Past Concerts
Hampshire Choral Festival 2024
Saturday 18th May 2024, 7.30pm
Romsey Abbey
Botley Choral Society, Compton & Shawford Festival Choir, Itchen Valley Choir, Overton Choir, Sarisbury Choral Society, Twyford Singers, Winchester City Festival Choir
Emily Blackledge (alto)
Mark Dancer (organ)
Festival Orchestra
Conductor – David Burgess
Karl Jenkins – Stabat Mater
Gabriel Fauré – Requiem
Tickets: £15 unreserved
Spring Concert – Faure Requiem by Candlelight
Saturday 23rd March 2024, 6:30pm
Venue: St James’ Church, West End, Southampton SO30 3AT
Programme:
Faure Requiem by Candlelight
Plus other works by Gabriel Faure and Alexandre Guilmant
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Tickets: £10, available at the door.
All proceeds are in aid of church funds.
Christmas Concert 2023
St. Mary’s Church, Warsash
Saturday 9th December 2023, 7.00 pm
Featuring Poulenc’s Gloria, plus carols and readings for the Festive Season.
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Church Road, Warsash SO31 9GF
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Assistant Musical Director: Michael Waterson
Accompanist: Sophie Aynsley
Soprano soloist: Jocelyn Somerville
Harpist: Laura Lister
Tickets: £7 (some concessions available)
On the door, from choir members, or reserve online via the contact form
Sarisbury Choral Society Spring Concert
In aid of the St James’ West End organ restoration fund.
Saturday 18th March 2023, 6:30pm
Venue: St James’ Church, West End, Southampton SO30 3LT
Programme:
Parry: Blest Pair of Sirens performed at the wedding of William and Kate in 2011
Vaughan Williams: The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune composed for the Coronation of Her late Majesty Queen Elizbeth II in 1953
Stanford: Te Deum in B flat performed at the Coronation of Edward VII in 1902
Plus music by Elgar, Howells and Balfour Gardiner
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Organist: Sachin Gunga (Sub-Organist, Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral)
Pianist: Sophie Aynsley
Tickets: £8 at the door.
A Christmas Celebration 2022
St. Mary’s Church, Warsash
Saturday 3rd December 2022, 7.00 pm
Featuring excerpts from Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël, plus carols and readings for the Festive Season.
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Church Road, Warsash SO31 9GF
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Assistant Musical Director: Michael Waterson
Accompanist: Sophie Aynsley
Tickets: £7 (some concessions available)
On the door, from choir members, or reserve online via the contact form
WCMF Centenary Concert
Handel’s Messiah
Sunday 22nd May, 2022, 7.00 pm
The Anvil Concert Hall, Basingstoke
Conductor: David Hill
Soprano: Alison Ponsford-Hill
Alto: Simon Ponsford
Tenor: Matthew Long
Bass: Jamie W. Hall
Orchestra: Southern Sinfonia
Christmas Concert 2021
St. Mary’s Church, Warsash
Saturday 4th December 2021, 7.00pm
Featuring excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, plus carols and readings for the Festive Season.
Venue: St. Mary’s Church, Church Road, Warsash SO31 9GF
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Accompanist: Sophie Aynsley
Tickets: £7 (some concessions available)
On the door, or reserve online via the contact form
A Celebration of Christmas 2019
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 7th December 2019, 7.00pm
Featuring choral classics, community carols and some readings for the Festive Season.
Musical Director: Graham Kidd
Assistant Musical Director: Michael Waterson
Accompanist: Sophie Aynsley
Tickets: £7 (some concessions available)
On the door, or reserve online via the contact form
Sarisbury Choral Society 70th Birthday Concert
St Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 26th October 2019, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
With soloists and orchestra
To celebrate the choir’s 70th birthday, we will be performing a programme of music composed by Henry Purcell, plus some other surprises!
Tickets: £10, available on the door.
If you would like to reserve tickets in advance, please get in touch via the contact form stating how many tickets you would like to reserve.
