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You are here: Home / Archives for Music News

Organ Appeal – Donations and Assisting With Funding

Every little bit helps. Please…we need your support and funding to make this opportunity happen, and leave a legacy to be proud of for our congregation, our Cathedral, and Glasgow.

Make a Donation

All donations – large and small – are gratefully received. You can make a donation to the appeal at any time with a cheque made payable to ‘St Mary’s Cathedral (Organ Appeal)’. Please click here to download and print the form which will enable you to GiftAid your donation and send the form and cheque to the address on the form.

You can already donate to the Organ Appeal in the following simple ways:

  • Put cash or a cheque into a St Mary’s Gift Aid Envelope and mark the envelope “Organ Appeal”, fill in your details, and place it in the Cathedral collection plate, or send it to the cathedral office. Please make cheques out to “St Mary’s Cathedral” and write “Organ Appeal” on the back.
  • Make a payment by internet or telephone banking to the cathedral bank account, and mark it ‘Organ Appeal’:
    Sort Code: 82-20-00
    Account Number: 30185232
  • You can also donate via the St Mary’s Gift Aid envelopes during a service – just clearly mark on it that it is a donation for the Organ Appeal and put it onto the collection plate.

Fundraising & sponsorship

You and your friends could raise money for the organ appeal by hosting an event, a recital, a sponsored sing, a coffee morning, a cheese and wine evening, a raffle, etc – the list is endless. Get in touch via organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk if you would like any help in organising or publicising your event.

If you work for an organisation that provides corporate sponsorship, or know of a suitable grant-making trust to approach, please put us forward for consideration, or tell us who would be a good person to contact. There are opportunities for corporate sponsors and trusts to receive considerable publicity as well as involvement in special events.  Please contact Frikki Walker, the Director of Music, or Michael Hitchman, who is heading up the Fund-raising team. Get in touch with us by email to organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk or by phone on 0141 339 6691.

Filed Under: Organ Appeal

Organ Appeal – Adopt a Pipe

For a unique and unusual gift for the organ enthusiast why not adopt one of our magnificent new organ’s pipes?

Why not leave a lasting legacy by making a donation and adopting one (or more!) of the 3,719 pipes in the new organ? This is an opportunity that will not come around again!

The pipes which need adoption are:

  • 2ft pipes.           £5 each
  • 4ft pipes            £10 each
  • 8ft pipes            £15 each
  • 16ft pipes          £20 each
  • 32ft pipes         £30 each
  • Transept case front pipes (all new and very shiny)  £150 each

When you adopt a pipe you receive a special certificate, priority booking at the opening concert and other events, and the adopters’ name recorded in our special commemorative book, and in the programme at the opening concert of the new organ.

In addition there is the opportunity to sponsor two major features:

  • CHANCEL CASE – £15k.
    • Acknowledgment: brass plaque on case
  • ORGAN CONSOLE – £50k
    • Acknowledgment: brass plaque on console case

The above two suggestions may well be unlikely for individuals to sponsor. However, you may know of a business, organisation or charitable trust who would consider this investment in our organ.  If so, please put us forward for consideration, or tell us who would be a good person to contact. There are opportunities for corporate sponsors or trusts to receive considerable publicity as well as involvement in special events.  Please contact Frikki Walker, the Director of Music, or Michael Hitchman, who is heading up the Fund-raising team. Get in touch with us by email to organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk or by phone on 0141 339 6691.

To make a donation and a pledge to adopt a pipe or any other part of the instrument, please click here to download, print and fill in the application form.

Filed Under: Organ Appeal

Organ Appeal – The Organ Experience

If you are an organist, or know an organist who would enjoy a unique gift, we have the very thing for you.

The Organ Experience offers a rare chance to learn about the historic organ in St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, and offers you the chance to actually play one of the most thrilling and unique organs in Scotland, both in its current condition, and after it has been rebuilt.

For a donation of £300 the complete 4 hour experience consists of 2 hours before the restoration commences, and a further 2 hours after the restoration is complete, and includes:

  • Before the restoration:
    • A demonstration of the current organ by one of the Cathedral’s organists
    • A chance to see inside the workings and pipes of the current organ
    • Playing time on the current organ
    • An opportunity to record yourself on the current organ
    • A copy of the booklet “The History of the Organs in St Mary’s Cathedral”
    • A signed copy of the CD “On a Lighter Note” recorded by the Cathedral’s Director of Music

Frikki Walker – Director of Music

  • After the restoration:
    • A demonstration of the NEW organ by one of the Cathedral’s organists
    • A chance to see inside the workings and pipes of the NEW organ
    • Playing time on the NEW organ
    • An opportunity to record yourself on the NEW organ
    • A souvenir presentation certificate

To make a donation and to book The Organ Experience please click here to download, print and complete the application form.

