Music and Spirituality

We have short talks that form part of Choral Evensong every last Wednesday of the month. The service will be accompanied with the professional Choir of Holy Sepulchre.

January 28th 2026 - “Tune Your Heart”

Rebecca White, Communications Director, Trustee VOCES8 Foundation.

February 25th 2026 - “Enter His Courts with Praise.” The Posture of the Heart

Silas Sanders, HTB Academy

March 25th 2026

Luke Hamlyn, Worship Leader

April 29th 2026 - “Representation an Embodiment: The spirituality of Olivier Messiaen”

Tom Bell, Concert Organist

May 27th 2026 - “How does Music Help?”

Ralph Allwood, Rodolfus Foundation, Royal Naval Chapel, Greenwich

June 24th 2026 - tbc

July 29th

Dr Paula Gooder, Canon Chancellor, St Paul’s Cathedral

September 30th 2026

Rev. Dr James Hawkey, Westminster Abbey

October 28th 2026

Rachel Staunton, Founder and CEO, London Youth Choirs

November 25th 2026

Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, Composer/Singer

December 16th 2026 - tbc

Do you need some time out in your busy life?

• Do you want to grow in prayer?

• Do you want to deepen your relationship with God?

• Do you love music?*
  
  This is a half-day retreat, led by Peter Asprey, which will include reflections , time to hear the music and space for personal prayer and reflection, all in the beautiful surroundings of the National Musicians' Church. Take some time out for yourself to be quiet, reflect, go deeper, and experience the healing power of encounter with God through wonderful music.
  
  When Gabriel Fauré began work on his Requiem in 1887, he envisaged composing something "quite new," a departure from previous settings of these texts. Above all, he wanted to convey an image of a merciful, forgiving God. His iconic music invites us into deep relationship with the One who loves us. It calls us to a fuller surrender, to place ourselves into the loving arms of one who longs to raise us up to life with Him.  
  
  Peter Asprey is a conductor, singing teacher. He is the Director of Music at Holy Sepulchre and has a degree in Music from Clare College, Cambridge and a Masters in Spiritual Theology from Maryvale Institute. He gives talks regularly on prayer and the spiritual life, given retreat days on music and has written and delivered an eight-week course on prayer, Heart Speaks to Heart.
  
  Encounter God in a different way
  
  *You do not need to be a musician or an expert in music to enjoy this retreat. 

  To book, please visit Encounters through Music

Please be in touch (peter@hsl.church) if you would like access to any of the following talks from our 2025 conference:

Musical Style, Liturgy, Culture, Mission and Evangelism, Rev. Dr Matthew Salisbury, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music

A Prayerful Dynamic: Contemplation, Music and the Mystics, Peter Asprey, Director of Music, Holy Sepulchre

Lift Up Your Hearts: Encountering the Mystery of the Incarnation in the Music of Worship, Dr. Joel Clarkson, Theologian, poet, composer, author