Choir

The St Oswald’s Choir is a parish-based four part singing group of about 15 adults, whose membership is largely drawn from the local congregation.

The choir sings regularly at the 10.00 am Holy Communion Service and at festivals and seasonal events such as Easter and Christmas, including the annual Carol Service. 

The choir rehearses from 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm on Thursday evenings. A diverse repertoire is chosen appropriate to the worship. Psalms using the responsorial form are sung alongside traditional Anglican chant and congregational settings of the Eucharist. Hymns are from the Australian hymnal, ‘Together in Song’.

Anyone interested in joining the group is warmly invited to contact the Music Director, Dr Houston Dunleavy

Organ

The parish has a modest but fine pipe organ built in 1989 by local builder, Knud Smenge. It was fortuitous that at the time the parish was looking to purchase a pipe organ, Knud had recently set up his own organ building operation here in Melbourne. A native of Denmark, Smenge trained and worked with some of its finest organ builders. Particularly influential was Bruno Christensen who mentored him at the famous Marcussen organ-building firm. When Christensen started his own operation in Copenhagen, Smenge joined his team, working as his chief voicer for twelve years. In the mid-twentieth century, Scandinavian organ builders were at the forefront of the ‘organ reform movement’ which championed a return to the clear sounding, brightly voiced, mechanical action instruments. In 1979, Knud moved to Melbourne to join the long established Australian firm of Fincham and Son. Within a couple of years he had set up his own workshop, producing over 40 new instruments, as well as restoring instruments like the one at St Mary’s Church, North Melbourne. His largest instrument in Victoria is in St. John’s Lutheran Church, Southgate, while other major installations include the Anglican Cathedral in Perth and the Catholic Cathedral, Brisbane. He retired in 2002 after 25 years of outstanding organ building in Australia. 

Specification

Manual 1               Manual 2

Rohrflute 8             Gedackt 8

Spitz Gamba 8        Koppelflute 4

Principal 4               Principal 2

Waldflute 2              Schalmey 8

Mixture III-IV

Pedal                      3 couplers

Subbass 16             Tremulant

Gedackt 8

Roger Pryor