Arts Society Ealing Considers the Life of a Cathedral Chorister
Roger Askew looks back at his career in choral music
Medieval choristers
November 17, 2025
This month’s lecture from the Arts Society Ealing is entitled "O for the Wings of a Dove: the Life of a Cathedral Chorister".
Roger Askew, who will give the talk, draws on a lifetime in choral music. He was a chorister at Wells Cathedral School and a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. After combining a teaching career with professional singing in London, and completing a further degree in Music, he went on to become Director of Music at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College in Edinburgh. His personal experience and professional background promise an informed and engaging account of cathedral choral life.
The lecture will trace the development of the English cathedral choral tradition from medieval origins to the present day, using Roger’s own recollections as a starting point. Listeners can expect lively anecdotes about daily life as a chorister alongside illustrated examples of some of the outstanding choirs of the twentieth and twenty‑first centuries.
The talks takes placeon Monday 24 November at St Barnabas Church Hall, Pitshanger Lane, Ealing W5 1QG. Doors open at 6:45pm and the lecture begins at 7:30pm.
Visitors are welcome; admission is £10 per lecture and £3 for students. Payment can be made by card on the evening. The Arts Society Ealing extends an open invitation to the public and would be glad to see local residents at the event.
The Arts Society Ealing belongs to the large umbrella organisation, The Arts Society, previously known as the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), which was founded in 1968. The local Society has a membership of around 140.
The Arts Society Ealing holds 10 lectures a year and more information can be found by visiting its web site.
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