Choir History - Peter J

Peter Johnson writes of his experiences leading to contribution to the St Oswald’s choir for many years

From: Peter Johnson

I started singing as a boy soprano at Holy Trinity church in Hampton when I was about 8 years old (roughly 1956). My mum and two brothers and sister all sang in the choir as well. There were 24 boys and some 10-15 adults in the church choir at that time. I used to get 4 shillings for singing at weddings, sometimes 3 weddings a day. When I met Judy I convinced her to join the choir as well. The Holy Trinity had one famous chorister in Ross Wilson, who later fronted Daddy Cool and Mondo Rock, and sang Eagle Rock and Come Back Again. In adulthood, Judy and I joined the choir under David Carolane at St. George’s church, East Ivanhoe, and both sang with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir. I sang for a number of years with the Todor Choristers under musical directors David Carolane and John O’Donnell. We then joined St. Oswald’s in 1986 on returning from a couple of years in the US, and joined the choir a short time after that.