Christmas with Edward Lear 2021
The specially devised programme includes beautiful Christmas choral pieces plus Lear’s own music, including Twas the night before Christmas. Expect limericks and a few special surprises, and the premiere of Letters from Lear: a musical portrait by David Owen Norris, featuring tenor Mark Wilde, who will take the part of Lear: and his daughter Heather, a chorister at Lincoln Cathedral, who will sing the treble solos.
Click here to book a ticket via the Turner Sims Website
Click here to book a ticket via the Turner Sims Website
A DECEMBER NIGHT 2020
For our annual Christmas concert, we hosted a wonderful concert in St Alban's Church where we performed a range of festive music, old and new. We most enjoyed singing Benjamin Britten's 'A Ceremony Of Carols' with beautiful solos and a fantastic harpist! Directed by Simon Pettite, we also enjoyed some instrumental performances!
AUTUMN EVENING PERFORMANCE 2019
To kick off the new academic year for the choir, we hosted an evening performance and drinks at one of the University's bars on campus. This was the perfect way to settle in our new members and get a few pieces under our belts early in the year. There was a great turn out and it was lovely to show other students what we do!
SUMMER CONCERT 2019
As another year of University comes to an end, we celebrated what has been a great year as a choir with our annual summer concert. Again, some of our oldest members, and some who have only been with us a short while will be graduating. We are sad to see another generation go and all of them have been greatly valued. For our concert this year, directed by our now fully settled in Musical Director Simon Pettite we performed challenging new repertoire as well as music from our tour to Vienna, some old favourites and many singers in the choir performed their own choice of solos!
VIENNA TOUR 2019
Once again we have been away for our annual choir tour. This year we went to Vienna, Austria! We we're lucky enough to perform in St. Peter's Church and St. Stephen's Cathedral, both of which are stunning buildings in the heart of the city, a truly magical experience for the choir. We’d like to thank Annabelle Green, our tour secretary 2019, for doing such an amazing job organising this tour for us and booking such astonishing venues. We’d also like to thank Simon Pettite, our musical director for joining us and guiding us through our fantastic concerts. Swell as concerts, we had a great time exploring the city. We went on a bike ride, visited palaces and discovered the best bars! Our tours really bring us together, not only as a choir but as a group of friends and we are excited to see what next year will bring!
GO TO ---> GALLERY<----- FOR PICTURES
GO TO ---> GALLERY<----- FOR PICTURES
CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2018
Our first concert of the year with our new 2018/19 cohort and new musical director Simon Pettite saw a magical evening of beautiful advent songs and carols in the surroundings of Southampton's oldest public building: St Michael the Archangel.
We're looking forward to see how we continue to grow as a choir under Simon's new leadership.
We're looking forward to see how we continue to grow as a choir under Simon's new leadership.
SUMMER CONCERT 2018
Our final concert of the 2017/18 academic year saw us say farewell to several valued members. Conducted by Southampton University alumni Joe Beckhelling and featuring lots of our favourite repetoire from over the years alongside solo performances, it was a lovely occassion.
POST TOUR CONCERT 2018
On Friday 20th April 2018 SUCC performed in a Post Tour Concert at St Michael's Church, Southampton. It was a fantastic opportunity for family and friends to hear us perform our tour repertoire and it was enjoyable to sing one last time. It brought back many memories of an excellent tour!
ITALY TOUR 2018
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SUCC has just returned from the annual choir tour, which this year took us to Puglia, Italy! We took part in a choral masterclass with Liceo Classico A. Casardi, sang in Monopoli Cathedral with its beautiful acoustic and ended our tour with a very successful concert in Santa Scolastica church in Bari! We feel privileged to have sung together in such beautiful venues. We’d like to thank Trystan Watkins, our tour secretary 2018, for his exquisite organisational skills in putting together this fantastic tour. We’d also like to thank Vincenzo Scarafile for his huge involvement in our visit, from organising the masterclass to getting our voices heard around Puglia. Last but not least we’d like to give a massive thank you to George Arthur Richford for his continued hard work directing us to a high standard and putting together an epic repertoire. Despite the Italian weather not living up to its name and gifting us with torrential rain most days, we had the most enjoyable trip, whether it was sitting by electric heaters in the church, drying our shoes and socks, or eating magnificent pizzas in the non-tourist village of Monopoli.
