St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney – Music Department

Great churches provide extraordinary music events for their large and varied congregations and St Mary’s Cathedral delivers a truly world class church music experience.

Steeped in the history of St Mary’s Cathedral and the early colony of New South Wales, the Cathedral’s Music Department has the busiest church music schedule in the country and is the only Catholic Cathedral in the southern hemisphere with an on-site choir school.

The St Mary’s Cathedral Choir has a history dating back to 1818 becoming the first Catholic Choir in Australia providing a rich tradition of sacred music to the Cathedral Parish. The Cathedral Choir consists of Choristers and Scholars attending St Mary’s Cathedral College, Sydney; and professional Lay-Clerks with significant experience in liturgical music. There are seven weekend services with music, with the Choir providing music at Vespers and Mass in the Cathedral every day during term-time, making it one of only two Cathedral choirs in the world to continue such a rigorous music schedule.

For lovers of organ music and historic organs, the Cathedral currently has four organs: the Whitehouse (1942), Sharp (1960), Bellsham (1985) and the Letourneau (1999).

The St Mary’s Cathedral Music Department is lead by the Director of Music: Mr Daniel Justin and the Assistant Director of Music: Mr Simon Niemiński