About
Choral Evensong at St Patrick's Church, Coleraine
On Sunday 31 May 2026 the evening service at 6.30pm in St Patrick's Church, Coleraine is Choral Evensong with St Patrick's choir and guests. The young chorister, Max McGinley is also taking part. Max has wowed local audiences with his wonderful treble voice and engaging manner – a young man going places in the world of singing.
Evensong is the Anglican Church's Office of Evening Prayer, created in 1549 by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in the Book of Common Prayer. The music took shape a few decades later, in the reign of Elizabeth I, with composers like Thomas Tallis and William Byrd composing music for Choral Evensong. Each subsequent generation of composers since then has contributed masterworks of choral music to the Choral Evensong repertoire, inspiring a tradition of cathedral choir schools across Britain and Ireland, responsible for the high standard of choral singing enjoyed today.
You do not need any particular religious belief to appreciate Choral Evensong. The nature of the service allows you to engage with it in your own way. There is very little for you to do: sit, stand, sing a couple of hymns. The choir and clergy do the rest. Choral Evensong's long history brings with it a powerful sense of connecting present with past, tapping into something much greater than ourselves. The music will carry you beyond the limitations of human words towards things you cannot articulate, giving respite and inspiration in our busy modern lives. St Paul's Cathedral describes Choral Evensong as 'a space in which to be still and catch a vision of God's glory in the beauty of holiness'.
Everyone is welcome.
