Scottish Catholic Observer

A renowned Australian youth choir performed at Glasgow’s St Andrew’s Cathedral last Saturday, July 5, as part of a Celtic tour of Europe.

The St Michael’s Grammar School Choir entertained Glasgow music-lovers at an evening concert, before heading to Edinburgh for a performance in Giles Cathedral the following Monday

The choir, which has played in some of the most famous venues in Europe including Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, were welcomed to St Andrew’s Cathedral by members of the Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project who were joined by cathedral parishioners and even a few curious passers-by for the choir performance.

The atmosphere was described as ‘warm and vibrant’ as the cathedral began to fill up, while the young singers, dressed in their school uniform, had a quick rehearsal under the direction of the choir’s conductor Gary Ekkel.

Among those that attended was Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti, who took time at the end to congratulate the choir, soloists and accompanists on their outstanding performance. “When you get home,” he said, “thank your mums and dads for their contribution that has allowed you to make this journey and tell them how much we appreciated your visit.” He then spent a bit of time with the young people, telling them about the 200-year history of the cathedral building and explaining the saints that feature in the artwork inside.

Stephen Callaghan, creative director of AGAP, greeted the Australian choir after their arrival in an unusually sunny Glasgow and said he assured them that the weather wasn’t always that good. “Thankfully, probably in part due to the good weather, we had a good attendance,” he said. “By way of a welcome to the young people, AGAP provided them with a prayer card with the image of St Mungo, Glasgow’s patron saint, and we sent them onto the next leg of their journey with a can of Scotland’s ‘other’ national drink Irn Bru—the sugar-free kind, of course!

“Everyone appreciated the concert, which was a splendid arrangement of sacred music from across the ages, and opened with a processional piece that had choir members move up the centre aisle from the back and take their places on the sanctuary steps.”

Mr Ekkel, the choir conductor, said that the link that had been made with Glasgow, through AGAP, was a good one. He will now return to Australia with the St Michael’s choir having ended their tour with a stop in Wales.

Pic: Robert Wilson

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