January 2021 NATIONAL LOCKDOWN
As we progress through the third National Lockdown of the Coronavirus pandemic we regret that the Cathedral Choir will not be singing at services. Organ Music only will be provided at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days until further notice.
The Cathedral Choir is a four-part, adult voluntary choir which normally sings at the Cathedral’s 10am Solemn Mass on Sundays and at the Sung Mass or other sung liturgies on major holy days. The choir’s repertoire is wide and varied according to the liturgical season or the particular celebration.
The weekly choir rehearsal is usually at 9am in the Cathedral, immediately before the 10am Solemn Mass. From March 2020 until early December 2020 the choir was under Covid-19 restrictions, and did not sing at Mass or meet to rehearse. The choir were able to return for a short while during Advent and Christmas 2020 but are now under restriction again and will not be singing at Mass until further notice as the world continues to grapple with and vaccinate the people against Covid-19 and its emerging variants. At broadcast masses on Sundays and major holy days, we hope to provide organ music until such times as singing is again safe. Daily Mass is broadcast at 10am on the Plymouth Diocese YouTube channel. Eucharistic Adoration takes place each day during lockdown from 4pm-4.30pm on the same channel.
New choir members are always most welcome. Please contact Robert Osmond, the Cathedral’s Director of Music, on 07970-566466 who will keep you informed as restrictions are gradually eased, and when it becomes safe for the choir to sing again.
The Cathedral Choir is a four-part, adult voluntary choir which normally sings at the Cathedral’s 10am Solemn Mass on Sundays and at the Sung Mass or other sung liturgies on major holy days. The choir’s repertoire is wide and varied according to the liturgical season or the particular celebration.
The weekly choir rehearsal is usually at 9am in the Cathedral, immediately before the 10am Solemn Mass. From March 2020 until early December 2020 the choir was under Covid-19 restrictions, and did not sing at Mass or meet to rehearse. The choir were able to return for a short while during Advent and Christmas 2020 but are now under restriction again and will not be singing at Mass until further notice as the world continues to grapple with and vaccinate the people against Covid-19 and its emerging variants. At broadcast masses on Sundays and major holy days, we hope to provide organ music until such times as singing is again safe. Daily Mass is broadcast at 10am on the Plymouth Diocese YouTube channel. Eucharistic Adoration takes place each day during lockdown from 4pm-4.30pm on the same channel.
New choir members are always most welcome. Please contact Robert Osmond, the Cathedral’s Director of Music, on 07970-566466 who will keep you informed as restrictions are gradually eased, and when it becomes safe for the choir to sing again.
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The Cathedral’s Organist and Director of Music is Robert Osmond who was appointed to the Cathedral for a second time in 2020, having held the post for some years during the 1990s.
As well as being Director of Music at the Cathedral, Robert is the regular Vigil Mass Organist at Sacred Heart, Paignton on Saturday evenings, when Cathedral duties allow. He had the pleasure of working with the Cathedral Dean, Canon Mark O’Keeffe, for several years when Canon Mark was the Parish Priest of Paignton. Robert has been involved in church music since the age of 7, firstly as a chorister, then as an Assistant Organist at 15 and Organist / Director of Music from the age of 21. He has served in parishes’ locally in Devon and in both Kilburn and Willesden Green in London. Raised in the Anglo - Catholic tradition within the Church of England, Robert was received into full communion with the Holy See in early 1993, by the late Fr. Tony Bennett at Sacred Heart, Paignton and was subsequently Director of Music there before being appointed to the Cathedral a couple of years later. If you might be interested in joining the choir, or for any other musical enquiries, Robert would be delighted to hear from you. He can be contacted in the following ways:- E Mail: robert.osmond@hotmail.com Mobile: 07970 - 566466 |
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