Keep an eye out for information about our POST TOUR CONCERT where you can hear us sing our tour rep - it's certainly not one to miss!! GO TO ---> GALLERY<----- FOR PICTURES |
Joint Christmas Concert with SUSinfonietta 2017
On Friday 15th December, SUCC teamed up with Southampton University Sinfonietta to put together a festive evening of excellent quality music, mince pies and mulled wine. Sinfonietta started off with the Nutcracker suite followed by a joint performance of A Brexit Carol Book by George Arthur. Following the interval, Chamber Choir performed Hymn to the Mother of God - Tavener, Lux Aurumque - Whitacre, Northern Lights - Gjeilo, Angel Song II - Todd and Hymn to the Virgin - Britten. Lastly we ended the concert with a few traditional carols. We would like to add that the Assistant Director of Barenreiter UK attended the concert and has commented "Truly excellent singing, many congratulations!". Thank you to everybody else who attended and supported Southampton University Chamber Choir as we sign off for the Christmas holidays.
Chamber Choir 2017/2018 is now up and running!
We welcome all the new members of Chamber Choir for the year 2017/18. This is is going to be a busy year with various concerts, services and events, including a tour to ITALY! Check out the 'THE CHOIR' tab and 'UPCOMING EVENTS' to find out more about what this year has in store for us. Also don't forget to regularly check our Facebook/Twitter/Instagram posts for any new information.
We welcome all the new members of Chamber Choir for the year 2017/18. This is is going to be a busy year with various concerts, services and events, including a tour to ITALY! Check out the 'THE CHOIR' tab and 'UPCOMING EVENTS' to find out more about what this year has in store for us. Also don't forget to regularly check our Facebook/Twitter/Instagram posts for any new information.
HOLLAND TOUR 2017
Between the 19th and 23rd of April SUCC ventured out to The Netherlands to perform to the people of Holland in three concerts. We performed at Oranjekerk in Amsterdam, The Church of St John & St Philip in The Hague and Messiaskerk in Wassenaar. In between concerts and rehearsals we explored the wonderful city of Den Haag (The Hague) with its huge boulevards, beautiful parks and tall skyscrapers, and ate many fantastic meals including the famous dutch 'pannenkoeken' (pancakes). On one day we even got SUCC cycling! We hired bikes (some less stable than others let's just say) and cycled from Den Haag to the sand dunes in the Meijendel Nature Reserve in Wassenaar. Evenings consisted of lots of laughter and fun accompanied by some delicious food and drinks. Our tour secretary Alex Atack did an incredible job organising the trip, finding us some fantastic venues to perform in and overall being an excellent travel guide! Check out a recording of one of our favourite pieces from tour, sung at the very last concert -> Click Here
Check out the gallery to see a selection of pictures from the tour -> Click Here
Check out the gallery to see a selection of pictures from the tour -> Click Here
Winners!
We are delighted to announce that we are the winners of the open adult choir class at the Southampton Festival of Music and Drama! We very much enjoyed listening to Simply Singers and Romsey Voices, and want to thank the adjudicators, organisers and audience for their support. We performed the following pieces:
Ah, Sun-flower! | Dove
Adieu! Farewell Earth's bliss! | Dove
E si fussi pisci | Berio
Crossing the Bar | Arbo
Ah, Sun-flower! | Dove
Adieu! Farewell Earth's bliss! | Dove
E si fussi pisci | Berio
Crossing the Bar | Arbo
On Thursday 16th March, Southampton University Chamber Choir took part in the Southampton Festival of Music and Drama. The Festival takes place annually, and has now been running for 91 years – this year it was situated at Thornden Hall. SUCC entered the Class 130 - Open Adult Choir, where we had a time limit of 20 minutes to present a programme of our own choice, and our recital consisted of four varied pieces.
