Music at St James the Great, Thorley
We hope you enjoy the musical activities throughout the Festival. We are blessed indeed in having so many people with musical skills amongst us. There are four groups dedicated to enhancing our worship by their musical leadership and combining together for special services and events.
In the early 1980s there was only the Church Choir, which sang at the main Sunday morning service, but the congregation was steadily outgrowing the capacity of the Church and the need for different forms of worship was becoming apparent. This resulted in the introduction, in the mid-eighties of the 9:15 a.m. service by the Revd. Alan Cole, Rector of Thorley at the time.
The Church Choir remained with the more traditional form of worship and now sings at the 11:15 a.m. service (except the first Sunday of the month), Choral Evensong (6 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month) and many of the weddings that take place at St James'. The Choir enjoys a wide range of hymns and anthems. Practices are held on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30pm.
The Music Group formed in the early 1990s to provide leadership for the more informal service at 9:15 a.m. and is now under the guidance of Katharine Roper. This group also enjoys a wide range of songs and hymns. Practices are on Monday evenings.
St James' Orchestra, under the baton of Anna Smith, has gone from strength to strength since it was formed in the mid-90s. The Orchestra leads the music at 9:15 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month and normally practices the previous afternoon.
We introduced the latest addition to this musical family - Jubilate - in October 2001. This choir sings at the 11:15 a.m. service on the first Sunday of each month, leading the Common Worship Communion service held in the Church. It has been very exciting to see new people coming forward to complement the Church Choir. Practices are held at 7:00 p.m. on the Wednesday evening preceding the first Sunday of each month, in the Church.
These groups welcome new members. If you are interested please contact:
Church Choir - Simon Dellow, Organist and Choir Master
Music Group - Katharine Roper
Orchestra - Anna Smith
Jubilate - Simon Dellow, Organist and Choir, Master or Maureen Hargrave
All of the above can be contacted via parishoffice@stjamesthorley.freeserve.co.uk.