St Mary’s Choir, Australia’s oldest performing group with a rich history spanning more than a century, is set to host a heart-warming reunion on 2 March, 2025.
This event, the Former Choristers Luncheon, promises to bring together choir members from the 1950s to the present day, celebrating not just the music but the friendships and memories forged within the hallowed walls of St Mary’s Cathedral.
The reunion invites all past and present choir members to converge and relive moments from their years of dedication to the choir.
Among those eagerly anticipating the reunion are brothers Fr Roberto and Chris Keryakos.
Growing up immersed in the faithful sounds of the choir, both brothers have fond memories of their time performing under the grand arches of the cathedral.
Fr Roberto, now an assistant priest at St Mary’s Cathedral, who first joined the choir in 2001 says the bonds forged as choristers have stood the test of time.
“Because you’re doing something unique that not many people understand and not many people appreciate, there was a great camaraderie. There still is today,” said Fr Roberto.
Fr Roberto and Chris are preparing to reunite with their old choir buddies with a palpable sense of excitement and nostalgia.
“It will be lovely to see some of those guys again and to see what they’re up to and where they’re singing these days.
“It’s like being in a soccer team, there’s a great brotherhood. There’s a great camaraderie there and it’s still there today amongst the young men in the choir,” said Fr Roberto.
Fr Roberto’s fondest memory is singing at Cardinal George Pell’s installation as the eighth archbishop of Sydney in 2001.
“I joined with Cardinal Clancy as Archbishop of Sydney and then Archbishop Pell followed in 2001 a few months later.
“It was an honour just to sing at his installation and I can remember my mother pulling me aside and saying to me what you’re seeing is going be in the history books,” he recalls.
His younger brother Chris recalls the thrill of being invited to morning teas at special events at the Cathedral.
“Every so often on a Sunday we’d have a morning tea, and we’d all go there and just let loose, have a have a good feed, get stuck into the party pies and play some basketball.
“And I remember a trip to Rome, it was my first time overseas and it was very exciting.”
But Chris was a reluctant choir boy at first.
“If it wasn’t for my mum, I wouldn’t have stuck at it. She wanted us boys to stick at it and was the real driving force for us” he admits.
Now as a fulltime singer and musician, Chris is thankful for his mother’s persistence.
“I sing contemporary pop songs these days, but singing Gregorian chants and those beautiful church hymns has had a beautiful impact and it will be great to see those old faces I once sang this amazing music with,” said Chris.
Whether you sang in the 1950s or just last year, the St Mary’s Choir reunion is open to all and promises to be a celebration of friendship, faith, and the beautiful music that binds us all together.
If you are interested in attending, please email Tony Maricic via email: [email protected]