Filed Under: Organ Appeal

Organ Appeal – Our historic organ, our legacy

The organ in St Mary’s has a fine pedigree, being built and developed over the years by some of the finest organ builders in Britain. Originally constructed in romantic style by William Hill in 1871, it was subsequently rebuilt and enlarged in 1909, by Harrison and Harrison.

In 1909, it was one of the largest organs of its kind in Britain and still contains much significant and historic pipework.

After such a long period of continual use the organ is now suffering from wear and tear which greatly limits its usefulness, accessibility and reliability, to the extent that it has become more and more difficult to manage and play. If this repair work is not done soon the organ will fall silent and be lost to current and future congregations at St Mary’s.

Therefore, we have launched the Organ Appeal.  Please click here to find out how you can make a donation and support this.

Why should we do this?

St Mary’s is a very popular venue for choirs and orchestras from all over the world, not just Scotland, and the City of Glasgow, and this project will ensure that we continue to attract the best performers from all over the world to perform here, as well as supporting our busy programme of services, concerts and national broadcasts.

In spite of the increasing limitations of the organ, music at St Mary’s is internationally recognised with a reputation for excellence, through the quality of its mixed voice choir, which is one of the finest in the country, and through its regular broadcasts on BBC radio and television.

Education and Youth

A large part of the choral activities has been to educate and instruct our young choristers, many of whom have gone on to obtain Choral Scholarships at prestigious institutions.  Over the last few years, we have had choristers go on to choral scholarships at at Trinity, Jesus, Selwyn, and Gonville & Caius Colleges in Cambridge, Merton College and Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, as well as places at Gloucester Cathedral, and many Scottish Universities including Glasgow, St Andrew’s and Aberdeen.  Several former choristers have also gone on to study singing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Our musical reputation has recently been greatly enhanced by our young Assistant Organist, Steven McIntyre, being elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO) and winning the Limpus Prize for the best organ playing in the examination.

The Future

The renewed organ would continue to develop the relationships we have already built and be used as a tool for education and outreach, consolidating links with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow University, Strathclyde University, the Royal School of Church Music and local schools.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to secure, for the next 50 years or so, the legacy of an organ of international stature, not just for St Mary’s, but for the whole city of Glasgow, the wider community and, indeed for the whole of Scotland and beyond.

What do others think?

David Dimbleby, Broadcaster, writer, and journalist – “I have heard the choir at St Mary’s and know how important their music is to Glasgow. A new organ will attract choirs and organists to the city from all over the world. It is a thrilling development and I urge everyone who values fine singing and playing to support it. The cathedral is a beautiful venue and deserves only the best.”

Dr Gordon Stewart, International Concert Organist and Conductor, Organist in Residence, Huddersfield Town Hall – “I am delighted to support the restoration of the historic organ in St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow. It is a very fine instrument, but after many long years of service there are clearly mechanical and tonal problems which need attention. I have no doubt that in the hands of Harrison and Harrison, one of Britain’s leading organ builders, the newly restored organ will be a magnificent enhancement of the Cathedral’s imaginative liturgy and its broadcasts.  Sitting as it does in that great building, it would be my hope that it would become an important part of the musical life of the whole City of Glasgow.”

Dr George McPhee, MBE, Director of Music, Paisley Abbey – “It is with great delight that I write in support of the Appeal for the rebuilding of the organ of St. Mary’s (Scottish Episcopal) Cathedral, Glasgow.

I knew the instrument well in the early 1960s when I used to deputise for Albert Healey, the organist at that time. In these days I was aware of the organ’s superb tonal richness which admirably matched the acoustical properties of this glorious church. Unfortunately it seemed to me that much of the intrinsic Harrison & Harrison qualities were lost in inappropriate work which was carried out several years later. I am therefore excited to know that plans are being made to both restore and sensibly enhance the capabilities of this outstanding instrument.

