informational 5 min read
Choir of Westminster Abbey: Where to Hear It, Organ and Carols
Updated October 27, 2026
Short answer: the Choir of Westminster Abbey has up to 30 boy choristers, all at the Abbey’s Choir School, and twelve professional adult singers called Lay Vicars. The easiest way to hear it is free, at Evensong: usually 5:00pm on weekdays except Wednesday, and 3:00pm on Sundays. The Abbey’s grand organ, a five-manual Harrison & Harrison installed for the coronation of George VI in 1937, is played at free 30-minute recitals on Sunday afternoons.
The choir: boys, Lay Vicars and the Choir School
The choir has two parts:
- Up to 30 boys, aged 8 to 13 according to Wikipedia, all educated at the Westminster Abbey Choir School in the Abbey grounds.
- Twelve Lay Vicars, professional adult singers.
It is an all-male choir. The choir was founded in the late 14th century, when the Abbey was still a Benedictine monastery, and its first job is still the same: singing the daily services.
It also sings at the great national occasions in the Abbey, many broadcast live around the world. The Abbey names the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011, the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in 2023, along with memorial services for Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela and others. In 2012, Wikipedia records, it sang with the Sistine Chapel Choir at a Papal Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
The choir records with Signum Classics, and before that with Hyperion. Its catalogue spans six centuries of music, from Tudor composers such as Byrd and Taverner to Duruflé’s Requiem.
Where to hear it
At the daily services, free. Services are unticketed, and everyone is welcome. Enter by the Great West Door, arrive early, and do not take photos during the service.
The choir does not sing every service, and the line-up changes by day. In the Abbey’s listing for the week of 25 to 31 October 2026:
| Service | Sung by |
|---|---|
| Evensong, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, 5:00pm | Lay Vicars |
| Evensong, Thursday, 5:00pm | The full Choir |
| Wednesday, 5:00pm | Said Evening Prayer, no choir |
| Evensong, Saturday, 3:00pm | The full Choir |
| Sunday Matins 10:00am, Sung Eucharist 11:15am, Evensong 3:00pm | Lay Vicars |
If you want to hear the boys as well as the men, look for a service the listing marks as sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey, not the Lay Vicars. Times and singers change, so check the Abbey’s service listing for your day. Our guide to Evensong at Westminster Abbey explains how the service works, and the best Evensong in London compares other churches.
The choir also gives an annual concert programme in the Abbey, and has sung at the BBC Proms and the London Festival of Baroque Music. Its most recent tour was to the East Coast of the United States.
The organ and the organists
The Abbey’s grand organ is a five-manual instrument by Harrison & Harrison, installed for the coronation of King George VI in 1937. Wikipedia records that it was first played in public at that coronation, with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was enlarged in 1982 and 1987 under Simon Preston to five manuals and 109 speaking stops.
The Abbey has three more organs:
- The Queen’s Organ (Mander, 2013), a two-manual organ in the Lady Chapel, used mainly for small services such as weddings and memorials.
- A five-stop continuo organ by Kenneth Tickell (1995).
- A practice organ by William Drake (2017).
The musical director is the Organist and Master of the Choristers. Wikipedia names Andrew Nethsingha in that post since 2023, with Matthew Jorysz as Sub-Organist and Paul Greally as Assistant Organist.
Organ recitals and concerts
- Sunday organ recitals: 30-minute recitals on the grand organ every Sunday afternoon, with free entry. In the sample week the recital was at 5:00pm in the nave, after 3:00pm Evensong, given by the Assistant Organist.
- Summer Organ Festival: an annual series of recitals. The Abbey publishes dates and programme on its events pages.
- Choir concerts: the annual concert programme includes a Christmas Concert; in 2025 it ran on 25 November and 19 December.
Carol services
Places at the Abbey’s main Christmas carol service have been allocated by ballot. The Abbey’s 2024 page described entries opening in November and places drawn at random, and its 2025 Service of Lessons and Carols page showed the service as fully booked. In 2025 a 6:00pm service in St Margaret’s Church on 24 December did not need tickets booked in advance, and the Abbey offered a livestream.
Dates for Christmas 2026 come from the Abbey’s events listing; our Westminster Abbey at Christmas page covers the season and opening changes.
The choir is free to hear at a service, but a service is not a sightseeing visit. To see the Quire, the tombs and Poets’ Corner at your own pace, book the Westminster Abbey entrance ticket ($43) for a Monday to Saturday slot, or compare guided options on our tours page.
Check prices & dates
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Frequently asked questions
Where can you hear the Westminster Abbey choir for free?
At the daily sung services, above all Evensong, usually 5:00pm on weekdays (not Wednesday) and 3:00pm on Sundays. Services are free and not ticketed; check the Abbey's listing for your day.
Who is the organist of Westminster Abbey?
Andrew Nethsingha has been Organist and Master of the Choristers since 2023. Wikipedia names Matthew Jorysz as Sub-Organist and Paul Greally as Assistant Organist.
Are the Westminster Abbey organ recitals free?
The Sunday afternoon recitals are: 30 minutes on the grand organ, with free entry. The Summer Organ Festival is a separate annual series.
Is the Westminster Abbey choir all male?
Yes. It has up to 30 boy choristers, aged 8 to 13, and twelve professional adult men, the Lay Vicars.
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