Choir boys help Sydney celebrate, mourn and remember for 200 years.

This year is a very special year for the choir of St Andrew’s Cathedral as it marks two centuries of singing in the heart of Sydney.  

It was 200 years ago, on 31st August 1819, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie laid the foundation stone of St Andrew's Cathedral in a short service, accompanied by the singing of the newly-formed Cathedral Choir. 

That choir of boys and men has continued to sing and serve the city of Sydney for the past 200 years, and St Andrew's Cathedral is celebrating this extraordinary legacy.

• Traditional choir of boys and men celebrates 200 years of singing in Sydney in 2019
• Sydney’s Anglican Cathedral (beside Town Hall) is Australia’s oldest Cathedral
• Fundraising concert Saturday 31 August 2019
• Special service Sunday 1 September 2019
• Choir touring UK and Europe this December/January: Windsor, London, Cambridge, Paris, Siena, Venice

200 years of singing in the heart of Sydney

My son, William, is an 11-year-old chorister who started with the choir when he was just 8-years-old in 2016.  

He and his fellow choristers - all scholarship students at St Andrew’s Cathedral School - dedicate over 12 hours each week to their chorister duties, performing a range of wonderful music for the people of Sydney at open rehearsals, weekly regular services and peaceful evensongs and at carol services, weddings, funerals, school functions and special remembrance services.  They have also visited hospitals to add seasonal cheer to those unable to hear them in the heart of the city.

They are currently rehearsing for a wonderful 200th Anniversary Concert on Saturday 31 August.

FUNDRAISING CONCERT "Keeping in Tune with Heaven"

• DATE: Saturday 31st August 2019
• TIME: 5pm
• VENUE: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney (corner George and Bathurst Streets, just above Town Hall station)
• PROGRAM & SOLOISTS:  Featuring music that has been of significance over the past two centuries, the Choir is joined by the Cathedral Brass Consort, Organist Samuel Giddy and Harpist Esther Wong, directed by the 11th Organist & Choirmaster, Ross Cobb.
• TICKETS: $15-$75
• BOOKING LINK: https://www.trybooking.com/BEMLF

200th ANNIVERSARY TOUR

The choir is finishing their 200th year with a tour of the UK and Europe.  The choirmaster, the men, the boys and their chaperones will head off after they have performed their busy schedule of December services  - many Sydney siders are familiar with the glorious descants the boys sing to well known Christmas carols! 

The tour starts on the last weekend in December by singing the Saturday and Sunday services in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. They will then sing a series of evensongs in St Paul’s Cathedral before heading to Cambridge to experience Kings College Chapel.  Some of Europe’s most stunning venues in Paris and Venice will become the choir's performance venues, and on the way they will sing a number of joint concerts with the choir of Siena Cathedral.  

FUNDRAISING SUPPORT

Why are we fundraising? There is a considerable cost that each individual chorister has to meet to participate on the tour. The upcoming concert performance will contribute to the ongoing fundraising efforts of the choir families to subsidising the cost for each individual chorister to participate on this tour. For these young choristers - the youngest just 8 - it will be the trip of a lifetime, yet some boys don’t even have a passport yet!

INTERVIEWS

We very much appreciate any support you can offer to assist us by promoting our concert.

To arrange an interview with the choirmaster, Mr Ross Cobb, or discover more about the concert program, please get in touch:

• Mobile: 0411 711 351
• Email: susan@practicaltactical.com.au

If the opportunity does arise for you to interview some of the choristers let me know as I am sure we can fit in with your schedule.  

For radio/Broadcast outlets: I'm sure the Choirmaster will allow them to sing a song or two for you as well!