In recent years the Cathedral’s worship has been greatly supported by an excellent choral tradition of national importance which has been enthusiastically built up over the years by Frikki Walker, the present Director of Music. Presently the accompaniments for the choir along with the general adornment of the Cathedral’s liturgy are being hampered by an ailing organ. It is therefore satisfying for all of us to know that this Appeal is being launched so that the musical spectrum can be completed.”

David Briggs, International Concert Organist and Composer, Artist-in-Residence, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, Organist Emeritus, Gloucester Cathedral.  – “There is no doubt that the sound of a really great pipe organ can change lives – it can deeply move, and even heal, the human spirit. The prospect of a completely rebuilt and enhanced instrument at St Mary’s Cathedral is mouth-watering indeed. Rebuilding and renewing this organ will make sure that the Cathedral has an organ that not only the City of Glasgow can be proud of, but the whole of Scotland, giving the cathedral an instrument that will continue to attract first class choirs and organists from all over the world to the city, as well as supporting the cathedral’s busy program of services, concerts and national broadcasts. Please support this magnificent project as generously as you can.”

Thomas Totter, International Concert Organist, Birmingham City Organist, Organist of St Margaret’s Westminster, Visiting Professor of Organ, Royal College of Music, London – “The British choral tradition which is so carefully fostered by our cathedral musicians is the envy of the world. The British organ tradition is rather more taken for granted, and yet a pipe organ is as much at the core of cathedral worship as a choir. The organ at St Marys Cathedral was built in romantic style by William Hill in 1871. Since that time it has been rebuilt several times with mixed results, and the time has come for a more radical approach. Harrison and Harrison’s imaginitive proposal enhances the organ both tonally and visually whilst respecting and amplifying its original character.

As a regular visitor to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, in my opinion Edinburgh has the greater number of fine organs but Glasgow is the friendlier city! And the organs at Kelvingrove and at Paisley Abbey are as fine as any I can think of. The St Mary’s organ with its distinguished pedigree has the potential to join their ranks, and I am very pleased to support this exciting and important project.”

Dr. Kevin Bowyer,International Concert Organist, Organist to the University of Glasgow, Artistic Director, International Organ Festival– “Glasgow has become increasingly important in recent years as a centre of organ excellence in the UK, with new instruments and careful restorations of older ones. The city has developed an “organ culture” with many recitals and increasingly appreciative and musically aware audiences. The next step in this evolution is the rebuilding of the fine organ in St. Mary’s Cathedral. The musical tradition in the Cathedral has flowered under the direction of Frikki Walker and the choir deserves the support of a really great instrument. The scheme put forward by Harrison & Harrison will restore to the instrument much of the original builder’s vision. It will be tremendously exciting both as a solo instrument and also in support of worship in the cathedral. It will be a musical jewel of which the city will be proud. ”

What needs to be done?

After extensive research and quotes from a variety of builders, we have chosen Harrison and Harrison of Durham to undertake the work required. We have chosen them for the impeccable quality of the craftsmanship of their work, their reliability and longevity as a firm, and their imagination in meeting the requirements of the customer. They will restore, rebuild and renew the organ over a period of a year, ensuring it is fit for the future of our Cathedral.

Restoring, rebuilding and renewing the organ would involve every component part made from scratch in their own workshops, resulting in:

  • Addition of new pipework to match the quality of the old, good quality pipework
  • Replace the console and all the mechanics of the organ
  • Re-arranging the layout of the organ so the sound projects more efficiently into the cathedral
  • All soundboards and wind trunking would be made from inert modern materials that would not be affected by modern heating systems and the Scottish climate
  • Encasing it in two new cases of appropriate beauty to make a visual impact as well as being a practical covering of the works of the instrument

This scheme will hugely improve the dynamic range of the instrument, from the subtlest quiet sounds to the most magnificent full organ that will properly project into the church for an up to 300-strong congregation, support a Symphonic Choir, or underpin the most thrilling orchestral music, as well as play convincingly the solo organ repertoire of all styles and periods. It will provide a stunning visual feature in this significant, and beautiful Victorian Gothic Cathedral.

How much will it cost?

The quoted cost of this major yet essential project is £1,200,000.

How can I help?

There are many plans under development for further fund-raising opportunities, and they will be publicised in due course.  Here are some you can support us with now:

Adopt A Pipe

Experience The Organ

Donations and Assisting with Funding

Any questions can be answered by Frikki Walker, the Director of Music, or by Michael Hitchman who is heading up the Fund-raising team. Visit this appeal website to find out more as we progress, or get in touch with us by email to organappeal@thecathedral.org.uk or by phone on 0141 339 6691.

