6.45 Choir
Confirmation @ All Saints Chapel
THE 6.45 Choir was requested by All Saints Chapel at Tabuan Dayak, Kuching to assist with their choir in preparation for the Confirmation Service on October 3, 2009.
Some members of the choir began to teach the All Saints Choir in July and then joined the Confirmation Service. For photos go here.
The chapel choir has 14 members, including one bass, two tenors and three altos.
We hope more members of the congregation will dedicate themselves to this ministry of the choir soon.
In December 2008, the Bishop of Sarawak and Brunei - the Right Reverend Bolly Lapok - challenged the 6.45 Choir to assist, in particular, Iban choirs in the Diocese.
Besides All Saints Chapel and St. Augustine's Church, Betong, the choir has also assisted with the St. Basil's Church, Batu Kawah, choir. We also have strong links with the Anglican Bidayuh Speaking Board (ABSB) choirs.
We will try our best to continue to live up to the mission that we have been given with the help of the Almighty.
May His name be glorified through choral singing throughout the Diocese. Amen!
Consecration Celebration Dinner
THE 6.45 Choir was invited to sing during a grand Celebration Dinner at Riverside Majestic Hotel, for the Consecration of Assistant Bishop Aeries Sumping Jingan on Saturday, September 19, 2009.
We sang two songs – ‘Living Sacrifice’, which is based on Micah 6:8 and Romans 12:1; as well as ‘We Are Called’, which is based on 1 Peter 2:5.
Revd Roannie Canidy and the Agape Band, along with the choir also led those present during the finale of the 'Millennium Prayer' and 'Shine, Jesus, Shine'.
Revd Roannie also presented 'Biar Aku Menjadi Lilin', the theme song for the evening.
The dinner was attended by over 900 faithful from throughout the Diocese of Kuching, as well as guests from England, New Zealand, Australia, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, South Korea, Myanmar, Sabah, Singapore and West Malaysia.
His Grace, the Most Reverend John Ha, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching, led the Opening Prayer and Grace.
In his address, Bishop Bolly acknowledged the presence of those who had come from afar to show their support for the Diocese.
The other performances for the evening were Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu cultural dances by the Dayak Cultural Foundation; 'Jiangnan Hao' – a Chinese traditional dance by the Chinese Speaking Congregation; and a Bamboo Band performance by the Pratounk Ensemble from St. Philip's Parish, Padawan – which included three graceful dancers in their traditional finery.
Sape player extraordinaire Jerry Kamit also thrilled the crowd with his wonderful renditions, both traditional and modern.
Archbishop Malecdan closed the evening with the Benediction.
To see photos of the evening go here.
Consecration of New Assistant Bishop
THE 6.45 Choir joined members of three other choirs from the Cathedral – Chinese Speaking Congregation Choir, Bahasa Malaysia Choir, and 8.15am Sunday Service Choir – to form a 60-strong combined choir for the Consecration Service of The Right Reverend Aeries Sumping Jingan as Assistant Bishop on Saturday, September 19, 2009.
Conducted by Evelyn Lim, the choir led the singing of hymns and songs of praise, which included the offertory hymn 'Praise To The Lord, The Almighty' in English, Mandarin, Iban and Bidayuh Biatah.
The choir also sang three anthems – 'I Need Thee Every Hour', which included violin accompaniment by 11-year-old Hilda Jawai Peter; 'Chosen Generation' based on 1 Peter 2:9; and 'For The Beauty Of The Earth' – during communion.
Some 1,000 from across the Diocese, as well as guests from England, New Zealand, Australia, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, South Korea, Myanmar, Sabah, Singapore and West Malaysia, joined the two-hour service.
The Most Reverend Dr. John Chew Hiang Chea, The Primate of the Anglican Province of South East Asia and the Bishop of the Diocese of Singapore, was Chief Consecrator.
