Many lives are shaped by what we might call sliding doors moments; those seemingly ordinary decisions or encounters that end up changing everything.

With hindsight, most of us can trace our journey back to a handful of such turning points.

However, for Michael Harvey, these moments have been often and pronounced. Again and again, chance and circumstance have opened unexpected doors and altered his course.

The first such instance occurred as a young man, playing in a band at a New Zealand hotel. When his group suddenly lost their singer, it was Jill, an Australian working at the hotel, who was already a successful singer in Australia, that filled the gap. This unlikely encounter began a partnership that has lasted more than 53 years, with Jill as Michael’s wife, soundboard and greatest support.

Years after marrying, following the heartbreak of an ectopic pregnancy and ongoing fertility struggles, Michael and Jill turned to adoption. Against the odds, they were able to bring home two children from India, a brother and sister in every way since. Although it was a challenging road to get there, these events led them to the family they had long dreamed of.

Then, many years later, came the illness that ended Michael’s career in Sydney and drew him north to Tea Gardens. There, an unexpected decision to share his musical gifts with the parish set in motion his latest sliding doors moment – one that will see his hymn travel from a small seaside church all the way to St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Michael and Jill’s move to Tea Gardens in 2011 was a significant change of pace after years in Sydney, where Michael had built a respected career in the music industry. He worked in roles including Music Director, Pianist and Conductor for performers such as Julie Anthony, Peter Allen, Kamahl and Barry Crocker, as well as Network Seven’s Carols in the Domain, on occasion the Midday Show, and even wrote and staged a musical “Eureka”, based on the Eureka Stockade.

Yet behind the curtain of success, Michael’s health was failing. A series of hospitalisations, ongoing extreme atrial fibrillation and eventually a stroke brought his career to an abrupt halt, forcing him into early retirement at just 56. Fortunately, Michael survived all of this and is in good health today.

“It was a very early age to retire, and I wasn’t quite ready,” he admits. “But I simply couldn’t keep going.”

After all he had endured, Michael thought his performing days were behind him.

But in Tea Gardens, it did not take long for music to find its way back into Michael’s life, reminding him that some callings never leave us.

Within weeks, he was at the piano, accompanying the parish choir. It has since become a role central to both his faith and identity.

Today, Michael is the Music Director at St Stephen’s Parish, choosing hymns, rehearsing the choir, and playing piano and organ each weekend. He also prepares rosters for Readers, Welcomers and Communion Ministers and runs a men’s discussion group to encourage parishioners to reflect on Scripture and social issues together.

Beyond these roles, he has given concerts for the broader local community, performed in nursing homes, taught piano, and used his talent to connect people through song.

“Music brings people together across all ages,” he said.

“It is prayer twice over.”

“I’ve seen people in nursing homes who arrive with no expression at all. Then the music starts and their faces light up, they open their eyes, they smile.

For Michael, music is inseparable from faith.

“I believe inspiration comes from God. I believe creativity comes from God.

“Some days I’ll sit at the piano and the music just arrives, fully formed.”

One of those moments came in November 2023.

At his piano, Michael found a melody flowing almost effortlessly, warm, graceful and instantly singable. He captured it on his phone and later shared it with lyricist Gina Ogilvie, a gifted singer-songwriter known for her evocative liturgical works. Together, Michael’s melody and Gina’s lyrics shaped Here at the Table, a hymn intended for the Offertory at Mass.

“The congregation loved it straight away,” Michael said. “People would come up and ask, ‘Where can we get this hymn?’ That’s the greatest feeling as a composer, because you want people to not only hear the music, but to want to sing it.”

For months, the hymn lived quietly in the parish, sung joyfully each time it was chosen. Then another sliding doors moment arrived.

James and Cecilia Pensini, who had been members of the Sydney Youth Orchestra during Michael’s time there, later married after his departure from the Sydney music scene. The couple then went on to join the Music Leadership team at Santa Sabina College in Strathfield.

More than a decade later, while holidaying in Tea Gardens, they attended the local church and were surprised to find Michael at the piano. Their holidays north soon became a tradition, and on a visit in January this year they heard Here at the Table performed at Mass.

“They rushed up afterwards and said, ‘Michael, we love that hymn!’” he said. “They asked if they could use it with their students. Of course, I said yes.”

Months later, Michael was commissioned to orchestrate the hymn for Santa Sabina’s St Dominic’s Day Mass. Performed with a 60-piece orchestra and 80-voice choir, the hymn took on a new life. And then came news that left him speechless.

“They told me the College was taking the Choir on tour, singing during the Mass at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome.

“And then two days later at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.”

Michael paused, still in awe. “It’s not an award, it’s not a prize. It’s just something that’s going to happen, which is so very special. I feel very blessed, honoured and very humble, very grateful.”

When news spread through Tea Gardens that Michael’s music would be heard in the Vatican, parishioners quietly began planning a surprise. They raised funds to send Michael and Jill to Rome so they could witness the performance firsthand.

“I can hardly talk about it,” he said through tears. “You never do these things expecting anything in return. But the community wanted to give something back for what I’ve done here. That’s the kind of parish this is, full of love and generosity.”

With a career that has taken him from Sydney’s biggest stages to a small parish in Tea Gardens, and now to the Vatican, Michael has no shortage of experience to draw upon. When asked if he had advice for the next generation of musicians, he didn’t hesitate.

“I think you must have big dreams, and you must follow them. You must also be prepared for setbacks, because it’s never a straight road. But longevity is everything. Keep writing, keep playing, keep creating. Follow your instincts, that’s what makes you unique.”

Looking back, Michael sees God’s hand in each twist and turn of his life, from his chance meeting with Jill, to the adoption of their children, to the illness that drew him back into parish music, and now to this remarkable recognition in Rome.

“It’s divine intervention,” he said simply. “God has a hand in everything we do. And this is just another sliding doors moment, one I’ll never forget.”

‘Here at The Table’, by Michael Harvey and Gina Ogilvie, is available at www.willowpublishing.com.au