Wells Cathedral has maintained a choral tradition virtually unbroken for over 800 years. The history of the choir is at least as old as the present building; the records of the Vicars Choral go back to 1136 and it is known that there were boys singing at Wells even earlier; the school for the boys was founded in 909. Boys and men for all of that time have sung the services, and in 1994 the choral foundation at Wells was enriched by the addition of girl choristers. Today, the choir, considered to be one of the finest in the world, consists of eighteen boy choristers, eighteen girl choristers and twelve men, known as Vicars Choral. The boys and girls usually sing separately with the Vicars Choral but occasionally come together for larger events and tours.

The choir is at the heart of the worshipping life of the Cathedral, and sings a wide repertoire of music ranging from the masterpieces of the Renaissance period to the finest choral works of the twentieth century and the present day. This is a living tradition for which, from time to time, new music is commissioned. Recent and forthcoming commissions include works from some of today’s most exciting composers, including Richard Allain, Basil Athanasiadis, Geoffrey Burgon, Gabriel Jackson, Tarik O’Regan and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen’s Music.

Recent collaborations have been with The King’s Consort and Robert King (Bach St Matthew Passion in 2005), the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Richard Hickox (Britten War Requiem in 2006), Devon Baroque (Handel Messiah in 2006) and Jools Holland and his band (Jools Holland Mass in 2007). The choir also works regularly with ensembles and orchestras from Wells Cathedral School.

The choir broadcasts regularly on radio and television; including the two Easter 2005 services on BBC Radio 4 to a combined audience of over two million. It records regularly for both the Hyperion and Regent record labels; the choir’s most recent disc, a recording of choral works by Geoffrey Burgon was released in November 2006 (www.hyperion-records.co.uk ) to critical acclaim. The choir’s recording of works by David Bednall for Regent Records (www.regentrecords.com ) was released to critical acclaim in February 2007 and was Gramophone Magazine's Editor's Choice in May 2007. 

As well as the liturgical musical repertoire the choir performs larger scale choral works in concert and tours regularly both in the UK and abroad – in recent years to France, Belgium, Holland, and the USA. In July 2006 it returned to Paris to give three concerts and sang Mass to over 3000 people in Notre-Dame.