“Ah, Sun-flower!” and “Adieu! Farewell Earth’s bliss” by Jonathan Dove, from his fantastic “The Passing of the Year” song cycle were our opening pieces. We recently performed this entire work in Portsmouth Cathedral, and you can see our performance on our website (www.chamber-choir.com/succsoundbites). “E si fussi pisci” by Berio was our third piece; a more light-hearted Sicilian love song; and apparently our collective horse impressions as part of the lilting melody really did transport the adjudicators to a warm sunny Italian scene! We closed our recital with “Crossing the Bar” – a poem by Tennyson, arranged for four-part harmony by Arbo. This was a very special performance for us, as Tennyson wrote this poem after crossing our very own Solent, and we had worked incredibly hard on our blending, and dynamic interest in order to remind the audience of waves and the tides of the sea. We were particularly commended on this piece.
We also loved getting the chance to listen to our competition (Simply Singers and Romsey Voices) who performed some incredibly moving renditions of well-known songs, and really engaged the whole auditorium.
We are delighted to say that we won the class, and the Eling Rose Bowl Trophy! We would like to thank the adjudicators (Ben Costello and Shelagh Lee) and organisers of the Festival, the audience on the night, and last but not least, our fantastic Music Director George Richford for moulding us into the choir we are today – thank you!
Do you have a strong classical vocal/choral background? Would YOU like to audition to be a part of an award-winning chamber choir? Come along to our summer concert (check our website www.chamber-choir.com for information), like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SUChamberChoir), and look out for our audition sign-ups on our website from July, or at the Bunfight in September.
“Ah, Sun-flower!” and “Adieu! Farewell Earth’s bliss” by Jonathan Dove, from his fantastic “The Passing of the Year” song cycle were our opening pieces. We recently performed this entire work in Portsmouth Cathedral, and you can see our performance on our website (www.chamber-choir.com/succsoundbites). “E si fussi pisci” by Berio was our third piece; a more light-hearted Sicilian love song; and apparently our collective horse impressions as part of the lilting melody really did transport the adjudicators to a warm sunny Italian scene! We closed our recital with “Crossing the Bar” – a poem by Tennyson, arranged for four-part harmony by Arbo. This was a very special performance for us, as Tennyson wrote this poem after crossing our very own Solent, and we had worked incredibly hard on our blending, and dynamic interest in order to remind the audience of waves and the tides of the sea. We were particularly commended on this piece.
We also loved getting the chance to listen to our competition (Simply Singers and Romsey Voices) who performed some incredibly moving renditions of well-known songs, and really engaged the whole auditorium.
We are delighted to say that we won the class, and the Eling Rose Bowl Trophy! We would like to thank the adjudicators (Ben Costello and Shelagh Lee) and organisers of the Festival, the audience on the night, and last but not least, our fantastic Music Director George Richford for moulding us into the choir we are today – thank you!
Do you have a strong classical vocal/choral background? Would YOU like to audition to be a part of an award-winning chamber choir? Come along to our summer concert (check our website www.chamber-choir.com for information), like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SUChamberChoir), and look out for our audition sign-ups on our website from July, or at the Bunfight in September.
TOUR 2016
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6-11TH APRIL
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WE'RE READY, ARE YOU?
Click here for SUCC Performances 2015/16
CHANGE OF REHEARSAL TIMINGS AND NEW MUSICAL DIRECTOR
We have changed our rehearsal time to Friday 7:30pm to 9:30pm, please take note!
Sadly, over the summer holidays Peter Stobart informed us that he would not be returning to the post of Musical Director for the academic year 2015-2016. We thank him for his many years of dedication and hard work, and wish him the best with his new appointment as the Director of Music for St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork.
We are excited to announce our new Musical Director, George Arthur Richford. George is a multi award winning composer and conductor, living and working in the south. He is also currently Director of Music at Romsey Abbey having held previous posts at Newcastle Cathedral, St John's College Durham, Newark and Dartford Parish Churches. To find out more about George, please click here.
We have changed our rehearsal time to Friday 7:30pm to 9:30pm, please take note!
Sadly, over the summer holidays Peter Stobart informed us that he would not be returning to the post of Musical Director for the academic year 2015-2016. We thank him for his many years of dedication and hard work, and wish him the best with his new appointment as the Director of Music for St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork.
We are excited to announce our new Musical Director, George Arthur Richford. George is a multi award winning composer and conductor, living and working in the south. He is also currently Director of Music at Romsey Abbey having held previous posts at Newcastle Cathedral, St John's College Durham, Newark and Dartford Parish Churches. To find out more about George, please click here.
