New Life: Our Call to Teach Music

MUSIC NEWS

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, BC

Director of Music Donald Hunt reviews some recent musical events featuring young people, connecting them to cathedrals’ historic role in music education

Eastertide is a season of joy and new life in our liturgical calendar and it's been wonderful to witness several events where our cathedral has been swarming with young people making joyful music together.

Cathedrals have music in their DNA, and as Anglicans, we hold firmly that making beautiful things (including beautiful sounds!) is a worthwhile mission. For centuries, Anglican cathedrals have been centres of immersive music education and the product of that education has, in turn, been a means of engaging with the wider world.

Here at Christ Church Cathedral we have a vision of being “an Anglican Centre for spirituality, learning, culture, heritage and community" not only for our city, but for Vancouver Island and all of the islands and inlets that encompass our wider diocese.

How does this play out in our music ministry, and in particular, our music educational programming for young people?

This past month or so has been a fruitful time with many glimpses of how we make friends and partners and how we manifest this vision of being a resource hub for the community. Here are some examples...

Kaleid Youth Choir Gala Concert

Over 400 choral singers from ten youth choirs across BC (including three local high school choirs – Oak Bay, Reynolds, and Belmont) gathered in the Cathedral on the first Saturday in May for Kaleid Choral Festival's Hope Lingers Here gala concert. They were treated to a demonstration of the organ by our wonderful Assistant Director of Music, Mark McDonald, and I was asked to conduct a massed choir piece by Cree/Anglican composer Andrew Balfour.

Young Choristers evensong St Andrew's Sidney May 2025

Young Chorister Evensong at St Andrew’s Church, Sidney

On May 10, our own Young Choristers sang a special Choral Evensong service for the parishioners of St Andrew’s Church in Sidney. Last year, they did the same thing for the Anglican Parish of Salt Spring Island. This is one way the cathedral engages Anglicans beyond the cathedral parish.

Two informal performances by visiting high school choirs

On April 29, Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) sang a stunning concert for our Cathedral School students as part of their Canadian tour. A few weeks later, choirs from École Harrison (Brandon, Manitoba) enjoyed marveling at the cathedral’s architectural beauty, hearing the organ and singing in our generous acoustic. The Manitoba choir stayed and observed a Cathedral Choir rehearsal and were told a bit about the music programs and services here.

Crystal Harvey Rayna Lorie Hannah Donald Hunt Jonathan Thomas

Crystal Harvey (Head of School), Donald Hunt (Director of Music), new choristers Hannah, Rayna, and Lorie, and The Very Rev'd Jonathan Thomas (Dean)

Young Chorister installations

This past Sunday, we installed three new Young Choristers. This is the ministry for which I am most proud. These young musicians rehearse four mornings a week and sing Evensong every Wednesday during school term. They are formed by the reciting of psalms, the singing of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, through teamwork, striving for excellence, and the joy of choral singing. During their time in the choir, they become part of the very fabric of this cathedral church.

Cathedral's new Youth Choir gets high schoolers singing

This past fall, a small group of former Young Choristers and other high school singers from the cathedral community began rehearsing with Assistant Director of Music Mark McDonald. This new Youth Choir for high school-aged students is proving to be a way to engage students with cathedral life while they work on honing their skills as musicians (and learning to sing SATB harmony!)

Last Wednesday, the Youth Choir sang their first Evensong service on their own. The future is bright for the next generation of choral singers!

The Youth Choir is for students aged 14 to 18 (singing experience and ability to read music is an asset). To learn more about the choir or to arrange an audition, contact Mark McDonald.

Seattle Children's Chorus Evensong May 2025

Evensong with the Seattle Children's Chorus

On May 25, the Seattle Children’s Chorus joined the Cathedral Schola for Evensong singing their own arrangement of John Rutter’s The Lord bless you and keep you and a fantastic arrangement of All creatures of our God and king by Seattle composer David Hendrix. Could this experience inspire any of these students to one day enroll at UVic or the Conservatory and seek out musical opportunities at the cathedral?

And more...

In addition to all this, we also welcomed several elementary and high school classes for cathedral tours. Tours were led by Dean Jonathan Thomas, Organ Scholar Amiel Elfert and Assistant Director of Music Mark McDonald and covered everything from church history and architecture to spirituality and music.

And if all that doesn’t seem like enough, did you notice that our cathedral bells were pealing more regularly over the Victoria Day long weekend? This was because of a visiting bellringers’ weekend brought together by our wonderful change ringers. New ringers are always welcome! In fact, this is another growing area of connection with our Cathedral School, as a new program is underway for young bell ringers.

We live in a society where music education is undervalued and constantly under threat. We live in a region recently labelled “the most secular diocese in North America.” We also live in a world where loneliness is epidemic. Why? Social media, an individualistic society, a lack of spiritual life are just some of the reasons.

I am proud to be an Anglican because we measure the value of music-making for the beauty it brings into the world and not for the money it makes. I am proud to lead the music at Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria because every time a new person comes through the doors to make music, it feels like a win. I am proud of the choral programs we offer because they provide purpose, meaning and connection, all while forming young people in the ancient practices and texts of our faith tradition.

Kaleid concert May 3 2025 Donald conducting

Liturgical Music This Week

Sunday June 8

The Day of Pentecost

9.15 a.m. Holy Eucharist

Setting: Thorne Gloria, Murray A New People's Mass

Anthem: Alan Smith Like the murmur of the dove's song

11.00 a.m. Choral Eucharist*

Prelude: Hambraeus Récit de Nazard

Setting: Thorne Gloria, Langlais Messe solennelle

Anthem: Aichinger Factus est repente

Voluntary: Grigny Dialogue sur les grands jeux (Veni creator spiritus)

4.00 p.m. Ordination of Priests*

Prelude: Buxtehude Komm, heiliger Geist

Setting: Fleming Mass of St Thomas

Anthem: Attwood Come, Holy Ghost

Voluntary: Duruflé Choral varié sue le thème du Veni Creator

Wednesday June 11

St Barnabas the Apostle

5.00 p.m. Choral Evensong

Responses: Godfrey Hewitt

Setting: Farrant Short service

Anthem: Holman Prevent us, O Lord

Voluntary: Mathias Fanfare

This is the final Wednesday Evensong of school term. Wednesday Choral Evensong will resume after Labour Day.

As an Anglican centre for spirituality, learning, culture, heritage and community, our cathedral upholds a daily rhythm of worship in the heart of Victoria. From intimate daily spoken and sung services to the weekly celebration of the Eucharist and Choral Evensong, we mark the important events of the Christian calendar and in the life of our diocese and the wider community.

Monthly Music List

Livestream Link

Jenkins' The Armed Man:

A Mass for Peace

SATURDAY, JUNE 7, 7.30 P.M.

Featuring the Victoria Philharmonic Choir and the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy

The VPC is grateful for the support from the CRD Arts & Culture Support Service, and the Victoria Foundation.

Tickets

Beer and Hymns

Raise a glass and raise your voice!

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 7.30 P.M.

An old-fashioned hymn sing with a twist! The cathedral’s concession stand will be stocked with beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, and snacks.

Admission by donation.

Nominate your favourite hymn!

Let us know your favourite hymn by filling out this form. If you’re lucky, it might become part of the set list for Beer and Hymn! But if it doesn’t, don’t despair because we’re deliberately leaving some spots open to chance, allowing you to cast your vote for some of your favourite numbers of the night!

More info