Do you know a boy who loves to sing?

/ St Mary's Cathedral Choir/
St Mary's Cathedral invites boys aged between 6 and 8 to be a 'Chorister for a day' on Saturday 21st September.Meet the Choristers, find out about Chorister life and perform with the Choristers.To register your son or for more information, please contact our Music Administrator at music@stmaryscathedral.org.au or by phoning (02) 9220 0481.There are only 40 ...Read more…

Bicentenary Celebrations

/ St Mary's Cathedral/
This year we are marking the 200 years since Catherine Fitzpatrick formed the group of singers that went on to become the Choir of St Mary’s Cathedral. We are rightly proud of our heritage and tradition, and will celebrate this at a special Mass to be celebrated by His Grace, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, on Sunday 5th August at 10.30am. Former members of the choir will come together to sing with the present Cathedral Choir, and descendants of Catherine Fitzpatrick will be in attendance to mark the occasion. All are welcome to attend to help us ...Read more…

From Rome to Florence

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Today, we awoke in Rome!We had a great variety of choices for breakfast. We could choose from bread, croissants, doughnuts, muffins, and pita, as well as eggs, cereal and fruit.We had to be in a hurry though, because we had a rehearsal straight after. We had a run-through of our songs for our concert, then a break (where I played the organ), and then had a very special guest. We sang for the Master of Music at King's College, Cambridge. He was very nice, and gave us some great feedback, which helped us a lot. After our rehearsal, we had ...Read more…

Festival final days

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12th May 2018Today we had Mass and Terce in the morning, where we sang the Introit and Ave Maria by Victoria. It was the votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the celebrant was the Bishop of Brugge. After Mass, before lunch, the Hungarian girls played soccer (or football!) with us and they won… We then had lunch, which was tomato soup, as we had had the day before, and ice cream.We then went to sing for the 'audition' or 'listening session'. At the audition, we sang six pieces of Gregorian chant: Ecce quam ...Read more…

In Flanders Fields

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On Friday, the choir had a day off from any Masses or concerts, so we decided it would be important to visit some First World War museums and sites. Our first stop was a small field with many graves of soldiers killed in battle, including many unknown heroes. Seeing the graves of these men, who were brothers, sons and fathers, struck a chord for us, preparing us for the solemnity of the day. After paying our respects to these soldiers, we made our way through a pathway towards our next destination.After a short walk filled with a ...Read more…

Ascension Thursday

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Today we woke with shock to the dulcet tones of an all-too familiar voice crying, “Gentlemen! Time to get up!” Everyone came out of their cabins like zombies wanting to return to their graves (bed!).During breakfast Ms Lewis (the best English teacher) made a revolutionary discovery called biscuit spread.At 10:30, we sang at Mass with multiple other choirs for the Feast of the Ascension. The Mass came to an abrupt stop as the Korean choir forgot to sing the Alleluia. However, the day was saved by the almighty Mr Butler and his ...Read more…

Browsing Brussels…

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Our day began with a sleep-in of one hour after a late night in Antwerp. Breakfast was then had. After this, the scholars recorded some of their repertoire in the local church, which dates back to the year AD 800. The church itself was solemn and beautiful, and contained relics of the original structure. The acoustics were impressive, making the recording experience very enjoyable.After a large lunch, we set out for Brussels. The two-hour bus ride was well worth it, and our first views of Brussels were of the beautiful parklands, gardens, and ...Read more…

A day in Dunkirk

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Today, the sixth day of our prestigious Belgium tour, was rather eventful, if somewhat tiring. Beginning late, as a result of our concert in Brussels the previous night, breakfast involved a daily helping of Ms Lewis' fun facts, as has now become the custom. Today, this manifested into a question as to our favourite English teacher's most loved Charles Dickens novel, and the hilarious response ‘What’s a Dickens?’ by someone whom I’m sure wishes to remain anonymous. Following this morning laugh, there was a rush to pack our bags and move ...Read more…

An afternoon in Antwerp

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Today was, like all other days of the tour, an incredible experience. The city of Antwerp, although difficult to get to due to heavy traffic, was completely worth the effort. The juxtaposition of old, traditional European structures and more modern architecture made this city unique and very beautiful.The highlights of Antwerp were undoubtedly the Antwerp fountain and the Cathedral of Our Lady. Located in the heart of the city, culture and tradition run deep in these structures. The fountain portrayed the whimsical myth of Antwerp, sourced from ...Read more…

Hallo from Belgium!

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Saturday was our first full day in Belgium. The students were a trifle concerned when breakfast had not been served at the promised time. Nevertheless, the time was opportune for a Dutch lesson from Mr Van Stade, most of which was promptly forgotten by the students, except for the request “Waar is het toilet?”However, some miscommunication regarding timing did not lessen the excitement felt by staff and students at the sight of the eventual breakfast. It was a beacon of continental matutinal culinary excellence. Fresh bread rolls brought from ...Read more…

Thank you for coming to Bach, Britten, Bernstein

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Thank you for coming to Bach, Britten, Bernstein

We've put together a video to thank you for coming to our concert. In the video you can hear some of our boy Choristers talking about their experiences singing in the City Recital Hall for the concert and about the Choir in general. If you weren’t able to join us for the concert, then the video also provides an excellent opportunity to hear some of the performance, which was recorded live.

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Saint Mary’s Cathedral Choir featured in the Sydney Morning Herald

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Saint Mary’s Cathedral Choir featured in the Sydney Morning Herald

Saint Mary’s Cathedral Choir was featured on the Arts page in today’s Sydney Morning Herald. Nick Galvin writes about the attention-grabbing sound of the Choir in the Cathedral, the intense discipline of the Choristers’ rehearsal, and the relationship between the Choir, the Cathedral, and the city as a whole. Read the article here »

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