Wayns Weekly 22nd January 2026

Appointment of New Cathedral DOM

All,

As many of you will know, it has been announced that Katherine Dienes Williams has been appointed as Andy's successor at the cathedral and will be taking up the post in September 2026.  Several of you have written to me to ask what this means for the Wayns.  The short answer is that we don't know yet.

The Wayns was founded by the Cathedral, has the Dean as our Patron, and has always had the DoM as our MD.  When Andy was appointed to the Cathedral in 2002, leading the Wayns was part of the formal job description.  When Andy left his role, I agreed with the Dean that we would stay with Andy "at least until there was a permanent appointment in place who was able to lead the Wayns and who wanted to", and was delighted that Andy agreed to stay with us.  I also made sure that the job description for the new appointee gave us some flexibility : "the DoM is usually invited to conduct the Waynflete Singers".

So where are we now?  The cathedral has a new DoM, who is not yet in place, to whom we have not yet spoken and may not have the opportunity to do so for a little while .  We are lucky still to have Andy after 24 years, but we also have to realise that at some point in the medium term we will inevitably have a new MD.  What I and the committee, with Andy, need to work out is what a plan should be that does three things:

1. Is fair to all concerned

2. Maintains our link with the Cathedral, which is a point of advantage and differentiation for us

3. Most importantly, is the best solution for the future of the choir.

At the moment, it is simply too early to say what any plan might be.  The Committee and I will work with all parties to work out what a plan should be and will keep you all in the loop.

In the meantime I expect / hope that Andy will continue to lead us at least for the whole of 2026.

Thanks

Daniel