Stroud Choral Society
Welcome to the home page for Stroud Choral Society. We’re one of the oldest amateur choirs in the country and have been performing in front of audiences in Stroud and beyond since 1834.
With around 100 members, we aim to present at least four concerts a year, and rehearse in the music block at Marling School on Monday evenings. We’re friendly, welcoming, and love our social events almost as much as our singing! If you are interested in joining us, please contact us, we are currently looking for sopranos, tenors and basses.
The choir meets on Mondays at 7.30pm at Marling School in Stroud, and we are working towards a performance of our Summer concert England's Glory which is a celebration of English music to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Saturday 18th June at Holy Trinity church, Minchinhampton. We finish the season with a tour to the Netherlands where we will perform three concerts in fabulous churches.
This season, we also held a concert of Christmas favourites at St Laurence’s Church, Stroud with our children’s choir, The Minpins. The Lent term’s project was Handel’s wonderful oratorio Judas Maccabeaus.
Next season, rehearsals will start early September and we will be singing Handel's Messiah in November.
Listen to one of our recordings of the lovely
Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré
Our next concert
England's Glory - English Choral Music in Celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
Saturday 18th June at 7pm
Tickets £15 adults, £5 12-18 years, under 12's free
On Saturday 18th June 2022 Stroud Choral Society will perform a concert of English choral music in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The programme will include such choral favourites as ‘As torrents in summer’ by Elgar, Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Long Day Closes’, and ‘All in the April evening’ by Sir Hugh Robertson. To mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, the choir will perform ‘Three Elizabethan Songs’ by Gloucestershire born composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The work of another Gloucestershire composer, Sir Hubert Parry, is represented by his great anthem ‘Hear my words’, which concludes with a setting of his wonderful hymn tune ‘O Praise Ye the Lord’.
The concert will open with Handel’s Coronation Anthem ‘Zadok the Priest’, performed at every coronation since 1727, and end with Stanford’s magnificent setting of the ‘Te Deum’.
The Stroud Choral Society, Musical Director Simon Bell, will joined by the Stroud Youth Choir, conductor ZoëHynes, and soloist Alan Fairs. The performances will be accompanied by David Bednall, organ, and Nicola Jee, piano.
The concert will take place at Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton, starting at 7.00 pm. Tickets £15, £5 for 12-18 years, and free for under 12s.
Tickets are available online from Ticket Source click here, via their box office telephone 03336 663366, at M & B Stores, Minchinhampton, from choir members, or on the door.
Our return to live performance with Haydn's The Creation
In November, we held our first ‘in-person’ concert since the lockdown started. We were delighted to be back doing what we enjoy most, singing great music together.
The concert was held in the wonderful Tewkesbury Abbey. The choice of Haydn's Creation by our new Musical Director, Simon Bell was deliberate. After so long away from performing live music, Haydn's joyous music was just what both performers and audience needed. It was a night to celebrate!
This was our first concert conducted by Simon Bell. He showed superb leadership and musicianship during both rehearsals and the performance, so we are assured a successful future with him.
We were delighted to perform alongside our soloists Emma Brain-Gabbott, Sam Dressel and Phil Tebb, and the orchestra, The Bristol Ensemble. The Vicar of Tewkesbury, Paul Williams, and everyone at Tewkesbury Abbey made us very welcome. We are also very grateful to our front of house volunteers and many others without whom we could not make our concerts happen.
Youth choirs show us how it should be done!
Watch our talented youngsters performing a variety of songs in their summer concert recorded earlier this year on YouTube. This 30 minute concert is sure to lift your heart and soul!
The children have all worked so hard to produce this concert and normally this would be our main fundraiser of the year with people paying £10 a ticket to watch. If you feel you are able to make a donation to secure the future of the choir we would be very grateful. Thank you.
Stroud Choral Society
Stroud Choral Society was founded in 1834 and therefore is one of the oldest choral societies in Britain. However, we are always moving with the times and in recent years have formed a childrens choir - The Minpins - and a youth choir. Both groups sing with us occasionally and also have their own concert programme.
Typically we perform four major concerts throughout the year, singing in venues such as Tewkesbury Abbey, Cirencester Parish Church of St John Baptist and Minchinhampton Church.
Our repertoire in recent years has included Beethoven's Mass in C, Dvorak requiem, Bach's St John Passion The German Requiem by Brahms and The Chichester Psalms by Leonard Berstein.
Want to know more or possibly sing with us? Please visit the Contact Details page.
The Next Generation
Stroud Choral Society are proud to have under their umberella The Minpins - our childrens choir and the Stroud Choral Youth Choir.
The Minpins sing with the main choir at our Christmas concert and the Youth Choir with us at our summer concert. Meanwhile, they have many concerts in their own right locally during the rest of the year.
Rehearsals are on a Tuesday evening in Nailsworth. If you would like more information, take a look at their dedicated page or follow the link below.