A History of Music Ministry at St Thomas More Parish from 1995
The Music Ministry in the parish has always been strongly supported by our Parish Priests, and when I arrived in Glenfield at the beginning of 1995 there was a dedicated group of musicians and singers that lead the singing at the 5.30pm and 10.00 am Masses each week. At that time, 8.00 am was a ‘quiet’ Mass with no musician, but the congregation became adept at singing two or three hymns from the Sunday hymn sheet once someone started them off! The hymn sheets were on the back of the weekly newsletter and distributed to parishioners as they entered the church for Mass.
Gemma Nobilo was the music coordinator at the time, and lead the choir which sung at 10 am Mass and also the choirs that were formed for the major feasts of Easter and Christmas.
The church had bought an Allen 2-manual electronic pipe organ and June Irvine and Paul Cassin were the organists at that time, playing at 10 am Mass. There were also a number of guitarists and singers including Eva Zombos, Suzanne Matheson, Tony Raj, Patsy O’Sullivan, Peter Dekker and Pete Snow. Michael Pervan would be rostered on some Sundays too and would bring his portable keyboard to play and lead the congregation. These were the ‘pioneers’ of our music ministry!
Pete Snow began to get the youth involved in singing too and it wasn’t long before regular youth Masses were being held in the parish, which attracted young people from all over the North Shore. From our parish youth came many musicians too, playing a range of instruments, including guitar, violin, cello, flute, drums.
As the parish has grown, there has been a large number of new immigrants from various parts of the world that have settled in Glenfield, so it wasn’t long before we had different ethnic groups offering to lead the singing at Mass, and often including a hymn in their native tongue. These have included Filipinos, who provided the music mainly for the 5.30 pm Masses, and then later also for 10 am Mass. Iraqi, Tongan and Indian groups also helped with the 10 am Mass.
In about 2005, our Parish Priest, Father John Bland, together with our finance committee, made the decision to purchase a digital piano for the parish, to complement the organ, and this has encouraged some of our youth to come forward and play as well. It is now played every week and is a real asset to the parish.
A few years after the piano was purchased, our new PP Fr Benedict Francis, installed large screens in the church for displaying the words to the hymns, using the EasyWorship progamme. This has made a huge difference! Gone are the pieces of paper (hymn sheets) that were always scattered around the church! The new technology has been efficient and easy to read.
A few years ago, a young woman arrived in the parish and offered to provide music for every 8 am Mass and she is still doing just that! Clare is a very gifted pianist who turns up every week to play and also is happy to play for Easter and Christmas when asked. The provision of a musician for this once ‘quiet’ Mass has been gratefully received by the congregation and it has lifted the Liturgy beautifully.
There are so many gifted musicians and singers now involved in the Music Ministry that it is impossible to name them all here. Paula Brannigan took over the position of Music Ministry Co-Ordinator from me in March 2017, and she continues to be supported by a strong team of dedicated and willing musicians.
Margaret Russell, Feb 2018
The Music Ministry in the parish has always been strongly supported by our Parish Priests, and when I arrived in Glenfield at the beginning of 1995 there was a dedicated group of musicians and singers that lead the singing at the 5.30pm and 10.00 am Masses each week. At that time, 8.00 am was a ‘quiet’ Mass with no musician, but the congregation became adept at singing two or three hymns from the Sunday hymn sheet once someone started them off! The hymn sheets were on the back of the weekly newsletter and distributed to parishioners as they entered the church for Mass.
Gemma Nobilo was the music coordinator at the time, and lead the choir which sung at 10 am Mass and also the choirs that were formed for the major feasts of Easter and Christmas.
The church had bought an Allen 2-manual electronic pipe organ and June Irvine and Paul Cassin were the organists at that time, playing at 10 am Mass. There were also a number of guitarists and singers including Eva Zombos, Suzanne Matheson, Tony Raj, Patsy O’Sullivan, Peter Dekker and Pete Snow. Michael Pervan would be rostered on some Sundays too and would bring his portable keyboard to play and lead the congregation. These were the ‘pioneers’ of our music ministry!
Pete Snow began to get the youth involved in singing too and it wasn’t long before regular youth Masses were being held in the parish, which attracted young people from all over the North Shore. From our parish youth came many musicians too, playing a range of instruments, including guitar, violin, cello, flute, drums.
As the parish has grown, there has been a large number of new immigrants from various parts of the world that have settled in Glenfield, so it wasn’t long before we had different ethnic groups offering to lead the singing at Mass, and often including a hymn in their native tongue. These have included Filipinos, who provided the music mainly for the 5.30 pm Masses, and then later also for 10 am Mass. Iraqi, Tongan and Indian groups also helped with the 10 am Mass.
In about 2005, our Parish Priest, Father John Bland, together with our finance committee, made the decision to purchase a digital piano for the parish, to complement the organ, and this has encouraged some of our youth to come forward and play as well. It is now played every week and is a real asset to the parish.
A few years after the piano was purchased, our new PP Fr Benedict Francis, installed large screens in the church for displaying the words to the hymns, using the EasyWorship progamme. This has made a huge difference! Gone are the pieces of paper (hymn sheets) that were always scattered around the church! The new technology has been efficient and easy to read.
A few years ago, a young woman arrived in the parish and offered to provide music for every 8 am Mass and she is still doing just that! Clare is a very gifted pianist who turns up every week to play and also is happy to play for Easter and Christmas when asked. The provision of a musician for this once ‘quiet’ Mass has been gratefully received by the congregation and it has lifted the Liturgy beautifully.
There are so many gifted musicians and singers now involved in the Music Ministry that it is impossible to name them all here. Paula Brannigan took over the position of Music Ministry Co-Ordinator from me in March 2017, and she continues to be supported by a strong team of dedicated and willing musicians.
Margaret Russell, Feb 2018