Director of Music - Jennifer Chou
The Choir
Our Pipe Organ
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Director of Music - Jennifer Chou The Choir Our Pipe Organ |
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| The Organ Pipes |
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| Jennifer Chou |
Originally from Hong Kong, Jennifer started learning the organ from Samuel Tong and the harpsichord with Joyce Lindorf. Upon her graduation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong she was awarded a scholarship to study the organ with Wolfgang Rübsam at Northwestern University. She obtained a Master of Music degree and Performance Certificate with honours. Encouraged by Rübsam, she gave up the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in one of the most prestigious school of music in the US two weeks before the academic term was due to start and went to Europe with no regret!
Having no idea what she was up to, her luck brought her to the organ class of Susan Landale in Paris at the Conservatoire National de Région de Rueil-Malmaison, where she was awarded the Prix d'Excellence, and the Prix de Virtuosité à l'unanimité avec les félicitations du jury, the highest award of the conservatoire. She then specialized her studies in French baroque and North German repertoire with Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen at the Centre d'Etudes Musicales Supéieures de Toulouse and obtained the Premier Prix d'Orgue à l'unanimité after performing a programme of French baroque organ music with Gregorian chant in the Toulouse les Orgues International Festival.
While living in Europe, she travelled to play historical organs in various parts of Europe to broaden her horizon in organ playing and to understand the different cultures and ideas of sound and organ music in different countries.
Jennifer enjoys challenging herself. However, she never thought of competing until one day something in her mind “clicked” and the word “competition” made its way in her dictionary. Although she was already quite old in the competition world to start at all, she went for it before the deadline cut her off and did several international organ competitions, among which she won Mention Spéciale du jury as a finalist in the Biarritz International Organ Competition in France.
Jennifer lived in England from 2001 to 2003 and was Director of Music at St Mary's Anglican Church Worplesdon. She came to Melbourne in 2004 with her husband Joseph Yu. She was Director of Music at St. James Catholic Church Gardenvale before coming to St John's in 2006.
Over the years, she has given recitals in the US, UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia including venues such as Edinburgh Cathedral, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Cathedrale St. Etienne in Toulouse, Westminster Abbey, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Adelaide Town Hall, etc. She returns to Europe regularly to perform, to be near to the pipe organs that continue to inspire her, and to submerge in the air of arts and culture. Apart from music, Jennifer did a Bible Diploma at the European Bible Institute. She believes in a Bible-based ministry of music. An evangelical at heart, she was brought up in a mainstream protestant church in Hong Kong where music was always part of her church and spiritual life. As an organist, she is attracted to the beauty of centuries of sacred music from the Anglican, Catholic, and Lutheran traditions.
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Our choir leads the singing at the 10 am morning service; all members of the choir are drawn from the parish. More choristers are always welcome; an ability to sing is essential as it is highly desireable to be able to read music. |
Worship at St John’s is greatly enhanced by the music from the wonderful organ. Services include preludes and postludes by the greatest organ composers, including Bach and Buxtehude, and the organ provides a majestic accompaniment throughout the service. The organ has been featured in concerts at St John’s, including one in June 2007 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Dieterich Buxtehude. The soloist was our Director of Music, Jennifer Chou.
The organ is a three-manual instrument (that is, it has three keyboards). It was built by Hill, Norman & Baird in 1957. The original instrument had ranks for two manuals, and a third manual was prepared for when it became financially possible to add pipes to the organ. The church was able to install the choir division in 1985, thanks to a large bequest.
However, an organ like this, as fine as it is, requires maintenance which can involve considerable costs. The organ has not been altered since 1985 and, after 50 years of service involving the Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions, and 22 years involving the Choir division, it now needs attention if we are to maintain it as one of the finest instruments in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne.
If you would like more information or to help, please contact the church at 9882 4851 or send an e-mail to: music@stjohnscamberwell.org.au