Nick’s 50 years of church music

Nick Walmsley has just completed an impressive 50 years of service as the organist at St Helen’s, Hoveton and Our Lady and St Walstan, Costessey, using the talent he believes God has given him, despite health challenges. Josh Clovis reports.

n There is something uniquely multi-faceted about music, and for Nick, organist and Director of Music at St Helen’s Hoveton and Our Lady and St Walstan, Costessey in Norfolk, it is much more than just playing notes. Born in Hoveton in April 1960, opposite the then-new St Helen's Catholic church, Nick’s spiritual and musical paths have been entwined ever since he was the second baby baptised at that church and, at the extraordinarily young age of 12, when he became the first organist of the church, a role he has held continuously ever since.

Nick honed his skills at the Paston School in North Walsham, and first played at Belaugh St Peter, an Anglican church close to home, in September 1972. His musical talent encouraged the clergy at St Helen’s to start sung Masses, accompanied by Nick and an old reed organ. It was a small but significant start to what would be a lifelong dedication to church music.

In 1979, a new pipe organ, built in the Baroque style, was installed at St Helen’s. This was the first of its kind in the UK, marking another milestone in Nick's journey as a church musician. "My dedication is two-fold: I've been given a specific talent and that talent should be used in the service of God, whether leading congregations in singing, or trying to the best of my ability to lift their emotions with the solo music in the Mass. It sounds glib, but it is what any church musician must do," says Nick.

His association with the organ is not merely about