St Mary’s Chamber Choir was formed in 2005 with the aim of promoting and performing a wide variety of music. We are a choir of between 50 to 60 Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses. Choir members come from the local community of Bridgnorth, surrounding villages, the West Midlands and as far away as Oxfordshire! The Choir produces concerts generally at Easter and Christmas and occasionally has an extra concert in the summer depending on availability and numbers.
They rehearse approximately 14 weeks before a concert on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11.30am in St Mary’s Church.
The choir joined forces in 2008 with the Twinning choirs. Chorale Point d’Orgue, Thiers and Chor Singaweng, Schrobenhausen on two occasions singing, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Dixit Dominus in Ludlow Parish Church and in St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth accompanied by, the Arsatius Consort from Schrobenhausen. In October 2012, the joint choirs and orchestra met to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, singing Coronation Anthems by George Handel and Charles Parry. St Mary’s Chamber Choirs’ repertoire includes; Handel’s – Messiah, Faure’s – Requiem, John Rutter’s – Requiem, Bob Chilcott’s – Requiem and Little Jazz Mass, The Sacred Songs – Karl Jenkins, Mozart’s – Spatzenmesse, Bach’s – Nun Komm der Heiden Heland, Miserere – Zelenka, Vivaldi’s – Magnificat, Benjamin Britten’s – Rejoice in The Lamb, and many contemporary works by Tavener, Leighton and Durufle.
We sing a wide range of different musical styles (see ‘Season Highlights’ page on this site).
Other than our Christmas Concert (which is very popular), we perform our Easter concert with our local orchestra and soloists (usually major choral works from the repertoire). If we do a summer concert the music is of a ‘lighter’ nature. This might include songs from the shows, part-songs and madrigals, or choral arrangements of popular music.
Choir membership is £40.00 a term this includes all music and learning CDs for the termly concert, and contributions towards the administration and publicity of the choir. Members may of course purchase their own copies of scores. Each new season starts the second Saturday in January and September. There is no fees for music for students under 21.
We rehearse on a Saturday morning from 10am till 11.30am at St Mary’s Church, East Castle Street, Bridgnorth. WV16 4AF. We ask members try to arrive at rehearsals a few minutes early so that we make a prompt start at 10am!
On the day of a concert, we have a rehearsal either in the morning or during the afternoon. The timings vary for these depending on the music and scale of the event in the evening.
The Choir continues to grow from strength to strength and we always want to welcome new members in all voice parts – please join us, we’d all love to see you!