Past Concerts & Events
2016
December
On the 17th of December we held our winter carol concert at Wilton church. The congregation joined in with some of the carols lead by the Choir. At the break, a glass of wine and mince pie was given. Money raised was donated to the charity “the elevate project.
May
Choir Tour to Tuscany
Over a hundred people in the beautiful San Martino Cathedral at Lucca listened to a first half of Italian music – Vivaldi, Pitoni, Puccini and Lotti. The glorious sound of the organ then filled the cathedral as David Coram played Elgar’s Nimrod. The concert then continued with contemporary English pieces by John Rutter, Ward Swingle, Will Todd and Bob Chilcott.
The second concert took place in the modern Basilica di Santa Maria Assent at Moncatine Terme. Despite a few problems with the organ, the sound was superb, and the substitution of a piece by Fauré for the Lotti was judged a success.
April
Arrivederci Concert
Nearly a full house in St Mark’s church were treated to a wonderful Italian- inspired concert. There were rousing and very moving extracts from Vivaldi’s Gloria and also beautiful pieces by Fauré. Pitoni, Puccini and Lotti. This concert was showcasing the music which SCC will sing on their tour to Tuscany in May.
After a glass of Prosecco the concert continued with a more contemporary programme including pieces by John Rutter, Ward Swingle and Will Todd. There were also beautiful versions of The Londonderry Air and The Streets of London, finishing with some extracts from the Salisbury Vespers by Bob Chilcott. The concert was raising money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.
2015
December
St Thomas’s Christmas Tree Festival and Salisbury Market Place
In December Salisbury Community Choir was asked to sing at a number of Community events including St Thomas’s Christmas Tree Festival, at the Christmas Market in the centre of Salisbury and also at a special service at Salisbury Hospice.
These are always special to the choir, as it feels right at the heart of the community of Salisbury. This year in the Market Place the weather was kind if rather windy, although the bandstand is a little small for the massed ranks of the choir!
Christmas Carol Concert
This year’s concert at Wilton parish church was held in aid of Julia’s House, a local children’s hospice and a speaker from the charity spoke movingly of its work. The traditional carol concert with audience involvement included some modern carols with arrangements by Brian Moles and also more traditional ones such as In the Bleak Midwinter. Much fun was also had with Rudolf the Red-nosed reindeer and Jingle Bells and the audience also appreciated the beautiful organ playing by David Coram of familiar pieces by Bach and Elgar.
The wine and mince pies put everyone in a festive mood and looking forward to Christmas.
October
Songs & Supper
Our free concert was a heart-warming autumnal evening. We showcased some of our new repertoire as well as some well-known pieces. The music ranged from a beautiful arrangement of the Streets of London to the fiendish Latin rhythms of Libertango and Tequila Samba.
Afterwards we and our guests – all 170 of us – shared a delicious supper of homemade pumpkin soup and ploughman’s. The hard work of all those who contributed to this joyous occasion was much appreciated.
The retiring collection was in aid of the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, whose mission is to help elderly and disadvantaged people who have been victims of, or may be at risk of house crime, hate crime, domestic abuse or fire.
July
A Night at the Flicks
SCC’s Summer Concert 2015 was held in St Thomas’s church on the theme of music from the movies and was very much enjoyed by all. A wide range of fun music was performed including Bond theme tunes, My Fair Lady, les Miserables, Singing in the Rain, the Sound of Music and Mamma Mia. The audience was encouraged to sing along.
The church was decorated with a variety of props including a barricade in Paris, a flower stall from My Fair Lady and lamp posts down the aisle with umbrellas. (Thanks go to Salisbury Musical Theatre for helping us with these props)
June
Magna Carta Concert
SCC were proud to be the opening event of the Salisbury celebrations of the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. The choir sang to the crowd from the steps of the Guildhall, as the dignitaries arrived for the Community Pageant which followed later in the evening. The medley of popular songs performed was well received by the audience gathered around.
May
A Concert for Rowan
The Concert on 23 May at Guildford Cathedral was a wonderful evening with Jeremy’s family of combined choirs (Salisbury Community Choir,Vivace Chorus, Vasari Singers) and the amazing youth choirs, singing Will Todd’s City Garden and Bob Chilcott’s Salisbury Vespers. The performances were stunning, beautiful, filled with life and commitment. And a magnificent £2,137 was raised for the Rainbow Trust.
2014
December
A sparkling Christmas Concert
The concert on 13 December at Wilton parish Church was an evening of festive joy which got everyone in the Christmas mood. There were traditional favourites such as Jingle Bells, very popular with our audience, gentle lullabies, rousing audience carols and arrangements of well known carols: Go tell it on the mountain and Silent Night by Karl Jenkins. The glass of wine and mince pies added to the festive feeling and the kind words by Wilton’s mayor at the end were much appreciated.
The concert was in aid of Home-Start South Wiltshire, who support local families who are struggling to cope.
St Thomas’s Decorated Tree Festival
The Rev’d Canon David Linaker, Rector at Sarum St Thomas wrote to thank us for contributing to this year’s Festival, writing that:
The musical entertainment is an essential part of The Festival and ensures a really joyful and welcoming atmosphere.
I’m sure you will be delighted to hear that we welcomed well over 13,200 visitors and have raised sufficient funds for us to make gifts of £4,000 each to Home Start and Age UK.
November
Concert of Remembrance
‘A moving and well-balanced programme’. ‘The choir were very good and sang with passion’. Just two of the many positive comments which were received about SCC’s Concert of Remembrance held on Saturday 8 November 2014 at Wilton Parish Church, in aid of SSAFA.
