Come and Sing Handel’s Messiah

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If you are looking for the Come and Sing on August 17th 2024 then please click here.

We are having an open rehearsal on Monday 8th January at 7:30 when we will be singing Handel’s Messiah. 

If you are interested in singing and maybe thinking of joining a choir please do come and try it out. 

Handel’s Messiah is a GREAT work to get your teeth and your vocal chords into and we are a lovely friendly choir to sing with.  

So do come to our open rehearsal at Friars Hall, Hive Community Hub (aka the church hall attached to the old URC church) in School Street, Sudbury CO10 2HA.

Our Come and Sing rehearsals are specially set up to make sure new people coming get an extra special welcome – we make sure you have a “buddy” so if you have any questions there is someone next to you to ask. We also have a break half way through for refreshments and to have a good ole natter and chat plus any important announcements for the choir. The rehearsals are at the Hive Community Hub in School Street, Sudbury CO10 2HA. Which in old money is the church hall attached to the old United Reform Church at the top of School Street.

Can’t read music – not everyone in the choir can read music, its easier if you can but its not an absolute requirement. If you want to be able to read music, even if its just to know when to start singing and when to stop we are happy to help you with this. 

The Messiah – our next concert – we will be singing this fantastic work in our next concert on Sunday April 14. We will have some great young soloists from the London music schools coming up to sing with us (its worth joining the choir just to sing with them) and we will have a fantastically good orchestra courtesy of our conductor. What is not to like? 

Singing is really good for you – you owe it to yourself to come and sing. It makes you feel better, it helps your lungs function better, it helps anxiety, improves memory, builds a sense of community, it lets you express yourself, it can help pain relief, it boosts confidence. Don’t believe us, check it out here. 

Any questions or queries? Just contact us on info@sudburychoralsociety.co.uk or call 07931 807793)

Mozart Requiem concert – great review of a great concert

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Seen and Heard International is a live review site for concerts, operas, theatres and other performances. They review concerts at the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican, concerts with performers such as the Hallé Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. And they have reviewed our Mozart Requiem concert in St Gregory’s Church. So click here and see what other people thought of our concert.

Autumn concert – 19 November 2023

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Our last concert was at 7:30 pm on Sunday November 19th in St Gregory’s, Sudbury. We sang the fabulous Mozart Requiem and Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine. Both works are georgeous and we had fantastic soloists from the Royal Academy of Music and an orchestra made up of local professionals who really did the music justice.

In addition to these great works the soloists entertained us with operatic arias from Handel to Mozart. The lovely setting and acoustics of St Gregory’s made this a wonderful musical experience enjoyed by all.

Click here for a youtube version of the Jean Racine, it was originally composed in 1864-5 for voices and piano when Fauré was just 19 – some people just have too much talent.

Andrew Phillips Memorial Service

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Sudbury Choral Society was honoured to be asked to sing at Andrew Phillips’ memorial service in Lavenham on Saturday 5th of August 2023. Andrew had been our President for many many years and was very active in Sudbury on behalf of the community. His obituary published in The Times reminded us of his very significant contribution not just to Sudbury but to many people throughout Britain.

His memorial service was recorded and here it is.

He will be sorely missed by everyone in Sudbury.

Midsummer Concert

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Sunday 25 June at 7:30 pm in The Joy Abbot Hall in School Street, Sudbury – also known as the URC:

On what was to date the hottest day of the year so far we had a lovely songfest in the rather too warm Joy Abbott Hall which included John Rutter’s Sprig of Time and a medley of songs ranging from the Armadillo Song by Flanders and Swann to the Lion King with a children’s choir from Acton Primary School. The children’s choir were an absolute delight and more than held their own in the Lion King Medley. In the first half Mark Saberton sang the Policeman’s Song from Pirates of Penzance with the bass section as his backing group and in the second half he sang the Hippotamus Song by Flanders and Swann this time with choir and audience as his backing group. He really does have a great comic touch plus a wonderful voice which filled the hall to the rafters.

If you want to come and join our choir and enjoy even more fun songs, do get in touch.

April 2023 Concert – a beautiful concert

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Our Spring concert on Sunday 2nd April was a real success, beautiful and ethereal singing of the Mozart Ave Verum Corpus, beautiful and sensitive singing of the Brahms’ A German Requiem.

PLUS – we had some very dramatic arias sung by our two soloists before we started on the Brahms. I don’t think the Joy Abbot Hall had heard such full throated and dramatic vocal acrobatics from just one human being ever. In the choir we knew the audience was blown away by the soloists, we just hoped the first row was not literally blown away.

We did have an incident in the second half when one of our basses became unwell, we are pleased to say that after medical attention and a couple of days rest he made a full recovery and will be singing again with us next term. All I would say is that dehydration combined with other factors is serious, so for everyone the message is always, always drink enough water. There are some easy ways of checking you are drinking enough, just google them and see which works for you.

Christmas concert for 2022

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Our Christmas concert was on Sunday 11 December at 3 pm in the Joy Abbot Hall, School Street, Sudbury (the old URC). Featuring fun readings, carols old and new and mince pies plus you will all be invited to join in the singing. Its FUN its CHRISTMAS – they came, they sang, they enjoyed. And then all ate mince pies and drank mulled wine.

Tickets are £12 for adults and £2 for children and students and are available from Sudbury Tourist Office in the Town Hall, Juniper Flowers and online at TicketSource. They can also be bought on the door.

Autumn 2022 concert

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Our autumn 2022 concert was on Sunday 20th November at 7:30 when we performed Ola Gjeilo Sunrise Mass and Karl Jenkins The Armed Man at St Gregory’s Church in Sudbury. This was the first time we had performed there and its not the easiest of spaces for a moderate sized choir plus small orchestra to fit into. But we certainly enjoyed it as did the nearly capacity audience.

We last performed the Sunrise Mass in 2016 and everyone was blown away by it. It is stunningly beautiful and we really enjoyed singing it. Karl Jenkins, a Welsh composer attached to a very fine moustache, is one of the most performed living composers. And we are happy to add to this number.

Our concert on Sunday 19th June

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A concert that celebrated 70 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The first British monarch to reach this historic milestone and the Choral Society really enjoyed this concert – particularly as our last celebration concert in April was cancelled due to COVID. The concert took in Handel’s Coronation Anthems and music throughout the seven decades of the Queen’s reign.

Complete with a small but perfectly formed orchestra this was a lovely concert which everyone that came really enjoyed.