SUMMER CONCERT 2015
We would like to thank everyone who attended our Summer Concert 2015, it was lovely to see so many people supporting us.
The Choir will now take a break over the summer, before reconvening again in the new academic year. Photos, audio and video from the concert will be posted shortly.
Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for updates.
Programme forward, by the President of SUCC
Welcome to Southampton University Chamber Choir's annual summer concert. It is lovely to have you here in St Michael and all angels church, who are kindly hosting us for a fourth time.
Our programme tonight features pieces from across the ages, from Bassano's wonderful 'Dic Nobis, Maria' to Gershwin's jazzy 'Summertime'. My personal favourite from tonight's concert is the well-known 'Dashing Away with the smoothing iron' which has been great fun to sing in rehearsals.
Again, we have had a busy year with the Chamber Choir. We performed our Christmas Concert in St Alban’s Church and had a wonderful weekend singing in the beautiful Chichester Cathedral earlier this year. We also took our annual trip to Mottisfont and sang in the grounds a few weeks ago.
We have recently returned from our Easter Tour to Berlin, where our tour secretary, Sarah, organised many concerts and other fun excursions. My highlight of the tour was singing in Berlin Cathedral to a large congregation and hearing the echoes of our singing after we finished Taverner's 'Dum transisset sabbatum'.
We owe an enormous amount of thanks to our conductor, Peter Stobart, who puts in so much time and effort to make us sound better and work as an ensemble. His selection of the repertoire means we have the opportunity to sing some great works and many different genres. He also makes rehearsals fun and his motivation leads us to achieve more each week. I look forward to working with him next year to lead the choir forward.
Unfortunately, the summer concert means the end of the year and some members' time in the choir. They are all valued members and will be missed by everyone. We hope that they stay in touch and we wish them all the best for the future!
All that is left for me to say is thank you to our faithful audience members, who support everything we do. We wouldn't have a concert without you and your support is overwhelming. I hope you enjoy an evening of choral music!
Madeleine Shackleton
President of Southampton University Chamber Choir
The Choir will now take a break over the summer, before reconvening again in the new academic year. Photos, audio and video from the concert will be posted shortly.
Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for updates.
Programme forward, by the President of SUCC
Welcome to Southampton University Chamber Choir's annual summer concert. It is lovely to have you here in St Michael and all angels church, who are kindly hosting us for a fourth time.
Our programme tonight features pieces from across the ages, from Bassano's wonderful 'Dic Nobis, Maria' to Gershwin's jazzy 'Summertime'. My personal favourite from tonight's concert is the well-known 'Dashing Away with the smoothing iron' which has been great fun to sing in rehearsals.
Again, we have had a busy year with the Chamber Choir. We performed our Christmas Concert in St Alban’s Church and had a wonderful weekend singing in the beautiful Chichester Cathedral earlier this year. We also took our annual trip to Mottisfont and sang in the grounds a few weeks ago.
We have recently returned from our Easter Tour to Berlin, where our tour secretary, Sarah, organised many concerts and other fun excursions. My highlight of the tour was singing in Berlin Cathedral to a large congregation and hearing the echoes of our singing after we finished Taverner's 'Dum transisset sabbatum'.
We owe an enormous amount of thanks to our conductor, Peter Stobart, who puts in so much time and effort to make us sound better and work as an ensemble. His selection of the repertoire means we have the opportunity to sing some great works and many different genres. He also makes rehearsals fun and his motivation leads us to achieve more each week. I look forward to working with him next year to lead the choir forward.
Unfortunately, the summer concert means the end of the year and some members' time in the choir. They are all valued members and will be missed by everyone. We hope that they stay in touch and we wish them all the best for the future!
All that is left for me to say is thank you to our faithful audience members, who support everything we do. We wouldn't have a concert without you and your support is overwhelming. I hope you enjoy an evening of choral music!
Madeleine Shackleton
President of Southampton University Chamber Choir
MOTTISFONT
2nd May 2015
On Saturday 2nd May we sang in Mottisfont, kicking off the spring season singing in this stunning National Trust site.
