Temple Music Foundation was founded in 2002 to raise the funds required for the realisation of Sir John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple, which the Temple Church had commissioned. This extraordinary work, an all-night vigil, was performed without pause between dusk and dawn, from 10.30pm to 5.30 am. The performance by the Temple Church Choir, augmented by the Holst Singers, involved over 150 performers. It was also relayed live both in sound and vision, to an audience of 750 in Inner Temple Gardens. It was regarded as a critical triumph and a significant new spiritual work for people of all faiths or of none. Following the premiere performances in Temple Church, TMF moved on to support the development of music more generally within the Temple. The resulting season of concerts, Temple Music, has grown steadily ever since to become a year-round, world-class, classical music season.
Temple Music Foundation is a registered charity which receives no public funding, it is supported by grants from the Inner and Middle Temples and raises all of its other income through fundraising and ticket sales.