He was assisted by The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, The Most Reverend Edward P Malecdan; The Bishop of the Diocese of Kuching, The Right Reverend Bolly Lapok; The Bishop of Taranaki and Co-Bishop of the Diocese of Waikato, New Zealand, The Right Reverend Philip Richardson; The Bishop of Malaita, Solomon Islands, The Right Reverend Sam Sahu; The Bishop of the Diocese of Sabah, The Right Reverend Datuk Albert Vun; The Bishop of the Diocese of West Malaysia, The Right Reverend Ng Moon Hing; and Assistant Bishop of West Malaysia, The Right Reverend Dr S. Batumalai.
In a show of ecumenical support, representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, Sidang Injil Borneo, Seventh Day Adventists and Salvation Army also attended the service.
The Ministry of the Word was conducted in Mandarin – The Old Testament, Bidayuh Biatah – The Epistle, and Iban – The Gospel.
To see photos of the service go here.
Choir Fellowship Nite
THE Choir held a gathering at the Cathedral’s Parish Hall on Saturday, July 18, 2009 as part of our 15th Anniversary Celebrations.
Among those present for the evening of fellowship were choir members from St. Augustine's, Kpg Mambong; St. Giles', Kpg Git; St. Gregory's, Kpg Giam; St. John’s, Kpg Punau; St. John’s, Kpg Taee; St. Mark’s, Peramas; St. Matthew’s, Kpg Karu; and St. Basil’s, Batu Kawa.
Members from the Cathedral’s Second Choir and 8.15am Sunday Service Choir also joined the fellowship.
As the dress code was traditional/smart casual, some choir members were dressed up in their respective traditional costumes.
Choir director Evelyn Lim explained that many of the choirs present had invited the 6.45 Choir to join their services and celebrations over the years, and it was indeed timely for us to play host.
She also stated her hope for all choir members to continue faithfully in this Ministry of Choral Music and hoped for more cooperation between the different choirs in future.
The programme for the evening included worship sessions with hymns, a ‘fiercely’ contested Choir 'Competition', and of course a hearty meal, which included home cooked dishes contributed by 6.45 Choir members.
A short poco-poco dance session completed the evening of fun and fellowship.
To see the photos for the evening, go here.
Betong Choir Conference
A few members of the 6.45am Choir assisted with a three-day Choir Conference of St. Augustine's Church, Betong in July.
The sessions began with an overall understanding of the purpose of the choir in leading worship.
The choir also decided that their theme would be, 'Here I Am' based on Isaiah 6:8.
There was also a basic session on proper choir singing techniques.
6.45 Choir members also joined the St. Augustine's Choir for a presentation at the Rumah Pelandok longhouse, led by Revd Tommy Awi and Revd Alex Baker.
The St. Augustine's Choir has around 30 members - teens to those in their 50s.
They will be visiting Kuching in December to join Christmas services here and possibly with the Anglican Bidayuh Speaking Board (ABSB) in Padawan.
For photos of the Choir Conference go here.
Workshop at SIB KEC
THE 6.45 Choir joined the Sidang Injil Borneo Kuching Evangelical Church (SIB KEC) choir for a half-day workshop on Sunday, May 17, 2009.
SIB KEC’s choir director Sharon Ling and conductor Sarah Lasung requested the 6.45am Choir conduct the workshop after attending last August’s Choral Celebration – organised by the 6.45 Choir in aid of The Bishop’s House Restoration (see story below).
The 6.45 Choir’s organist Dolly Crocker and choir director Evelyn Lim led the workshop, which covered, among others, proper breathing, posture and singing techniques for choir singing.
Our choir members also sang several anthems to demonstrate contrasts in techniques.
The three-hour session was indeed an eye-opener for both choirs.
“We really learned a lot. The workshop really helped us a lot with technique, especially with breathing and phrasing. It also helped us to see which areas we need to work on more,” said Sharon.
“It was really good for both choirs to be able to sing together, and it was good for our choir to see your choir perform as well,” she added.
The SIB KEC choir was formed around 2004. Prior to that the church had an ad hoc youth choir.
They have some 40 members with the youngest being just nine years old.
