how you could support our work, and ensure that musicians can continue to thrive across the UK well into the future, click here.