Our People

The Rev'd Ian Morrison SCP

Vicar

Fr Ian Morrison was previously the Archdeacon of Box Hill and for eight years was the vicar of Holy Trinity Surrey Hills & Mont Albert. Prior to that he was an assistant priest at St Peter’s Eastern Hill after serving his curacy at St George’s Malvern.

A life-long Anglican, Ian grew up in Sydney where he gained qualifications and substantial experience in property law and management. He moved to Melbourne in 2005 to study for Holy Orders through Trinity College Theological School. He has several theological degrees and has postgraduate studies in bioethics, dispute resolution and mental health. Fr Ian has been a member of Archbishop-in-Council, the Diocesan property and building committees, and Chair of the Anglican Development Fund (ADF). He is Chair of the Australian Church Union (ACU) and secretary of the Anglican Society of Catholic Priests (SCP) in Melbourne.

“I hope to bring a spirit of fun and reverence of Christ, and an enhanced sense of community to the many facets of life at St Andrew’s in Brighton.”

Ian was commissioned as Vicar of St Andrew's Brighton on Tuesday 22 October 2019.

Xeverie De-Leon

Assistant Curate

Xeverie joined us as Assistant Curate in February after being married in January, and ordained a Deacon on 5 February 2022. Xev was the 2020 Klingner scholar at St Peter's Eastern Hill where she was an altar server and on the parish prayer team. She completed her Master of Theology degree at Trinity College Theological School, University of Divinity. Xev has a background in corrections with the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Read more here. Xeverie will be ordained to the Holy Order of Priest on Saturday 26 November 2022 at St Paul's Cathedral commencing at 10.30am. All are welcome to attend. We wish her every blessing as she goes on retreat prior to the ordination and for the service itself.

The Rev'd Christine Croft

Hon. Associate Priest

Christine was our Assistant Curate until January 2020 when she took up the full-time position as the chaplain to Firbank Grammar School. Christine remains an honorary Associate Priest of the parish, returning to celebrate and preach at St Andrew's.

Dr Calvin Bowman

Director of Music and Organist

Dr Calvin Bowman is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and was the first Australian to graduate with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, with the assistance of a Fulbright scholarship. As well as Calvin's talented church musician abilities, via his extensive and accomplished liturgical playing and creative composition on both organ and piano, Calvin is an eminently qualified and experienced church choir conductor. Calvin's first opportunity to conduct a church choir was granted to him at the age of fourteen in Ballarat. At the age of nineteen, he was appointed the youngest Director of Music in the history of St Michael's Uniting Church, Melbourne. Since those times, Calvin has gone on to conduct numerous parish choirs in both Australia and the United States. More recently during 2019, he was appointed the conductor of the chamber choir 'Choristry'.

Calvin is a motivated Director of Music conducting the St Andrew's Choir. His background is such that, as a vocal coach and accompanist for many eminent singers over the years, he can present a multitude of ideas to train the choristers in essential techniques. Calvin says, 'Young people are our future. It's a great privilege to introduce them in an engaging way to the best of what we have. It's also a responsibility, and one which I take very seriously.'

Calvin is much in demand as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. As a keyboardist, he has premièred works by many prominent Australian composers and appeared as soloist with most of the major Australian orchestras. Calvin is also a prolific composer, specialising in the form of art song. Most recently, his songs have been performed in iconic venues such as the Musikverein and the Elbphilharmonie. His significant awards include an Australia Council Fellowship. He has also been commissioned by organisations such as Ars Musica Australis and Symphony Australia, as well as by many individuals and ensembles. He is an exclusive Decca/UMA artist. A recording of his art song entitled 'Real and Right and True' was released in 2018.

Calvin commenced as Director of Music in June 2020, a role which also includes principal organist, which he began in October 2019.

Image: Terry Lane

Dr Mario Dobernig

Assistant Director of Music

Mario is the Artistic Director and Conductor in Chief for the Art of Sound Orchestra, the Victoria Chorale and co-artistic director of the Albury Chamber Music Festival.

He has conducted among others the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Kapfenberger Symphoniker and Orchestra Calliope, the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra’s YMS program, Geelong Symphony Orchestra, and at prestigious venues and festivals in Europe, the Middle East, China and Australia.

Discography includes online releases for ABC Classics and being a featured guest on various radio programs around the globe. He was awarded his PhD in 2014, holds Master degrees in Percussion, Conducting and Musicology as well as Bachelor Degrees in Percussion and Music Education from universities around the globe. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Monash University and is an adjudicator for the Belvedere International Singing Competition.

Mario has produced a number of highly successful festivals in in Australia and Austria and also organizes unique exchange tours for cultural groups between Australia and Western Europe. Mario enjoys conversations in English, German, French and Italian, and has a keen interest in geopolitics.

Safe Ministry Officer

The role of the Safe Ministry Officer is to promote the safety of the vulnerable (children and the infirm) within their parish or congregation and to provide support, encouragement and help to manage risk and to maintain a safe Parish community. The Safe Ministry Officer undertakes all aspects of the Child Safe policy of the Church, ensuring that the prescribed process for child safety is followed.

Contact the Safe Ministry Officer

2023/24 Office Bearers

From November 2023

The Churchwardens along with the Parish Council is the governing body for the financial and property affairs of the Parish.

Parish Council – Helen Cong, Simon Farrow, Jonathan Hough and Roger Pym; and includes the Churchwardens - Andrew Bottomley, Johnson Xu and Ken Whelan; and Cathy Zhang (Treasurer - appointed January 2024).

Incumbency Committee – Heather Sanderson and Peter Gray