Summer School
Winchester and County Music Festival 2019
Romsey Abbey Concert – Saturday 18th May 2019, 7.30pm
by kind permission of the Vicar and in association with Music in Romsey
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Soloists: Hilary Cronin (soprano), Felicity Turner (mezzo soprano), Tom Robson (tenor)
Choirs: Itchen Valley Choir, Overton Choral Society, Sarisbury Choral Society, Winchester City Festival Choir, St Anne’s Singers
Orchestra: Festival Orchestra
Leader: Elizabeth Flower
Vivaldi – Beatus Vir
Vivaldi – Magnificat
Britten – St Nicolas
In September 1703, Vivaldi became maestro di violino (master of violin) at an orphanage called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy) in Venice. Over the next thirty years he composed concertos, cantatas and sacred vocal music for the orphans while working there. The sacred works, numbering over 60, vary from solo motets to large-scale choral works for soloists, double chorus, and orchestra. Two of these will be performed in Romsey this year: one of three settings of the Beatus vir (Psalm 112) which is unusual for Vivaldi’s sacred music in that it is in one single movement requiring soloists, choir and orchestra; and the Magnificat in the more traditional style of shorter, contrasting movements for soloists, choir and orchestra. In the work’s original version, the vocal bass part lay quite high so as to facilitate its performance by the all-female singers of the Pietà!
Benjamin Britten wrote the cantata Saint Nicolas in 1948 for the centennial celebrations of Lancing College in Sussex. Writing specifically for the resources available to him on this occasion, Britten scored the piece for mixed choir, tenor soloist, three or four boys, strings, piano duet, organ and percussion. Within this ensemble, the only professional musicians required were the tenor soloist, a string quartet to lead the other strings, and the percussionists. Saint Nicolas marks Britten’s first professional work intended primarily for performance by amateur musicians. Now the cantata is frequently performed by youth and amateur ensembles.
The text of Saint Nicolas was written by Eric Crozier after extensive research into the legendary life of Saint Nicolas, Bishop of Myra, Lycia; the original ‘Santa Claus’, a fourth-century saint whose acts led to his canonization as patron saint of children and sailors. Crozier’s libretto paints a dramatically bold portrait of the saint’s character, exaggerating the legends and glory that have accumulated over the centuries around Nicolas’s story. Britten’s lively setting is distinctly operatic, full of incident and colour—with the story brought ‘home’ through the use of congregational hymns. The part of Nicolas is one of Britten’s great heroic tenor roles.
Tickets: £27, £21 and £17 (half price for those in full time education) available through WCMF choirs or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/musicinromsey
Music for Advent and Christmas
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 8th December 2018, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Soprano: Lucy Braga
Mezzo: Fiona Jeppsson
Accompanist: Sophie Aynsley
A performance of Vivaldi’s Magnificat, plus Christmas carols for choir and audience – bring your best singing voices! Please note the early start time of 7.00pm.
Tickets: £7, available on the door or from Sarisbury Choral Society members.
Summer School
Winchester and County Music Festival 2018
Romsey Abbey Concert – Saturday 19th May 2018, 7.30pm
by kind permission of the Vicar and in association with Music in Romsey
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Soloists: TBA
Choirs:
Compton & Shawford Festival Choir, Sarisbury Choral Society, Winchester City Festival Choir
Orchestra: Festival Orchestra
Leader: Elizabeth Flower
John Rutter – Mass of the Children
Haydn – Mass in Time of War
Mass of the Children is a non-liturgical Missa brevis, with the traditional Latin and Greek Mass text interwoven with several English poems. It consists of five movements: Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Finale (Dona nobis pacem).
The Finale uses additional text from the Agnus Dei which was not used in the preceding movement, as well as two prayer adaptations by Rutter and a poem by Bishop Thomas Ken (An Evening Hymn). Another of Ken’s poems was incorporated into the Kyrie (A Morning Hymn), and a poem by William Blake (The Lamb, from Songs of Innocence and of Experience) is interwoven with the Agnus Dei.
Missa in tempore belli (Mass in Time of War) is a setting of the mass by Joseph Haydn. Known also as the Paukenmesse due to the dramatic use of timpani, it is one of the most popular of his fourteen mass settings. The autographed manuscript contains the title “Missa in tempore belli” in Haydn’s handwriting.
Tickets: £22, £16 and £12 (half price for those in full time education) available through WCMF choirs or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/musicinromsey
Celebrating Christmas
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 2nd December 2017, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
An evening of old and new Christmas music, including extracts from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and carols for choir and audience. Please note the early start time of 7.00pm!
Tickets: £6, available on the door or from Sarisbury Choral Society members.
Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Holy Trinity Church, Gosport
Saturday 7th October 2017
7.00pm
Conductor: Richard Dewland
Organist: Andrew Cleary
With string quintet
Lee Choral Society and Sarisbury Choral Society will be joining together to perform Mendelssohn’s Elijah.
Tickets – £10
Available from LCS members or by calling 02393 113534
Come and Sing ‘Elijah’
St James’ Church, West End, Southampton
Saturday 23nd September 2017
Rehearsal: 4.15 – 5.30pm, Performance: 6.30pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Accompanied by orchestra
Sarisbury Choral Society invites you to come and sing excerpts from Mendelssohn’s much loved oratorio ‘Elijah’.