In the first half we felt the horror and futility of war as the choir sang movements from Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A mass for Peace, interspersed with readings from war poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. A bugler sounded the Last Post.
The readings and music in the second half had a message of hope for the future as well as remembering the past. They included David Ogden’s ‘We will remember them’ and the wordless “Prayer of the World’ by Vangelis. The concert ended with an extract from Will Todd’s ‘The City Garden’.
The concert raised £1200 for SSAFA.
July
Summer Social
SCC held its Summer Social on July 17th by kind invitation of Katie Fry in the beautiful setting of Totterdale Farm. On a lovely Summer’s evening the choir enjoyed a Hog Roast, a little wine and the chance to catch up with friends old and new.
Summer Concert raises £1000 for the Alzheimer’s Society
Salisbury Community Choir held its Summer Concert in St Thomas’s church on Saturday 12th July. This was a varied programme including works by John Rutter, Will Todd and Alan Bullard. There were also medleys of songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein and some songs by ABBA which certainly got the audience tapping their feet. A glass of Pimms was enjoyed in the interval.
The choir were very pleased to be able to present a cheque later to the Alzheimer’s Society which brought the total amount raised to £1000.
“The City Garden” at St Peter’s Church Hammersmith
On Sunday 6th July 2014, 50 members of Salisbury Community Choir went to St Peter’s Church Hammersmith for their festival concert to sing “The City Garden” with St Peter’s Church Choir. The piece was accompanied by the Will Todd trio and conducted by our own musical accompanist David Coram.
April
Performance of Will Todd’s “Inside my Heart” in the magnificent Lincoln Cathedral
About 110 members of the Salisbury Community Choir travelled to Lincoln for the weekend of May 3rd 2014 to take part in a second performance of “The City Garden”, which SCC had commissioned from the composer Will Todd to celebrate its 21st Birthday in 2013.
The choir was joined in this concert by Lincoln Minster School Chamber Choir and school youth choirs and also Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior choir. The choirs met for the first time and rehearsed in the cathedral on the Friday evening and joined the orchestra for rehearsal on the Saturday afternoon. The choir enjoyed meeting many people from Lincoln and the concert was a great celebration of community spirit and joyous singing.
March
Production of the CD of Will Todd’s “Inside my Heart”
SCC, working with several local adult and children’s choirs, recorded a version of one section of “The City Garden,” the work commissioned by the SCC from Will Todd. This is to be sold in aid of the Rainbow Trust, a charity which supports children with life threatening illnesses and their families.
2013
December
Christmas Concert in Wilton Church
Raising money for the Rainbow Trust, a traditional concert by candlelight. It was a festive mix of old favourites mixed with the less well known, involving choir and audience.
October
SCC 21st Birthday Concert
A day long final workshop and then the concert in Salisbury Cathedral. This was the premiere of the new work commissioned by the SCC by Will Todd called “The City Garden” and also Benjamin Britten’s “Saint Nicolas.” This concert also involved a large local children’s choir, orchestra and soloists and was the result of months of planning and fundraising by SCC. The choir performed to a packed cathedral to great acclaim.
July
A Workshop Day with Will Todd
The choir worked very hard on the new piece “The City Garden”.
June
Choir Trip to Normandy
The choir stayed in Rouen and performed concerts in Rouen cathedral and churches in Conches-en-Ouches and Bayeux.
Musical Director’s report:
And what a happy and successful tour it was too. Three great concerts in Rouen Cathedral ( – but very tricky getting balance and ensemble with us and the organ so far apart), at Conches-en-Ouches (remember the chorus of birds in the church and the amazingly warm reception we received from the local audience), and in Bayeux. The standard of each concert improved, though I think the Conches-en-Ouches one had the most engagement with the audience. Outside of the singing we had a great time too with plenty of interesting visits and fun lunches and evenings together. My favourites? Possibly the wonderful Monet gardens with the chorus of frogs, the fabulous Bayeux tapestry, the wallet-emptying cider farm, even the grim reality of the WW2 museum … well, all of it really!!
March
Production of the choir CD
This was a collection of pieces the choir had learnt over the last couple of years, to show the variety of music the choir is capable of.
Musical Director’s report:
We gathered for the CD recording on 22 and 23 March at St Martin’s, with Richard Bland in the producer’s box. I thought we were in great form and Richard clearly managed to get some fabulous takes in the can, because the finished product (I hope you have all had a chance to listen to it) is really impressive! It shows off the choir really well in a variety of music and styles and there is still that SCC joie de vivre and commitment that shines through everything! I hope you all agree that it looks and sounds fantastic and something of which we can be really proud!
2012
December
Christmas Concert in Wilton Church
Raising money for the Salisbury Trust for the Homeless, a traditional carol concert by candlelight.
July
Concert at St Mary the Virgin, Fordingbridge
This was our Summer concert, raising money for our local community. Despite the appalling weather we managed to raise a good amount for the church roof fund.
Concert with Fezeka Choir at St Thomas’s Church
This was a joint concert with the Fezeka choir from South Africa who were visiting Salisbury. Friendships were renewed and their distinctive sound and committed performances – full of soul, were much enjoyed.
June
Jonathan Dove’s Opera “Walk in the Garden”
As part of Salisbury Festival, SCC was invited alongside the Festival chorus and soloists to take part in the premiere of Jonathan Dove’s opera about Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden.
May
“Fire” by David Bruce in Salisbury Cathedral Close
This was a new work which was part of the Salisbury Festival. It presented some challenges to the choir, as it was in the open air with little accompaniment, but the final performance in a circle round a fire sculpture was magical and the later recording of this piece for Radio 3 was a new experience for the choir.
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