Filed Under: Organ Appeal

St Cecilia’s Day Celebrations – 22 November

St Cecilia

St Cecilia

3pm – Organ Recital by Peter Yardley-Jones — Assistant Organist

Music to include:

Partiata Sopra il Corale: Sei Gegrüßet Jesu Gütig – J.S.Bach
Hymn – Fredrik Sixten
Master Tallis’s Testament – Howells
Moto Ostinato – Eben

6.30pm – Choral Evensong for St Cecilia’s Day

Music to include:

Hymn to St Cecilia – Howells
Magnificat (Collegium Regale) – Howells
Nunc Dimittis – Holst
Five Mystical Songs – Vaughan Williams

Filed Under: Music News, What's on

Choir Holiday

The choir are now on holiday until Sunday 16th August

Filed Under: Music News

Choir Music News – June 2009

Choir Music News – June 2009

The purpose of the newsletter is simply to inform people of the range of musical activities that go on here at the Cathedral. It is aimed at members of the choir, members of the congregation and anyone else who might be interested in our activities: former choristers, former congregation members, friends, family, or indeed, visitors and newcomers to the Cathedral looking to learn a bit more about us.

St Mary’s Cathedral Choir is made up of a group of about 25 -30 adults and currently, 18 trebles (boys and girls). They all rehearse every Thursday night, and the adults sing two services every Sunday. The trebles join them for one morning service and one evening service per month, plus some extra special services and events.

The choir sings a huge and diverse repertoire from the most ancient to the most up-to date. It also features regularly on BBC Radio and has appeared several times on TV.

Here’s some of the things that the choir has been up to this session:

As well as the usual round of weekly services, and special services on High and Holy Days, this year the choir have sung:

  • John Rutter’s Requiem,
  • Advent and Christmas Carol Services
  • Four Radio Broadcasts for the BBC
  • Choral Evensong in St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh
  • Choral Evensong in St Mary’s Church, Bridge of Weir, to celebrate their centenary
  • A special evensong with lots of former choir members to celebrate Bernard Porter’s 80th birthday
  • A special evensong to celebrate Bishop Idris’ 10 years as bishop
  • a Diocesan Evensong with lots of choirs from the Diocese, on Mothering Sunday
  • A special evensong with lots of former choir members to celebrate the cathedral’s Centenary
  • put on a Centenary Concert.

They have also visited Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh, had an Easter Egg hunt, a Treasure Hunt, danced at a Ceilidh for Pentecost, and had a Chorister fun day with singing and drumming!

It’s been busy but hugely enjoyable!!

Music Staff

This year we have been joined by Peter Yardley-Jones as Assistant Organist. He is also Organist and Choirmaster at Houston and Killellan Church, where he plays in the mornings. His role in the Cathedral is to accompany (and occasionally conduct) Choral Evensong on Sunday evenings, and to play for special mid-week services, as well as Weddings and Funerals and such.

Matthew Todd also joined us this last session. Matthew is very fine tenor and is the first person to be appointed as Choir Training Scholar. Matthew has been learning to train the choir and to conduct them, and has been an invaluable help in the training of the trebles. He begins his studies at the RSAMD this next session, but will also be continuing to work here with us at St Mary’s.

We have had no Organ Scholar this year, so Christine Walker, the wife of our Director of Music, has been conducting the choir on many occasions, particularly in the morning services, so that the Director of Music can play, but the choir is not left without a conductor. We are so lucky to have so many gifted and willing musicians in our church community.

St Mary’s Sinfonia

As well the regular players (to whom we are very grateful) who colour our worship with single instruments or small group combinations of instruments, on occasion, such as Easter Day, or for our concerts, we sing repertoire that requires a fully orchestral accompaniment. For such occasions we are joined by players that we put under the umbrella title of “St Mary’s Sinfonia”. Players come from the congregation, choir and from the city at large, often music students from the Universities and from the RSAMD, institutions with which we have strong links.

The Trebles of the Cathedral Choir

Although, right from the outset, there has always been a womens’ choir here at St Mary’s, they were always kept apart from what was then known as the “real” choir, which was originally made up of men, with boys providing the top line.

Then, in the 1970s the boys choir, for various reasons fizzled out, and women were introduced to the top two lines of the cathedral choir “proper”(!).

This mixed adult choir then became the mainstay of the music in the cathedral, and, indeed it still is.

