Lesa Scholl
18 December 2024
Being members of the St Paul’s Cathedral choir has been instrumental for three young people’s music skills, community connection, leadership and faith.
In a few months, Jimmy Hilton will be heading to the United Kingdom to take up a choral scholarship at Hereford Cathedral.
Tyler Clark will complete a diploma of music alongside her science degree.
Alannah Englezakis will undertake either a Bachelor of Science or biomedicine, followed by medicine.
Jimmy, who attended Trinity Grammar, said that the end of school brought a lot of exciting opportunities.
Read more: Want to explore Melbourne’s music scene? Go to church.
Former Lowther Hall student Alannah said that there were a lot of built-up emotions on results day. “Nervous, exciting, everything at the same time.”
“I didn’t sleep that much the night before,” Jimmy said.
“It feels really good, but strange at the same time,” Tyler said. “It’s such a big weight off my shoulders to get this year done.”
Alannah said that being in the choir has been a journey of self-discovery. She had tried other activities and sports, but the choir gave her a special way to meet new people and develop new skills.
Jimmy had always enjoyed music and singing, so when he joined Trinity the choral scholarship was a perfect opportunity for him to do what he loved.
“I found a group of like-minded people that were my age and kind of like me,” he said.
That sense of connection has grown over the years. Jimmy reflected on watching the younger choristers grow, as well as the mentoring he has received from older lay clerks.
Read more: Church’s 10 hour music jam to raise funds for refugee aid
Jimmy said that being immersed in the cathedral environment for almost 10 years has helped him to see how people can relate to things spiritually through music.
“That’s a really important part of the ministry that we do here,” he said.
Alannah said that being in the choir has opened her eyes to how much faith really means to people. Helping with the children’s Sunday School has also taught her a lot.
“Some of the children that come, they know so much about their faith, what they believe in, and who they believe in,” she said. “They’ve been able to connect to their faith through a different avenue. I’ve been able to do that through music.”
“Even though we’re going to leave Lowther, now, which is pretty scary, we’ve still got the cathedral to see people and stay connected through St Paul’s,” Tyler said.
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