Why the committee moved away from per-class charges, and what it means for smaller parish choirs.
For eleven editions the festival charged per class. It was simple to administer but it quietly penalised ambition: a choir that wanted to sing the psalm as well as the anthem had to weigh the music against the cost.
From 2026 that is over. One fee, every class. A parish choir of sixteen voices can now enter the Small Choir class, the Set Hymn, and put forward a soprano and a bass soloist without paying a shilling more than the cathedral choir down the road.
We expect the number of entries per choir to rise sharply. That is the point.