However, in October 2007, after much thought and planning, children were re-introduced into the choir. The treble line was opened to boys and girls, a must in these days of equal opportunity, and a new chapter was begun. This was finally made possible due to the generosity of Peggy Brown, a member of the congregation who donated a sum of money to the choir in memory of her husband, David.

In their first two years, the trebles have learnt:

6 settings of the Mass (3 congregational, 2 orchestral, 1 jazz), 5 Evening services, 3 sets of Responses, and no less than 33 anthems! Plus countless hymns, songs, and psalms of course. They have learnt a great deal about the music they have sung, how to read it, where it comes from and how to express it.

RSCM Awards

Regulars at the Cathedral have been experiencing a stream of chorister awards earned by our trebles and awarded at services in church. These are the Chorister Awards of the Royal School of Church Music’s “Voice for Life” scheme, a structured training programme to help focus and motivate our younger singers. Many of the congregation have been asking about how it works, so here is a quick guide:

The RSCM awards are earned by our choristers by:

  1. Being a loyal and regular choir member
  2. Learning to use the voice well
  3. Musicianship training, both written and aural
  4. Liturgical and historical knowledge

There are seven levels.

A chorister starts by wearing only their red cassock. They gain full chorister membership by receiving their surplice. Subsequent levels are recognised by the award of an RSCM medal on the appropriately coloured ribbon, and a lapel badge of the same colour. For these awards they are examined by the Director of Music, Frikki Walker, himself an accredited examiner for the RSCM.

However, at various stages the choristers are then examined for national awards by an external RSCM examiner, and these awards are Bronze, Silver and Gold.

The order is: Light Blue, Dark Blue, BRONZE, Red, SILVER, Yellow, GOLD

So far, over the last two years, the following St Mary’s choristers have gained these awards:

Light Blue:

Katie Athorne, Christabel Barrowman, Laura Cooper, Sophie Cooper, Hannah Dines, Rachel Dines, Amy Hendry, Leo Kumagai, Julia Murray, Davina Pittock, Jennifer Taylor, Magnus Walker, Erin Wallace, Jamie Wastling, Sarah Weir,  Serena Whitmarsh, Barnaby Woods, and  Isobel Woods.

Dark Blue:

Katie Athorne, Christabel Barrowman, Laura Cooper, Hannah Dines, Jennifer Taylor, Sarah Weir, and Serena Whitmarsh.

And the following are the first choristers from St Mary’s to be awarded the first national level of

Bronze:

Katie Athorne, Christabel Barrowman, Laura Cooper, Hannah Dines, and  Jennifer Taylor.

MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM ALL!!

In fact, we should just mention that we also have two Gold Award holders in the Cathedral Choir, Pam Barrowman, who was the first chorister in Scotland to gain the award, and Margaret Walker, who was the first chorister in Scotland, under the age of 18, to gain the award.

News of choir members:

In this section, we will report in brief on news and achievements of choir members past and present.

The congregation here at St Mary’s is quite a transient one, and this is reflected in the fast turnover of personnel in the membership of the choir.

We have said, or say, goodbye this year to:

Rachel Dines, Amy Hendry, Chapney Holloway, Abigail Holloway, Gareth Macneachdainn, Paul Morrison, Julia Murray, Davina Pittock, Cailean Swainson, Alistair Thom and David Wishart.

We wish them all well, thank them for their contribution to the music at St Mary’s, and hope to see them occasionally when they are able to pop in.

We have also had some new members join over the last year. We have been delighted to welcome:

Rebecca Benson, Sue Champion, Anya Fitzpatrick, Nathan Hawthorn, Olanna Horhut, Magnus MacHarg, Poppy Moore, Judith Ogugou, Jamie Wastling, Barnaby Woods, and Isobel Woods.

Apologies if anyone has slipped through the net; as you can see it is quite a juggling act!

A Tradition of Success:

Congratulations to current chorister (on leave) Rebecca Benson on the birth of her baby boy Gilbert.

Mary Walker and Serena Whitmarsh have successfully auditioned and gained Scholarships to the Music School of Douglas Academy. (One of newer members, Magnus MacHarg is already there on a scholarship.)

David Wishart has gained a place to read music at Manchester University.

Matthew Todd, our choir-training scholar, and chorister, Cailean Swainson are both to study singing at the RSAMD.

Former Organ Scholar Mark Brown, having successfully completed his degree course and Organ Scholarship at Downing College, Cambridge, has just finished another successful year at Canterbury Cathedral as Organ Scholar.

