Musical Life

The Choir of St Peter's Eastern Hill is a volunteer mixed choir which performs at a high level. It leads the church's liturgical music every Sunday as well as for weekday feasts (around one per month — see the events page for any feasts). The choir is an adventurous group of musicians who derive musical and spiritual satisfaction from their participation in the liturgy.

The choir's main commitment is at the 11 a.m. High Mass each Sunday; a cantor also sings at the 9.30 a.m. Mass, which has a specific family focus.

There is a certain bias in the choir's repertoire towards music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods (Dufay, Ockeghem, Josquin des Pres, Firmin Lebel, Palestrina, Eccard, Byrd, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Bach, ...). We have found that this music is not simply of antiquarian interest, but is capable of bringing depth to the congregation's worship, as well as being satisfying (both spiritually and musically) to sing. The choir also performs many of the masses of Mozart and Haydn, as well as works from the Romantic and modern periods, including masses by Schubert, Rheinberger, Fauré and Britten. Contemporary works, including house compositions and commissions from Australian composers (Terpstra, Pearson, Hodgson), are also in the choir's extensive repertoire.

Plainsong forms a major part of the sung Ordinary of the Mass and of the Office of Evensong; it is an integral part of St Peter's life and liturgical witness. As well as representing the ancient and traditional voice of the Church, it is extremely beautiful and capable of awakening and expressing a deep spirituality.

A limited number of Choral Scholarships is available. If you are interested in joining, you can get more information through the link. Alternatively you can contact the Director of Music by email
( music-director at stpeters.org.au [replace 'at' with @ before sending]).

You can also have us sing at your parish or event; St Peter's is proud of its musical resources and is happy to share them with others, providing that your request is compatible with our regular commitments within the parish. If you are interested in having us participate in your service, please contact the Director of Music as above, by phone or by email.

The choir is not the only aspect to music at St Peter's. Instrumentalists are particularly welcome as we perform a number of works with orchestral parts. The choir has included many instrumentalists who have been able to broaden our repertoire.

With such a solid program, extra events are not frequent, however concerts do occur from time to time. Instrumentalists are invited to contribute with solos (as appropriate) in the liturgy. Refer to our Special Events page for concerts and other special music.

If you are interested, please get in touch with the Director of Music.

Authorized by the Director of Music(music-director at stpeters.org.au)
Maintained by the Editor (editor at stpeters.org.au)
© 1998–2016 St Peter's Church