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MUSIC AT CCSY

Music List  Choir  Music Foundation  Director of Music  Organist  Organ

Christ Church South Yarra has a strong and active musical tradition spanning more than a hundred and forty years, providing for the liturgical needs of the Parish as well as contributing to Melbourne’s wider musical life.

The Choir of Christ Church South Yarra

Following the establishment of the Parish in 1855 and the completion of the first section of the church building, a choir of the women and men of the Parish was formed.  Upon completion of the sanctuary and chancel in 1881, choir boys were introduced to form an all male choir of the English Cathedral Tradition, which served for more than a hundred years.  Due to welcome modernisations and realigned priorities in the Anglican Church, women were welcomed back into this choir in the early 1980s.

As it is now, the Choir consists of men and women of all ages.  Membership is open to anyone of any age with basic musical knowledge and the desire to perform to the best of their abilities within the ensemble.  The Choir rehearses on Thursday nights between 7.30 and 9pm and sings a weekly Choral Eucharist on Sunday mornings at 10am.  Special services, concerts and performances both liturgical and secular outside the Parish arise from time to time, such as Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, Trinity College, or a concert and service in a rural parish.

Although Christian values necessarily pervade and inform all aspects of the Choir, membership is open to people of all faiths and none; diversity of background and experience is welcomed and celebrated amongst its members, and throughout the Parish.

Diversity is also embraced in the Choir’s repertoire, which extends from various types of chant to works newly commissioned and composed, and sung in languages as diverse as Latin, Ancient Greek, Church Slavonic, French, German and English. This diversity is a priority for the Choir, which seeks to remain at the forefront of musical and liturgical developments across the globe.  In 2005 the Choir will give numerous first performances of specially composed psalms, hymns and other works, alongside more than three first performances of internationally composed and recognised works never heard as part of liturgy in Australia.  Alongside these newer works, more traditional parts of the repertoire are also valued and sung at Christ Church, including mass settings from the Viennese School (eg Haydn, Mozart and Schubert) the English School (eg Byrd, Darke, Howells, and Sumsion), and from other parts of Europe including Italy (eg Palestrina) and Spain (eg Victoria, Lassus and Guerrero).  In November 2005, the Choir gave a liturgical performance of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem.

 The Christ Church Music Foundation

The Choir is supported by the Christ Church Music Foundation, which provides and maintains musical instruments for the Parish’s use (including the magnificent Kenneth Jones Organ installed in 1998, and a fine grand piano), and a number of honorariums for the musicians of the Parish.  These payments are commensurate with (although generally slightly higher than) those offered by similar parish organisations in Australia, and are usually offered to professional musicians with the desire and potential to be leading forces within the Parish’s musical life.  The strong musical program at Christ Church South Yarra could not continue without the active support of the Christ Church Music Foundation and the generosity of its donors. 

How you can be involved

For more information, or if you would like to make a donation to the Christ Church Music Foundation, please contact the Director of Music, Philip Nicholls, by email music@ccsy.org.au. Donations over $2 are fully tax deductible.

If you are interested in joining the Choir of Christ Church South Yarra, or in applying for an honorarium through the Christ Church Music Foundation, please contact the Director of Music, Philip Nicholls, by email music@ccsy.org.au who will organise an audition time.  Auditions are held at Christ Church, and are attended by at least two members of staff.  They are not intimidating (performances of solo works by candidates are not required), but are a relaxed meeting at which we get to know one another and the candidate’s musical ability is ascertained both vocally and verbally.

Philip Nicholls, Director of Music

Philip Nicholls received early musical training as a boy chorister in the Choir of Christ Church Brunswick under Fr Paul Harvie.  During this period he was a principal and children’s chorus member of the then Australian Opera and Victoria State Opera.  Beginning undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, Philip worked with secular choirs, most notably Melbourne Voices (directed by his brother, Richard Nicholls) and the National Youth Choir of Australia. Having made his conducting début with the Choir of Trinity College aged 14, he returned to liturgical music in 1996, winning a choral scholarship to the College.  Later that year he was appointed Assistant Director of Music of the College (under Michael Fulcher, and later Michael Leighton Jones) and subsequently Music Tutorial Coordinator.  Philip studied conducting with the late Robert Rosen, firstly as part of his studies at the University of Melbourne, and privately afterwards. He has participated in masterclasses with choral pedagogues and conductors Stefan Parkman, Margaret Pride, Bob Chilcott and Weston Noble in Australia, and Geoff Weaver, John Rutter and David Hill in England.  Recordings of Philip directing the Choir of Trinity College singing works by Josquin, Stanford and Arthur Wills are released on the Cherubic and ABC Classics labels.  His musicological studies of liturgical music at the University of Melbourne culminated in a dissertation on the music of the Chapel of Trinity College between 1917 and 1957.  He was appointed Director of Music at Christ Church South Yarra in 2001.

As a measure of his standing in Australia’s liturgical music community, early in 2005 Philip was invited to become a consultant member of the Australian Hymn Book Editorial Committee, which is currently working towards producing major supplements to its 1999 publication, Together in Song: Australian Hymn Book II.

As an Arts Administrator, Philip has worked for the Melbourne Festival, the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and as Hymn Conference Secretary for the National Ecumenical Church Music Committee, whose 1999 conference Take Up the Song! was acclaimed by visitors from all over the world.

In addition to his work at Christ Church South Yarra, he is Musical Director of the Tudor Choristers and is a member of the administrative staff at Trinity College.

Siegfried Franke, Parish Organist

Siegfried Franke studied in Melbourne with Dr June Nixon and in London with Richard Popplewell.  An Associate of the Royal College of Organists and a Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, London, he is a sought-after accompanist, having worked with most of Melbourne’s finest choirs and soloists, whilst maintaining a high profile as an organ recitalist throughout Melbourne and beyond.

Siegfried was appointed Parish Organist in 2001.  In addition to his work at Christ Church, he is Sub-Organist and a member of the Cathedral Choir at St Paul’s Cathedral (Melbourne), teaches music at Trinity Grammar School and is the school organist and accompanist.  He is a member of the Victorian Board of the Royal School of Church Music, and is regularly appointed Festival Organist for their National Summer Schools.

• The Christ Church Organ

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Christ Church South Yarra, Cnr Punt & Toorak Rds, South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia.  Phone +61-3-9866-4434
Sunday Services: 8am Eucharist (BCP), 10am Parish Eucharist, 6pm Evening Worship