St Francis' Choir

22/09/2025

Calling all former choristers! Our annual reunion Mass and luncheon will be held on Sunday 05 October 2025 for the 180th Anniversary of the opening of St Francis' Church and the founding of St Francis' Choir, with present and former choristers and the Symphonia of Melbourne. The music will be the Gounod St Cecilia Mass, the Willcock "Prayer of St Francis", and the Haydn "Te Deum".

As it's possible that some people have 'fallen off' our email list, if you are a former chorister and are interested in participating in this year's reunion Mass, and you have not received an email, then please contact the Music Office on +61 3 9639 4560 or [email protected] to make enquiries.

In addition to the normal Thursday evening rehearsals, there will be a special additional rehearsal on Saturday 04 October given the amount of music that is involved.

The luncheon is normally open to present and former choristers, Friends of the Choir, and nearest and dearest.

15/08/2025

FREE CONCERT – Praise the Lord

Join us for a heartfelt evening celebrating the life of John Henry Byrne—singer, composer, and passionate advocate for church music.

Friday 22 August 2025, 8 PM
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne

Choral performances by the combined choirs of St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral and St Francis’ Church, accompanied by the Symphonia of Melbourne. Highlights include works by Mozart, Vierne, and Fauré, along with each choir’s own selections.

Walk-ins are welcome, or register in advance at trybooking.com/BRYBS.
Find more information at melbournecatholic.org/cathedralmusic.

We’d love to see you there as we honour this beloved advocate for sacred music.

14/10/2024

Calling all former choristers! Our annual reunion Mass and luncheon will be held on Sunday November 24 for 'Christ the King', and the music will be pure Beethoven - the 'Mass in C' and 'Hallelujah Chorus'.

As it's possible that some people have 'fallen off' our email list, if you are a former chorister and are interested in participating in this year's reunion Mass, and you have not received an email, then please contact the Music Office on +61 3 9639 4560 or [email protected] t make enquiries.

The luncheon is normally open to present and former choristers, Friends of the Choir, and nearest and dearest.

03/11/2023

On Friday 17 November at 6pm in St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, Dr Anthony Halliday, Associate Director of Music and Principal Organist at St Francis', will give an organ recital (see image for further details). This is a rare opportunity to hear such a gifted organist and musician play the grand organ at St Patrick's and share his extraordinary skills in extemporisation. Tickets are only $30/$25 concession, and are available via TryBooking or at the door. All welcome!

18/06/2020

Glad to hear that the church will be reopening for prayer only (no services) in early July, and they will see how things go, but at least there is a glimmer of hope now for the Choir to come back! :)

12/05/2020

Shared by a Choir member: Gregorian Chant Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fidélité of Jouques

Holy Week Gregorian Chants from the Abbey of Jouques.

12/05/2020

The videos of all the services recorded at St Francis' from Palm Sunday onwards can be found at the SSS channel on YouTube:

Australian Province of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation

21/04/2020

Tomorrow, April 22nd, is the 50th anniversary Earth Day. The beautiful celebratory poster from NASA has a human heart at its core. There is also a short video from the artist explaining her inspiration and approach:
https://science.nasa.gov/toolkits/earth-day-2020

16/04/2020

Some "choir funnies" sent in to us...

16/04/2020

For Choir members, this afternoon from 17:30 to 18:30 (5:30 to 6:30pm), we will be having another virtual "Purple Dragon Cafe Happy Hour" via Zoom, where you can drop in for a chat if you would like to do so. Please see your email for the Zoom link to join in (or visit the Choir WhatsApp group).

08/04/2020

For Choir members, this afternoon from 17:30 to 18:30 (5:30 to 6:30pm), we will be having another virtual "Purple Dragon Cafe Happy Hour", where you can drop in for a chat if you would like to do so. Please see your email for the link to join in (in last week's email). Also please feel free to join our WhatsApp group if you haven't yet done so. The link for this is also in the email.