Berkhamsted Choral Society is a friendly, non-auditioning mixed-voice choir of nearly 90 singers, based in and around Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Our members come from all walks of life and bring with them a wide range of experience, from lifelong choral singers to those who have never been in a choir before.
New members are always welcome (especially Tenors and Basses!) and if you are aged 18-25, then membership is free! There are no auditions to join and no experience is necessary – just a love of music and an interest in singing. We work hard together to reach the highest standard possible – and our Musical Director Graham Wili and fellow choir members are always on hand to provide any help that you may need.
The choir has sung an impressive list of major and small-scale works from a choral repertoire including classical sacred and secular music and jazz, all with professional musicians and soloists. We perform three concerts a year (in Spring, Autumn and of course at Christmas!), usually in St Peter’s Church in Berkhamsted.
In addition, every August we team up with Chorleywood Choral Society to form Gaudeamus Chorale, and embark on a three-concert summer tour either in the UK or Europe. In recent years, we have visited the Flanders region of Belgium to perform in three beautiful churches including Ypres Cathedral, and the stunning city of Riga in Latvia, where we sang Vivaldi’s Gloria in a major city centre church and also in the nearby historic towns of Jurmala and Cesis. This year we were based in the Netherlands, singing works by Mozart, Handel and others in Delft, Scheveningen and of course Amsterdam.
Our tours aren’t only about wonderful music in beautiful places though – there are optional visits to places of interest, and plenty of opportunities to eat, drink and be merry with our friends in the choir!
We are very lucky to have concert pianist Fei Ren accompanying our rehearsals on Tuesday evenings in Swing Gate school, and for our concerts the much-acclaimed organist Iestyn Evans performs with us on the organ, harpsichord or piano. For many of our events we are also joined by English Philharmonia – a professional orchestra sharing our Principal Conductor, Graham Wili.
Every now and again we team up with Chorleywood Choral Society and The Leconfield Singers as English Philharmonic Chorus, to sing a major choral work in a big venue such as the Royal Festival Hall. Our last two visits there were to sing Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Verdi’s Requiem, with a full orchestra and top-notch professional soloists.
We are a registered charity (No. 274462) dedicated to sharing the joy of singing and choral music within our local community, and we are non-profit making.
Interested in joining us? Send us an email and arrange to join us for a commitment-free taster rehearsal!