Singers will need to pay £3 on the day to hire a copy of the music.
Refreshments will be available in the hall between the rehearsal and performance.
All non-singers are welcome to come and listen to the performance! Entry is free.
For further information, please contact the Friends of St James’ Church at friendsofstjameswestend@gmail.com
Summer School
Sarisbury Choral Society is pleased to be offering a Summer School, commencing Thursday 18th May 2017, and the following 5 Thursdays, ending with an informal performance and supper on the final session on Thursday 22nd June.
The Summer School will take place at Sarisbury Green Community Centre, Sarisbury Green, Southampton SO31 7AA from 7.50pm until 9.20pm.
We will be working on excerpts from Mendelssohn’s Elijah.
The cost for each session will be £5, or £25 for the 6 sessions if paid in advance.
Everyone is welcome, so please come along and join in!
Winchester and County Music Festival 2017
Romsey Abbey Concert – Saturday 6th May 2017, 7.30pm
by kind permission of the Vicar and in association with Music in Romsey
Conductor: John Sutton
Soloists:
Helen Bailey (soprano)
Richard Pratt (tenor)
Andrew de Silva (baritone)
Choirs:
Compton & Shawford Festival Choir, Itchen Valley Choral Society, Sarisbury Choral Society
Pianists:
Gwilym Stacey
Gilly Slot
Constant Lambert – The Rio Grande
Richard Rodney Bennett – Four Piece Suite for 2 Pianos
Carl Orff – Carmina Burana
The Rio Grande was composed in 1927 for choir, soli, 2 pianos and a percussion section of 15 instruments needing 5 players. It achieved instant and long lasting popularity at its appearance on the concert platform in 1929.
Although a student of Vaughan Williams, Lambert’s main influence was not English folk music, but the then more fashionable jazz. The Rio Grande, setting a poem by Sachervell Sitwell , joins, such as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Ravel’s piano concerto in G as a seminal work of symphonic jazz, combining syncopations, ragtime and Brazilian influences, with harmonies and rhythms inspired by the great Duke Ellington, with a traditional English choral sound.
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata, composed in 1935/6, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same name. The poems written mostly in Latin and medieval German, were rediscovered at the beginning of the 19th century in a Bavarian monastery, and published in 1847. The original illuminated manuscript includes an illustration of Fortuna, The Roman Goddess of fate, seated within a wheel of fortune. Round the outside a sovereign is depicted rising to power, seated on a throne, then finally losing his crown and falling beneath the wheel as it turns. The other scenes cover a wide range of topics, as familiar in the 13th century as they are in the 21st: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust! Although some are morally uplifting in nature, most are bawdy student songs.
It is scored for two pianos and a percussion section of 7 players.
Tickets: £22, £16 and £12 (half price for those in full time education) available through WCMF choirs or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/musicinromsey
A Christmas Celebration
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 3rd December 2016, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Join us for a joyful selection of readings and carols, including ‘Christmas Day’ by Gustav Holst. Please note the early start time of 7.00pm!
Tickets: £6. See poster for more details.
Come and Sing ‘Great Choral Classics’
St James’ Church, West End, Southampton
Saturday 22nd October 2016
Rehearsal: 4.15 – 5.30pm, Performance: 6.30pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Organist: Jon Pilgrim
With soloists and orchestra
Sarisbury Choral Society invites you to come and sing the following ‘Great Choral Classics’:
Handel: Zadok the Priest
Haydn: Insanae et vanae curae
Mozart: Ave verum
Brahms: How lovely are thy dwellings
Faure: Cantique de Jean Racine
Parry: I was Glad
Singers will need to pay £3 on the day to hire a copy of the music.
Refreshments will be available in the hall between the rehearsal and performance.
All non-singers are welcome to come and listen to the performance! Entry is free.
For further information, please contact the Friends of St James’ Church at friendsofstjameswestend@gmail.com
Winchester and County Music Festival 2016
Winchester Cathedral Concert – Saturday 14th May 2016, 7.30pm
Conductor: Derek Beck
Soloists:
Emily Bauer-Jones (mezzo)
Peter Auty (tenor)
Jimmy Holliday (bass)
Choirs:
Compton & Shawford Festival Choir, Itchen Valley Choral Society, Sarisbury Choral Society, Twyford Singers
Orchestra:
Festival Orchestra, Leader: Elizabeth Flower
Elgar – The Dream of Gerontius
Tickets: £30, £22, £16 and £10 (half price for those in full time education) available from Winchester Cathedral Box Office: 01962 857275, email boxoffice@winchester-cathedral.org.uk or visit www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
A Christmas Celebration
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 5th December 2015, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Mezzo Soprano Soloist: Lillian Sediles
Programme to include extracts from Handel’s Messiah, and carols for choir and audience. See poster below for more details. Please note the early start time of 7.00pm!
