Bullying inquiry not linked to choir closure, Sheffield Cathedral insists as campaign petition gathers thousands of signatures

The Very Rev Peter Bradley, the cathedral’s dean, ordered an external inquiry after complaints were made about the alleged bullying of musical staff and volunteers.

A letter addressed to the editor of the Church Times by Kate Caroe, who has two children in the choir, said the cathedral’s former master of music Joshua Stephens ‘allegedly experienced harassment from the cathedral management and silence from the clergy while furloughed'.

Another open letter signed by parents of 12 choristers said Mr Stephens resigned less than three months after taking up his post in March, meaning church leaders had seen the departure of four music directors in five years.

“An independent investigation is now apparently underway but the decision to close the choir has been made before it has had a chance to conclude," they said.

Last week the Anglican cathedral in the city centre announced it wanted to disband the current choir to make way for new singing ensembles more appropriate for Sheffield’s ‘mixed urban community’.

Three lay clerks are facing redundancy.

Church music ‘can be seen as elitist’, Very Rev Bradley said. The idea, after a review in 2019, is for Sheffield's singers to have a broader repertoire while still performing traditional choral music.

A petition launched on July 25 by campaign group Save Sheffield Cathedral Choir had gathered around 3,000 signatures at the time of publication. Parents said young choristers were ‘left feeling betrayed and abandoned’.

But speaking in the cathedral on Sunday, Very Rev Bradley said that ‘for many years’ there had been ‘only one or two, sometimes nobody attending choral evensong on weekdays’.

“We are all aware too that, despite some really good work, recruitment to the choir has been weaker than we would have hoped," he said.

He said complaints about bullying were ‘taken very seriously'. A review of safeguarding in the music department has been commissioned, the findings of which are expected to be published in autumn.

Very Rev Bradley told the congregation the church was ‘not seeking to save money, but to invest more’ in the choir. He denied the move was triggered by the pandemic but said: “If we are ever to restructure, now is the time to do so.”

A spokeswoman for the cathedral said: “As the dean said on Sunday, the chapter decided to close the choir for a variety of reasons. These do not include the investigation, about which we cannot comment. The cathedral welcomes all those who want to support its choral life, but there is no need for a 'save the choir' petition.

"As the dean again stated very clearly, the chapter is totally committed to music in the cathedral; the dean has consistently repeated that a new choir will begin next year. The dean and chapter hope that many of the current young people will want to join this new choir.”

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