Music at St Helen’s

‘To sing is to pray twice: he who sings praise, not only sings, but also loves Him whom he is singing about.’
St Augustine.

Most of us would agree that music is an important part of worship. The quality of joy and enthusiasm which music adds to community worship cannot be gained in any other way. The aim of music at St Helen’s is to be fully inclusive.

Saturday evening mass is celebrated with congregational singing accompanied by keyboard or organ. Sunday morning masses are accompanied on a half-termly rota by an instrumental group, organ or other groups of musicians reflecting the diverse make-up of our parish.

Music co-ordinators

Music in the parish is co-ordinated by Brett Pugh and Matt Conroy assisted by Tracey Hoy and Cath Perry.

Do you play an instrument?

We always welcome new instrumentalists in our group. If you would like to find out more or join us, please see below.

Choir

There is a joint adult and youth choir. The choir rehearses on Thursdays evenings at 6:30pm. If you would like to find out more about the choir, either come along to our practice any Thursday or contact us below.

Contact Brett by sending the form below or on 07971 848734. For the choir you can also contact Jenny Gough at goughJ@cardinalnewman.co.uk.

Take a listen to one of our hymns

Frequently asked questions about music

Please click below to see answers to the questions. You can always contact Brett directly with your questions through the form below.

Always remember that we are all learning and nobody’s perfect, so don’t be frightened to talk to us about joining. We generally recommend that you should be able to read music up to 3 sharps and flats. If you play a guitar, you would need to know the basic chords. The most important thing is that you talk to us…we all started at some time. You might want to start by just playing one hymn in a service and build up from there.

You can talk to any of the music co-ordinators after mass or any other parish event.

If you are at Cardinal Newman School you can talk to Mrs Gough about the choir. If you are at St Helen’s Primary School your parents can contact Brett by email or phone. Children can join from Year 5 upwards

You can contact Brett by email or phone to talk about it.

You can come along to one of our practices on Thursday evening and either listen or come and sing with us

You don’t have to be a wonderful singer or read music. You just need to want to use the voice God gave you, we will help you with everything else. Some of the choir read music but many don’t. Why not have a chat with some of them after mass. We welcome everyone!

We all lead busy lives, the most important thing is to come as regularly as you can.

Music Contact Form

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