Another former Organ Scholar, Kirsty Traynor has successfully completed her first year reading Music at the University of Edinburgh.

Former chorister Thomas Athorne is reading Maths at Cambridge, and singing with the choir of Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge, and will be touring California this summer.

Former Chorister Chris Trundle has completed his course in Cambridge during which he sang with the choir of Jesus College, Cambridge. He is now at Mirfield College training for the priesthood.

Former chorister Margaret Walker, now choral scholar at Trinity College Cambridge, can be heard live on BBC Radio 3 with that choir on Wednesday 1st July, at 4pm. She will also be performing with them at the Cheltenham Festival this summer, and at a Prom in London’s Royal Albert Hall on 22nd July. They are also recording a CD in Gloucester Cathedral, and touring in the USA. In between all this, Margaret will spending some time in Florence brushing up on her Italian (she is reading languages)!

Peter Yardley-Jones, our Assistant Organist has recently conducted the British Premier of the Passion by Swedish composer, Fredrik Sixten. Peter has also been invited to give organ recitals in two very prestigious venues, St Thomas’ Church, Fifth Avenue, New York, and in St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Frikki Walker, our Director of Music has been appointed conductor of the RSAMD Chamber Choir. Amongst the various other choirs he cionducts, Frikki already conducts the Chamber Choir of the Junior Academy of the RSAMD.

Please let us know if you have news of musicians with connections here at St Mary’s.

Commission:

St Mary’s has always had a continuing tradition of commissioning new music. The latest commission is for a Congregational Mass Setting for us all to sing. For this, we have invited the young and enterprising composer, David Bednall to write for us. We await its arrival in August. Check out his website: www.davidbednall.com

Robes:

Over the last year and a half, the choir has steadily been re-robed in new cassocks and surplices. We have now successfully robed the trebles and re-robed the women, but now need to buy new cassocks for the men. This we hope to do during the summer and subsequent months.

Future plans:

In brief, next year we plan to:

Put on a concert of music, similar in format to the Centenary Concert last year, sometime in the Autumn; look out for the date.

Sing Faure’s Requiem for All Souls, on Monday 2nd November at 7.30pm.

Record a CD and continue our broadcasting.

Sing at our usual Advent and Christmas Carol Services.

Repeat our Tour (of 1990) of all the Scottish Episcopal Cathedrals in 24 hours! The weekend of 3rd July 2010 is earmarked for that, and some interesting modes of transport may be involved!

And possibly arrange to sing a week or weekend’s residency in an English Cathedral.

Our Director of Music is always on the look-out for singers of ALL ages to join the choir. Boys and girls need to have a basic level of literacy and a voice. Adults need to have a voice, preferably some choral experience, and sense of humour. In all choristers, Frikki is looking for potential and willingness to learn. If anybody is interested in joining the choir, or knows of anyone who might be interested, in joining or offering their instrumental skills, please talk to Frikki after a service, or phone or email him (details below).

Besides that which we do ourselves, the Cathedral is also a popular venue for concerts and other artistic endeavours, but there is not room to expound on all those events here.

Our Director of Music has begun to write a history of the music here at St Mary’s, and would be very pleased to hear from anyone who can relate anything about it. Memories, anecdotes, programmes, photographs, service sheets, or anything to do with any aspect of the organ, choirs, services, concerts etc., would be most welcome. Thank you.

I hope this wee newsletter has just offered you a glimpse of what “Music at St Mary’s” means. I would just like to thank everyone who has contributed their time and talent to enrich our worship over this last season or so, and to thank our ever-appreciative and supportive clergy team and congregation.

Have a great Summer.

Frikki Walker

Organist and Director of Music

email: music@thecathedral.org.uk

Filed Under: Music News

Goodbye to Organ Scholar

On Sunday 7th September, 2008, we said goodbye to Kirsty Traynor, our organ scholar 2007-8 as she leaves to read music at Edinburgh University. Thank you and Good Luck! This leaves a vacancy for the position of Organ Scholar at S Mary’s. Enquiries to the Director of Music, Frikki Walker.

Filed Under: Music News

100th Anniversary Concert

Members of the choir and friends made a full contribution to the 100th Anniversary of St Mary’s being the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. On Saturday 6 September 2008 they sang at a celebration concert which included Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Filed Under: Music News Tagged With: Gloria, Vivaldi

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Online worship is available each week on this page.

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