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Information about the Scots' Church Organ

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Director of Music

Douglas Lawrence OAM has been Director of Music at Scots’ Church since 1984. He teaches organ at the University of Melbourne and was Master of the Chapel Music at Ormond College from 1982 to 2006. He has been awarded the OAM for services to music.

Douglas plays the organ most weeks for the Sunday 11am worship service, as well as training and conducting the choir.

Throughout the year Douglas is responsible for producing, directing and conducting many concerts and performances with the choir and with various instrumental ensembles, both in Scots' Church and beyond.

The Rieger Organ that was installed in 1999 was built to Douglas' specification and it has proven to be a wonderful continuation of the musical tradition and standard that has been the hallmark of Scots' Church since its foundation.

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Dr Robin Batterham AO is assistant organist. He covers Douglas Lawrence’s leave, as well as assisting in special church services, concerts and performances.

Robin has a distinguished career in research science, having completed undergraduate and PhD studies in chemical engineering at Melbourne University.

He currently serves as Chief Technologist for Rio Tinto, and has also recently completed a term of office as Chief Scientist to the Federal Government.

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The Choir of Scots’ Church

The Choir was founded over 150 years ago. Many fine musicians have sung in this choir the most famous of them Dame Nellie Melba whose father David Mitchell built the church in 1874. Nowadays the choir consists of 26 singers made up of four Principals, an Associate Principal, 10 Choral Scholars, 3 Junior Choral Scholars and others who just love to sing. The choir's repertoire is wide, ranging from Italian Renaissance polyphony, through the Baroque and Romantic eras and into the 21st Century. We often perform new works. A special delight is taken in the performance of the great early 20th Century English composers, Bairstow, Howells, Vaughan Williams, Parry and others of that period. The choir sings in church every Sunday morning from the first Sunday in February until Christmas Day and gives annual performances of the Bach St. John Passion on Good Friday and Handel’s Messiah just before Christmas. Two recent CDs have sold well. A third CD of hymns entitled Food for Life’s Journey has just been released. The Director of Music welcomes enquiries from those wishing to audition for a place in the choir.		Deborah Kayser Principal Soprano

Thomas Drent Principal Bass	Vaughan McAlley Principal Tenor	Elizabeth Anderson Principal Alto

Director of Music

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