MUSIC PLAYS a central role in life at Christ Church and St Luke's.

On this page you will find information regarding the music in and around the parish.

THE CHOIR OF CHRIST CHURCH, Isle of Dogs Parish, is a robed SATB choir of between 10 and 14 regular singers, which rises to around 18 singers for major events. There is a wide age-range and demographic within the choir, and we are fortunate to have some very experienced singers and ex-choral scholars singing with us. Our usual rotation of services is sung Parish Mass every Sunday, often including an anthem, a full Choral Evensong once a month, and numerous other services through the year to celebrate festivals.

We sing a broad repertoire, including early music, Romantic music, and twentieth century music of the English cathedral tradition as well as spirituals and madrigals. Recently, the choir performed a very successful concert of music for lent at Christ Church – our third concert since 2009 – and we are looking forward to our first cathedral tour this summer singing at Bradford Cathedral and Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire. In September 2009 the choir performed at the Sophien-Kirche and St. Elisabeth-Kirche in Berlin as part of an exchange visit between our parish and Der Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Sophien in Mitte, the central district of the city. When the Berlin parish visited us in September 2010, we led a joint performance between our choirs and there are plans to collaborate again in performing a Bach cantata as part of the parish visit to Berlin this coming September.

THE CHOIR OF ST LUKE'S CHURCH Millwall is a small, but enthusiastic group of singers, formed in Autumn 2010 to support worship at the weekly 9.30 St. Luke’s service. This group is directed by Pam Hulme and has a very informal approach, having grown out of a love of singing within the regular congregation at St. Luke’s.

St. Luke’s Church Choir meets for a short rehearsal at 9.00 every Sunday, and works towards performing a communion anthem once a month and at other special events. For more information, please email Pam or just turn up!

YOUTH MUSIC IS AN AREA OF GROWTH at Christ Church. Young people between the ages of 8 and 14 attend rehearsal on Thursday evenings from 19.30 to either 20.00 or 20.30, depending on age and experience. The early practice introduces young people to standard choral repertoire in a fun and engaging way, developing their singing skills and general musicianship, and prepares them for singing pieces of music with the larger adult choir in the period of time that overlaps with part of the main choir rehearsal.

Young members of the choir are encouraged to participate in the voice training scheme offered by the Royal School of Church Music, and through this link they have access to further singing opportunities in the local area and beyond, including one-day and longer residential courses.

THERE IS A STRONG COMMUNITY of children’s work within the parish of the Isle of Dogs, driven by our Sunday School groups at Christ Church and St. Luke’s, and also through the weekly Toy Library and monthly Buggy Mass at Christ Church.

Singing is a key part of the Sunday School progamme at Christ Church and parents have expressed interest in a choir for children between the ages of 3 and 7. Pam Hulme is keen to run a regular group for younger children and, if this is something you would be interested in, she would like to hear from you! She hopes to trial a regular slot for Children’s Choir aimed at children aged 3-7 on Fridays from September.

Please email Pam to register interest or with suggestions for a more convenient time.

THE ISLE OF DOGS COMMUNITY CHOIR is an informal group made up of people from across the whole of the Isle of Dogs, with a wide range of musical experience and a relaxed attitude to regular commitment. This group is directed by Pam Hulme and repertoire is generally non-religious, with an emphasis on fun and strengthening links within the local community. Our aim is to sing because we enjoy it, rather than to prepare for any particular concert or church service, although there may be an opportunity to perform at a light-hearted event in the Summer.

Isle of Dogs Community Choir meet at St. Luke’s Church, Millwall on Mondays between 17.00-18.00 and rehearsals are followed by tea, coffee and cake.

PIANO, ORGAN AND MUSIC THEORY lessons are currently available at Christ Church, taught by Director of Music Pam Hulme. Please email Pam for more information.

PAM STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL for her BA and MA in Music, focusing on twentieth century avant-garde music and music analysis. She then completed a PGCE in Music at Christ Church University College, Canterbury, and has taught in London since 2003. Pam has an eclectic approach to music-making, and feels fortunate to work with a wide range of people across a broad spectrum of music. This includes coaching young MCs in composing grime and hip-hop at Cumberland School in Newham, where she currently teaches music, having been Head of Music between 2005-2010, and singing soprano with the Merbecke Choir based at Southwark Cathedral.

Pam took over as Director of Music for the Parish of the Isle of Dogs in January 2009, having been the Director of Music of St. Barnabus Church, Clapham Common since 2003. Over the last few years, the choir of Christ Church has developed significantly, both in number and breadth of musical opportunity. With longer-term musical growth in mind, Pam has introduced two further choirs in the local area; a smaller choir at the sister church St. Luke’s, Millwall, and a community choir which aims to unite the whole parish in singing a wide range of music outside of the liturgical context. Pam recently strengthened musical links with Berlin by playing the organ during the Parish Mass at the Sophien Kirche.

WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE two fine organs by English builder Noel Mander, a one-manual chamber organ at St Luke's and a large three-manual at Christ Church. The instrument at St Luke's is built in the English 18th-century style, has eight speaking stops on three ranks of pipes, and is controlled by an electric action. Christ Church's organ was built in 1953, as an expansion of an earlier instrument by Lewis, which in turn incorporated work by Walker. It has thirty-three speaking stops, together with a large selection of couplers, and is tonally speaking in the English Romantic school of organ-building. It dominates the upper storey of the South Transept, with the detached console located opposite, in the west corner of the North Transept.

Select one of the following titles to hear an audio sample of our Choir.