Recent Events
Taize Service
Friday 17th June 2022
This was a quiet contemplative church service in the small chapel of All Saints in Winchester Rd Southampton.
The service marked the end of a week of prayer,
and the choir led in some Taize style worship.
It was very good to have our director, Penny
back at the helm.
The service was
streamed online
here
Carols by Candlelight
Sunday 19th December 2021
A fairly modern carol service at Holy Saviour, Bitterne, which, despite the billing, had very limited candles because the vicar had discovered that the disposable face masks some people wear are very flammable so extra flames seemed a risk too far.
We sang African Noel, a song in the Kituba language , Good News, a gospel number and a gospelly version of the carol Away in a Manger.
Carols on the street
Wednesday 22nd December 2021
It seems like only a year since we were singing carols at the end of Brownlow Gardens in Southampton, which is because it was. This time about 10 choir members joined the fun.
Once again plenty of residents came out to join in and there was some raucous carolling including the well known carol While Shepherds Watched their Flocks to the equally well known tune of 'On Ilkley Moor bar t' 'at.
After this we beetled off to a back alley in Shirley to do another set with diferent locals, all illuminated by mobile phone lights, and a few sparklers. We were accompanied by our choir director playing the keyboard from her summer house in the back garden with a loudspeaker standing in the alley which worked quite well.
There are no photos of these events as it was rather dark in both locations.
Carols in the Forest
Saturday 19th December 2020
Deerleap car park, the New Forest
Only a few of us, but Singing ! Huzzah!
We thought that a bit of festive cheer was in order so a few of us went to Deerleap and sang a short set of carols and Christmas songs, remaining there when the rain threatened to drive us away, and we were rewarded when the sun came out and several folk took a few minutes out from their walks to listen.
We had our own walk afterwards, and it wasn't too muddy
(The photo shows three household groups suitably separated)
Carols on the street
Sunday 20th December 2020
In conjunction with the Carols on the Doorstep initiative, we sang at the end of a cul-de-sac in Bitterne for about 30 mins.
plenty of residents came out to join in, saying what a pleasure it was to do something communal after such a difficult year, and could we do it again next year
We repeated the trick later during the week in a couple of locations in Shirley
Songs of Praise
Sunday March 8th 2020
Kings Community Church Hedge End
This was an afternoon meeting for older folk where we sang a mixture of songs for the congregation to sing along with and songs from the choir.
Despite fears that health concerns might cause many to stay away there were about 40-50 in the congregation who joined in the singing most enthusiastically
Our first outing of the year saw us at the Art Gallery which has a high vaulted ceiling, which gives a long echo, meaning that we sounded quite loud in this space.
We sang for about an hour of our usual repertoire, choosing mostly quieter numbers which are served very well by the long acoustic of the gallery
Southampton Art Gallery
Saturday 29th February 2020
Outdoor Church Event
Sunday December 22nd 2019
James St, Southampton
This was an outdoor Christmas presentation by James St Church.
Rather than wait for folk of St. Mary's to come into the church they take church out to the people.
We sang a few carols, there were some puppets telling the nativity story in their own way,
and Neil Maddox gave a presentation
of his one man nativity story
- playing each one of about a
dozen characters
As this was December and the event started at 4pm, it soon grew dark and the lanterns and fairy lights twinkled happily giving a Christmassy feel. The hot drinks were very welcome, and so were the hot mince pies which presented their own particular challenge when one was supposed to be singing.
A fun evening in a fully booked out pub, the punters had come expecting the carolling, so we didn't spoil their evening too much.
Pizza and Carols
Friday December 20th 2019
the King Rufus pub, Eling
Much raucous carolling was
engaged in and we were also
visited by the New Forest Mummers
who performed their short
traditional play in aid of the
Honeypot Children's Charity
.
Botley Festival of Angels
Sunday December 8th 2019
All Saints Church, Botley
The church was decorated with a heavenly host of shining angels made by all manner of local groups, showing a high degree of imagination and ingenuity.
Unusually, the audience actually increased throughout our set as folk came in to look round and then sat down to listen.
We sang about 40 minutes of Christmas music and after being asked for an encore or two, sang the Richard Smallwood gospel song Total Praise and our version of Silent Night, which is arranged with a jazzy, bluesy feel
The Big Christmas Sing
Saturday December 7th 2019
St. Alban's Church, Swaythling
Also performing were the excellent Parkewood School of Dance, the older dancers particularly elegant in a variety of costumes and the younger ones
making delightful
angels in one Christmas
themed number
An evening of singing and dancing
(we promised not to dance, and we didn't)
accompanied by the Sing Out children's
choir who gave us amongst other things
John Rutter's Candlelight carol and
the standard Go Tell it on the Mountain
Music in the City
Saturday September 28th 2019
Undercroft Vault, Simnel St.
We started by getting some audience participation with a medley of short well-known gospel songs sung in a round with three sections of the audience which made a great sound in the confined space.
They thought they were just going to sit and listen, (more evil laughter) but we did sing to them afterwards and then had this photo taken nearby.
The 11th annual Music in the City festival saw us singing in the Undercroft, an intimate space where the audience have to scale some fairly steep steps to get away (evil laughter).