One similarity with the 6.45 Choir is that the SIB KEC choir is comprised of many family members – siblings, as well as parents and their children.
At the moment, the SIB KEC choir only sings during festivals like Good Friday, Easter and Christmas, but they are considering singing more regularly.
Sharon explained this is because SIB KEC’s praise and worship service structure does not have a suitable slot for choral singing, except during the monthly communion service.
They are considering a proposal for the choir to sing during the communion service, perhaps every two to three months to begin with.
It was truly wonderful to see so many youths in the SIB KEC choir and their enthusiasm for classical pieces like ‘God So Loved The World’ by John Stainer and ‘Hallelujah Chorus (from Messiah) by George Frideric Handel.
In fact, Sharon shared that youths and young children frequently request to join the choir, especially after seeing the choir sing at services.
The younger members are also the ones constantly requesting choir practices!
How wonderful to have such enthusiasm from the youth for this Ministry of Choral Music!
We really hope that more youths from the Cathedral will use their gifts of singing to serve God through the choir.
We also look forward to more interdenominational fellowship and cooperation with the SIB KEC choir in future.
Praise God for the opportunity to work together and also for His most wonderful gift of music!
For photos go here.
ABSB 7th Anniversary
THE choir joined the Anglican Bidayuh Speaking Board's (ABSB) 7th Anniversary cum Easter Celebration at St. Paul's Parish Church, Bunuk on Sunday, April 26, 2009.
Choirs from 14 chapels within the parishes of St. Philip's Padawan, St. James' Quop, St. John's Taee, St. Matthew's Mundai and St. Paul's Bunuk joined the service, which made for a very colourful procession from the parish hall to the church with the magnificent mountain ranges as a backdrop.
Praise God for giving us such beauty on earth! To view photos of the event go here.
Congregation members and clergy from the four parishes, as well as from Kuching, Debak and Betong also attended the celebration.
We sang For The Beauty Of The Earth (John Rutter) and Come Lord Jesus (Sally DeFord) during communion.
A clipping from The Borneo Post can be found below.
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Annual General Meeting
THE choir had its 10th Annual General Meeting in the Choir Vestry on February 27, 2009.
The new office bearers for 2009 are as follows:
Chairperson: Evelyn Lim
Asst. Chairperson: Dolly Crocker
Secretary: Davis Herould Awell
Treasurer: Raymond Lim
Score/Robe Manager: Grace Angga
Committee Members:
Donny Matthew
Francis Makam
Jenny Chen
Linda David
Maria Chambers
Noel Lim
Peter Karawang
Advisor: Veronica Mason
Among the events proposed for the year are a Choir Retreat in June as well as a Choir Fellowship Night and Re-Dedication Service for Choristers - to mark the choir's 15th Anniversary - in December.
15th Anniversary
Thanksgiving Dinner
WE held our 15th Anniversary Thanksgiving Dinner at Tempayan Restaurant, 3rd Floor Crown Towers, Jalan Pending on Friday, February 20, 2009.
As this year is our Crystal Anniversary, the theme for the evening was 'Glittering Nite'.
All came in their glittering best with Dolly winning the title of 'Most Glittering' for the evening.
To view photos of the event go here.
A Choral Celebration
THE choir organised 'A Choral Celebration' on August 23, 2008 at the Cathedral in aid of The Bishop's House.
The concert featured Fig3, St. Paul's Parish Choir Group, St. Basil's Church Choir, the Cathedral's Chinese Speaking Congregation Choir and the 6.45am Sunday Service Choir.
Our guest soloist was Mrs Simon Chan from Singapore.
We presented five pieces - For The Beauty Of The Earth (Lyricist: Folliot S Pierpoint, Composer: John Rutter); Glory To God, And The Glory Of God, and He Trusted In God from Handel's Messiah; and Because He Lives (Sally DeFord). 'Live' recordings of these songs can be downloaded on the Music page.
In total the Choral celebration raised RM20,043.00.
For photos of the Choral Celebration go here.
Clippings from The Borneo Post can be found below.
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