Come and Sing Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’
St James’ Church, West End, Southampton
Saturday 24th October 2015
Rehearsal: 4.15 – 5.30pm, Performance: 6.30 – 7.30pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Soprano Soloist: Katie Ball
Mezzo Soprano Soloist: Fiona Jeppsson
With string ensemble
Sarisbury Choral Society invites you to come and sing Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’, as part of the St James’ Church 125th Anniversary weekend. Please bring your own copy of the score if possible. It is free to sing, but copies of the score may be rented for £4. Please contact friendsofstjameschurch@gmail.com if you are interested in renting a score.
Refreshments will be available in the hall between the rehearsal and performance.
All non-singers are welcome to come and listen to the performance! Entry is free.
Winchester and County Music Festival 2015
Winchester Cathedral Concert – Saturday 16th May 2015, 7.30pm
Conductor: John Sutton
Soloists:
Helen Bailey – Soprano
Andrew de Silva – Baritone
Choirs:
Botley Choral Society, Compton & Shawford Festival Choir, Sarisbury Choral Society, Winchester City Festival Choir
Orchestra:
Festival Orchestra, Leader: Elizabeth Flower
Brahms – German Requiem
Parry – Blest Pair of Sirens
Tickets: £30, £22, £16 and £10 (half price for those in full time education) available from Winchester Cathedral Box Office: 01962 857275, email boxoffice@winchester-cathedral.org.uk or visit www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk
A Christmas Celebration
St. Paul’s Church, Sarisbury Green
Saturday 6th December 2014, 7.00pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd
Soprano Soloist: Sarah Pownall
Programme to include the Christmas sequence from Handel’s Messiah, and carols for choir and audience. See poster below for more details. Please note the early start time of 7.00pm!
Come and Sing ‘The Armed Man’
St James’ Church, West End, Southampton
Saturday 1st November 2014
Rehearsal: 4.15pm, Performance: 6.30pm
Conductor: Graham Kidd, Organist: Richard Dewland
Sarisbury Choral Society invites you to come and sing excerpts from ‘The Armed Man’ by Karl Jenkins, as part of the World War I commemoration weekend at St James’ Church, West End. Please bring your own copy of the score if possible. A limited number of scores are available to hire for £2 a copy, please contact friendsofstjameschurch@gmail.com if you are interested in hiring a score.
All non-singers welcome to come and listen to the performance!
Here is the poster with details of the commemoration weekend at St James’ church:
Winchester and County Music Festival 2014
Winchester Cathedral Concert – Saturday 10th May 2014, 7.30pm
Conductor: Derek Beck
Soloists:
Cecilia Osmond – Soprano
Stephen Gadd – Baritone
Choirs:
Itchen Valley Choral Society, Overton Choral Society, Sarisbury Choral Society, Twyford Singers, Winchester City Festival Choir
Vaughan Williams – Sea Symphony
C.V. Stanford – Songs of the Fleet
2014 will mark the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and as Hampshire has long-standing naval connections, both military and civil, it will be appropriate to visit two major nautical pieces in Winchester Cathedral on 10 May. Vaughan Williams made his first symphony choral by adopting words by the American poet Walt Whitman. Its four symphonic movements scored for soprano and baritone soloists, large chorus and orchestra, include lines such as token of all brave captains and all intrepid sailors and mates, and all that went down doing their duty. Both poet and composer also see a parallel between sea voyages and the journey of the human soul through life and on to eternity and the music ranges from folk-like shanties to great hymn-tune grandeur, all accompanied by a rich orchestral palette. Vaughan Williams conducted the English premiere in Leeds on 12 October 1910, his 38th birthday.
The same year Vaughan Williams’ teacher, Charles Villiers Stanford, completed his five Songs of the Fleet for baritone solo and chorus using verses by his contemporary Sir Henry Newbolt. The final song Farewell has the following words: Mother, with unbowed head hear thou across the sea the farewell of the dead, the dead who died for thee. Greet them again with tender words and grave. For, saving thee, themselves they could not save. As with the younger composer, Stanford treats the listener to both profound and jaunty melodies and colourful instrumental effects to support the singers.
Tickets: £32, £22, £16 and £10 (half price for those in full time education) available from Winchester Cathedral Box Office: 01962 857275, email boxoffice@winchester-cathedral.org.uk or visit www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk