Saint Wulstan's Choir

St. Wulstan's has had a choir at least since the present church building was opened in 1959. The Director of Music, David West (B. Mus., A.R.C.O., A.T.C.L.) started in post on Palm Sunday 1994 at the request of Canon Corrigan, the priest at that time. Before this point, the choir consisted of a loyal band of singers who sang the hymns from words-only copies of the hymn book! The music was run by different people on different Sundays of the month. Canon Corrigan asked Dave to bring together all those who were involved with leading the music at Mass to discuss the way forward.

One of the choir's most important outings was a visit to Saint Wulstan's Church at Little Malvern to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edward Elgar, whose grave is in the church yard.

Joining the Choir

We are currently short of male bass singers, particularly. Friends from the music world help us for the big occasions, but we are always looking for new people with a reasonable singing voice, especially those who are good readers of music or prepared to learn. If you love choral music and feel comfortable worshipping with others in the Mass on Sundays contact the Director of Music or complete the form at Contact Us.

You will not have to pay any subscription but you will need to be available on a voluntary basis most Sundays. Members are paid for singing at Weddings and Funerals and when visiting other churches to sing.

We rehearse on Friday evenings at 7.15pm and on Sunday mornings at 10.0 am, before the 10.30 am Mass. We sometimes rehearse again before Vespers and Benediction on Sunday evenings especially during Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide. First Vespers is often sung on the eve of important feast days and always on the eve of the Nativity on 24th December

The Organ

Having provided many years of service, this first organ in St Wulstan’s has proved quite inadequate for leading larger congregations and its action is failing.

In1994, Canon Corrigan, Parish Priest at the time, offered to fund the addition of a trumpet or mixture stop to improve the impact of the organ (the sound in the sanctuary was always distant, even when the instrument was played “full”). He was advised by the our Director of Music, David West, that to do this was really throwing good money after bad, since the problems of the organ were much greater than simply lack of volume or impact. This was confirmed after a visit in an advisory capacity, by David Saint, Director of Music at St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham. After trying out the instrument Professor Saint agreed that it was not worth restoring.

The New Organ

In December 2003 David West received a telephone call from our organ tuners Cartwright & Cartwright. A superb two – manual instrument had become available. The organ, built by Rushworth & Dreaper, was situated in Engedi CM Church in Brymbo, North Wales. On Wednesday 7th January 2004, he visited the Chapel to try it out.

The organ he found far outweighed expectations. Every stop was beautiful to listen to on its own and well voiced. Furthermore, they blended well together to produce a fine sound. It was decided therefore, that none of the pipes would be thrown away and nothing would be changed that would alter its character. However, it was necessary to enlarge the original specification so that the former Engedi organ could cope with the future musical needs of St Wulstan’s.

Measurements were taken in the choir loft at St. Wulstan’s and all the relevant data was recorded on the final visit to the chapel in Brymbo, including a mini – disc recording. The Brymbo organ was then secured for St Wulstan’s in a short space of time.

It also became clear that the benefits of this organ could be the springboard for a whole host of activities, so the “St Wustan’s Musical Education Trust” was formed.

Raising the Funds

A total of £127,126 – 00 was needed to complete the work, including the extra stops and state of the art console. Because of the growing choir at St Wulstan’s, there would be no extra room in the choir gallery, so special platforms have been constructed to house the new organ. So far we have raised around £45,000 - 00. In addition we have been given an interest-free loan of £50,000 - 00 by another parish, eager to help with our work. Although our present finances mean that the original Rushworth & Dreaper organ can be installed, together with most of the new stops, we still need additional funds to complete the specification.

Once the new organ is in place, St Wulstan’s Musical Education Trust will go on to provide a range of initiatives and facilities, to promote the learning of the instrument so that the decline in organists at parish level can be reversed.

Saint Wulstan's Musical Education Trust

The trust was incorporated on 23rd December 2004 and will raise funds to train young organists and provide the facilities and materials to help them with their studies. Staffordshire has a thriving County Music Service, but the one instrument most children have no chance of learning is the organ. The few that live near one of our cathedrals may have experienced the sound of the organ and choral music, but apart from Saint Wulstan's there is no real equivalent in North Staffordshire.

The Trust (Registered Company Number 05320713) is in the process of building its own website. You will be able to visit it at www.wulstanstrust.com once it is complete.

If you would like to know more about our musical activities at St Wulstan’s, please email the Director of Music, David West at davespipes@yahoo.co.uk.

Specifications for the New Organ

You can download full specifications of the new organ in PDF format here.

Updated10-01-2010
Saint Wulstan