Many thanks to National Trust Mottisfont for having us, we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/
On Saturday 2nd May we sang in Mottisfont, kicking off the spring season singing in this stunning National Trust site.
Many thanks to National Trust Mottisfont for having us, we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/
Performance in Chichester Cathedral, 21st-22nd Feb 2015
Southampton University Chamber Choir were proud to sing for Chichester Cathedral on February 21st and 22nd in place of the usual cohort of choristers. We sang the Sunday morning service as well as the Evensong on Saturday and Sunday.
Fantastic choral workshop with Ralph Allwood MBE
Southampton University Chamber choir spent a fantastic and instructive day with Ralph Allwood in preparation for our Christmas performances.
Ralph Allwood MBE was for 26 years Director of Music at Eton College and is now a freelance choral conductor.
Ralph is the director of the Eton Choral Courses, which he founded in 1980. Seven thousand 16 to 20 year olds have been students on courses over the last thirty years. The Rodolfus Choir, made up of the best singers from the courses, has produced over twenty CDs. He has conducted choirs for forty live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and was a judge on BBC 2's The Choir in 2013.
Ralph is a founder and conductor of Inner Voices, a choir made up of singers from state schools in SW London. He is a conductor of the National Youth Choir of Wales and judges the Choir of the Year, the Llangollen Eisteddfod and the Cork International Choral Competition. Ralph is a Fellow Commoner of Queens’ College, Cambridge and an Honorary Fellow of University College, Durham. He is Choral Advisor to Trinity College, Oxford and Wellington College. Ralph is Director of Music at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich and teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Tiffin School. In 2012 he was awarded a Doctorate of Music by Aberdeen University.
Ralph Allwood was made MBE in the 2012 New Year's Honours list.
Ralph Allwood MBE was for 26 years Director of Music at Eton College and is now a freelance choral conductor.
Ralph is the director of the Eton Choral Courses, which he founded in 1980. Seven thousand 16 to 20 year olds have been students on courses over the last thirty years. The Rodolfus Choir, made up of the best singers from the courses, has produced over twenty CDs. He has conducted choirs for forty live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and was a judge on BBC 2's The Choir in 2013.
Ralph is a founder and conductor of Inner Voices, a choir made up of singers from state schools in SW London. He is a conductor of the National Youth Choir of Wales and judges the Choir of the Year, the Llangollen Eisteddfod and the Cork International Choral Competition. Ralph is a Fellow Commoner of Queens’ College, Cambridge and an Honorary Fellow of University College, Durham. He is Choral Advisor to Trinity College, Oxford and Wellington College. Ralph is Director of Music at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich and teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Tiffin School. In 2012 he was awarded a Doctorate of Music by Aberdeen University.
Ralph Allwood was made MBE in the 2012 New Year's Honours list.
Successful vocal workshop with Voces 8
Southampton University chamber Choir was lucky enough to have secured a 2-hour vocal workshop with Voces 8 prior to their concert in the Turner Sims concert hall on Highfield Campus, University of Southampton. The workshop was a success with the choir working on artistic style and performance technique.
"VOCES8 is one of the most exciting and versatile vocal groups in the world.
The multi award-winning ensemble fulfils an international annual touring schedule across Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Performance venues include the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Tel Aviv Opera House, National Concert Hall Taipei, Cite de la Musique in Paris, Dijon Opera House, National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing and Shanghai Concert Hall.
Highlights of the 2013/2014 season include a new record deal with Decca Classics and an extensive European concert schedule in addition to tours to the USA, Indonesia, Dubai, Russia, Asia and for “La Folle Journee” in Nantes and Tokyo."
"VOCES8 is one of the most exciting and versatile vocal groups in the world.
The multi award-winning ensemble fulfils an international annual touring schedule across Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa. Performance venues include the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Tokyo Opera City, Tel Aviv Opera House, National Concert Hall Taipei, Cite de la Musique in Paris, Dijon Opera House, National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing and Shanghai Concert Hall.
Highlights of the 2013/2014 season include a new record deal with Decca Classics and an extensive European concert schedule in addition to tours to the USA, Indonesia, Dubai, Russia, Asia and for “La Folle Journee” in Nantes and Tokyo."
Southampton University Chamber choir on our Madrid tour 2014
