In Presbyterian Scotland, Edinburgh's is the only ensemble that sings at daily Anglican services. The group's performances and recordings have brought it international renown, and it has been a pioneer in incorporating girls (into the treble section in 1978) and women (as altos in 2006); the choir was the first in the United Kingdom to admit women in these capacities.

Music at St. Mary's, in Edinburgh's West End, goes back to the church's construction in the late 19th century; its Father Henry Willis organ (Willis was the U.K.'s leading organ builder of the Victorian era) dates back to 1879. The present consists of boy and girl choristers, lay clerks, and choral scholars. The cathedral maintains its own school, established for the education of the choristers, who rehearse morning and evening, before and after classes, before singing in the daily service at 5:30 p.m. The lay clerks are professional singers, and the choral scholars are mostly university students in Edinburgh. The choir has made many appearances outside Scotland and outside the U.K., touring Germany in 2015 and the U.S. South in 2018. The group also gives concerts during the annual Edinburgh Festival. The presence of female singers has given the choir's vocal sound an edge that sets the group apart from other cathedral choirs in the U.K. and has brought various recording opportunities.

The ensemble made its recording debut in 1991 with the album Famous Hymns of Praise on the label and recorded for that label and for Herald before moving to Delphian in 2003 for the album A Gaelic Blessing. Under conductor , who has served both in that capacity and as the cathedral's organist since 2008, the continued to record for Delphian, issuing both Renaissance and contemporary music. In 2018, the choir released a recording of music by 16th century English composer William Mundy on Delphian. remained organist and master of music into the 2020s when the group issued the album in 2020 and then, after a pandemic pause, a recording of John Stainer's oratorio The Crucifixion in 2024. ~ James Manheim

Choir of St Mary's Cathedral

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