MUSIC
CATHEDRAL Music List
There are many ways in which you and your family can be part of the music at Holy Trinity Cathedral.
​You can attend Choral Services, you can enjoy concerts, you can join a Choir, you can sponsor a Junior Chorister Scholarship, you can spread the word about the musical events at Holy Trinity Cathedral to your friends, you can donate a pipe to the Cathedral Organ, you can make a financial contribution to the maintenance and tuning of the Cathedral organs and pianos (donations are tax deductible), or you can hire our venues to host a concert.
To keep up to date with the musical events happening at Holy Trinity Cathedral, please join our monthly mailing list. To subscribe to our Cathedral Music Matters newsletter, please enter your email address in the form below.
Cathedral Choirs
new children's choir auditions
The Choir of Holy Trinity Cathedral
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Singing three choral services per week during term time, the Choir of Holy Trinity Cathedral is, in terms of public performances, the busiest in the city.
This dynamic and flexible ensemble embraces the widest possible repertoire of sacred music, from Gregorian Chant, European renaissance polyphony and music written for the Anglican Church, through to contemporary religious work from New Zealand and beyond.
Music has always played a vital role in the spiritual life of the Cathedral; under the leadership of Professor Peter Godfrey, Director of Music from 1958 to 1974, the choir enjoyed strong links with Auckland University and achieved an international reputation for excellence. The scope and outlook of the choir was developed subsequently by director, Anthony Jennings. In recent times, the choir has participated in many of the high profile occasions that have been hosted at the Cathedral, notably, visits of members of the Royal Family, the state funerals for Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Paul Reeves, and the 15th Anglican Consultative Council, held in Auckland in 2012. The choir has been broadcast many times on national TV and Radio, most recently on Easter Day 2021. Click here to listen to the service.
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Though the choir works hard and performs to a very high standard within a tight schedule, it is a friendly and sociable group, with a strong sense of Music. Scholarships are often available to assist young people embarking on a course of musical study.
To enquire about joining the Cathedral Choir or for more information about scholarships, please contact the Director of Choirs, music@holy-trinity.org.nz or 09 303 9500.
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St Mary's Singers
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St Mary's Singers, Musical Director Anita Banbury, is a mixed voice, auditioned choir which sings at services in the Cathedral and elsewhere when the Cathedral Choir is not available, normally during the school holidays.
CATHEDRAL ORGANS
Holy Trinity Cathedral Organ
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The new Cathedral organ has been designed and built by the organ building company of Nicholson & Co Ltd from Malvern, Worcestershire, UK, to the tonal specification of the Cathedral Organist, Dr Philip Smith. Construction commenced in 2015 and installation was completed in 2017. The organ was blessed and dedicated at a Service on Sunday 11 June 2017.
The specification of the new Cathedral organ consists of 91 speaking stops spread over four manuals and pedals, with 5,432 pipes.
The instrument is divided either side of the Cathedral in two stunning cases designed by leading designer Didier Grassin, with façade pipes of spotted metal. The Pedal organ is situated in a gallery above the Patteson entrance in the space formerly occupied by the previous organ.
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The organ has been conceived as a tonally flexible instrument which can play music of different genres, although its tonality is firmly based on the tradition of the Anglican Cathedral and its repertoire.
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The organ is playable from two 4-manual, 122 drawstop consoles - a mobile in the Nave and a fixed console in the organ loft above the Marsden Chapel.
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holy trinity cathedral organ Specifications
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St Mary’s Organ
The organ in St Mary's-in-Holy Trinity was built in 1909 by George Croft of Auckland. In 1985, the organ was rebuilt with electric action and carried out tonal modifications.
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As part of Selwyn's Vision, a project to complete and consecrate our Cathedral, the organ was completely rebuilt and restored by Pierce Pipe Organs Pty Ltd of Brisbane, Australia.
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This work included the restoration of the wind system, action and the console. Tonally pipe work added in 1985 was replaced with new, which are more in keeping with the ethos of an Edwardian instrument. The wind pressures which were lowered at the last rebuild were restored to the original and the tonal scheme was completed by the addition of an 8’ Tromba to the Choir Organ.
In addition, the organ case was cleaned and polished,and the façade pipes decorated.
St mary's organ Specifications
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Bishop Selwyn Chapel
The final part of the musical aspect of Selwyn’s Vison project was completed on Thursday 19th April with the delivery of the new organ for the Bishop Selwyn Chapel.
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The organ is a bespoke, self-contained, two manual and pedal digital instrument built by Johannus of Holland to a tonal scheme designed by Cathedral Organist Dr Philip Smith. The organ plays a prominent part in the life of the chapel and is fully mobile.
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An enormous thank you to the generous donors to Selwyn’s Vision that made the purchase possible.
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