Making Music at St Andrew’s & St Cuthman’s
Our Church Choir
Steyning Parish Church has a long-established choral tradition, with a fully robed SATB choir singing at most 9:30am Sunday Eucharist services. On the third Sunday of the month our Music Group normally provides the music at the 9.30am service – but the choir sings a full Choral Evensong at 6pm on those Sundays.
Special services include the Advent and Christmas carol services and a Sacred Concert on Good Friday. The choir has an extensive repertoire of motets and anthems as well as settings of the Evening Canticles by Stanford, Brewer, Noble, Harwood, Ireland and Sumsion. Larger scale works in the repertoire include the Requiems by Fauré and John Rutter and Stainer’s Crucifixion.
The choir has been affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music for many years and members of the choir follow its Voice for Life training scheme in which they can prepare to take the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.
Singing With Us
We are recruiting members in all voice parts. Children from the age of eight and young people are especially welcome. Singing in a choir provides a good musical education and many previous young choristers have gone on to read Music at University and Music Conservatoires, or have become choral scholars or involved in music theatre and production. Others have continued to enjoy singing in choirs and choral societies in their adult lives. The commitment can be flexible but is generally one service every Sunday and a choir practice on Fridays from 7 to 8:30pm.
Social events are organised and include a Christmas party following the Carol Service, a summer garden party, and occasional workshops with distinguished musicians including John Rutter and Bob Chilcott. The choir enjoys a well-earned break every August.
We are fully committed to our church’s safeguarding policies and procedures.
Further details and information can be obtained from Brian Sawyer, the Organist and Director of Music on 01903 813276 (parish office) – or to email Brian, click here.
The Organ
The organ in Steyning Parish Church is a two-manual Walker extension organ with seven ranks of pipes. The organ has been placed at the west end of the church since in 1968, and has a detached console in the north-east corner of the nave. This organ replaced a three manual Spurden-Rutt instrument sited in the south-east corner of the church, where there is now the Cuthman Chapel.
The pipe organ was enlarged to its present form when in 1980 two electronic stops were added to the pedal department. In 2012 a complete electronic instrument was added using the Hauptwerk System, which was updated more recently.
This versatile, hybrid instrument is used extensively for concerts, recitals and for accompanying the church choir.
Our Music Group
Our music group supports the 9.30 Eucharist on the third Sunday of each month. The group is led by Neil Aiton (keyboards, violin), with regular members including Simon Knowles, Fiona Aiton (vocals), Tamsin Ripley (flute), Kate Burnett (cello) and Vanessa Knowles (vocals and percussion). They perform mainly modern worship songs, with some traditional hymns and Taizé chants. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution made by the late Malcolm Donaldson, who played guitar with the group for several years.
Please click here if you would like to know more about our Music Group.
