Author: Lauren Harte

On Sunday October 2nd at 5pm, there will be a Choral Evensong to commemorate David McElderry’s life, and to celebrate the significant contribution he made both to St George’s and to the world of organ building.

David died in February 2021. A reception in the Parish Hall will follow the service. For those unable to attend in person, this service will be relayed on Facebook. Before the service begins, from 4.40pm, Jonathan Gregory, a previous Director of Music at St George’s, will play the organ. Mark McGrath will accompany the service and Dónal McCann will play at the end.

We will send out invitations to this service, to all those parishioners who are on our email list. If you know of anyone who might wish to come to this event, but whose name might not be on our email list, please bring this service to their attention.

St George’s will be opening its doors and joining in this annual event, celebrating local architecture, history, and culture on Saturday, 10th and Sunday, 11th September 2022. But we will need help! We usually break the Saturday into 2-hour slots for volunteer assistance and serve tea and coffee in the narthex. We also open on the Sunday from 2pm to 4pm. The event brings many visitors from near and far into the church and is a very rewarding experience. Please speak to the Churchwardens or Judith Fawcett if you can spare some time to help. Thank you.

St George’s is delighted to announce the foundation of a new choir for Post-Primary girls to begin this September.

It is anticipated that this new SSA ensemble will sing at twice monthly evensongs and at Festival services throughout the year as well as other performance opportunities such as concerts and recitals.

The girls will rehearse on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm – 8pm and will have the opportunity to be awarded choral scholarships for singing lessons.

If you know of any girls within the ages of 11-18 who might wish to come along and develop their singing skills, do please complete the attached application form: https://forms.gle/e3jaK73TudXLxpHb8

The Choir of New College Oxford is one of the most treasured in the Anglican choral tradition. Formed of 16 boy trebles and the same number of clerks, this year the choir is making its first ever visit to Northern Ireland. Next Sunday, July 24th, the choir, directed by Robert Quinney, will sing at the 11am Choral Eucharist in St George’s. All welcome.

In the afternoon New College Choir will give a concert of choral favourites in St George’s at 3pm. Admission is free. The uplifting concert programme will feature choral works by Byrd, Harris, Finzi and Charles Wood, alongside organ solos from Assistant Organist, Dónal McCann.

Although this may be the first visit to Northern Ireland by the New College Choir, we can welcome Dónal back to St George’s. He was an outstanding organ scholar at St George’s before leaving to read music at Cambridge and take up the position of organ scholar at King’s College. Dónal took up his current post in New College in September 2020 and is now involved in all aspects of the musical life of the college including teaching and the training of the choristers.

Do come, bring friends and spread the word!

Rev. Lynn Gibson, Rector of Ballymacash in Lisburn (and regular contributor to BBC Radio Ulster’s Thought for the Day) is our preacher at our Eucharist at 7.30pm on Wednesday 27th April to celebrate St George’s Day.

We very much look forward to having Lynn with us for this special service.