Choirs

There are two choirs at St John’s that sing at regular Sunday services.  Both choirs sing at the Choral Evensongs, alternating with The Cathedral Singers.

The St. John’s Parish Choir is an SATB four-part choir that sings at the Sunday 9:30AM Choral Eucharist.  This is a non-auditioned group of volunteers, so everyone can join.  They meet at 9.00AM to warm up and rehearse after church 11:30AM-12:30PM in the choir stalls.  They sing hymns, a service setting, as well as motets, psalms, a Gospel Alleluia, sequences and so on.  They also occasionally combine with other choirs for large events, such as the choral concerts or Guild of Church Musicians services.  New members are always welcome and may contact the Director of Music  or simply turn up to rehearsal.

The 8AM Singers is a unison choir that sings at the 8:00AM Book of Common Prayer Communion service each Sunday.  They meet at 7.30AM to prepare; there are no additional mid-week rehearsals.  This is a non-auditioned group of volunteers, so everyone can join.  In addition to singing the Merbecke Mass setting and leading the hymns, they sing a Communion hymn.  New members are welcome and may just turn up at 7.30AM on a Sunday morning.  Enquiries are welcome to the Director of Music.

Choral Evensong and Carols services: Both choirs sing at the Choral Evensongs and the Carols services, alternating with The Cathedral Singers.  Choir members meet one hour before the service to rehearse together.  On occasion, singers who cannot commit to either of the regular Sunday choirs may join the Evensong and/or Carols services to sing in the choir.  Please contact the Director of Music for more information.

The Cathedral Singers is an independent Choir and has been a Choir-in-residence at St. John’s since 2009.  It is an auditioned “double” choir (8 parts).  They rehearse at St. John’s and sing at occasional services here while maintaining their impressive schedule of singing in parishes all around Sydney.  They have also recorded in and toured Brisbane, Canberra, Goulburn, Wangaratta, New Zealand and England in 2008 and 2011.  In the UK they sang in Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster and many other famous places. Enquiries can be made via their website.