We have been meeting in person since September 2021, after a year or so online through COVID. Below you’ll find information about how to get involved, when and where we meet, what kind of music we sing, how to pay for sessions, and parking info etc…
Normal Meeting Times
We come together to sing each week
Every Tuesday, 7:30 – 9:30pm
(there’s a break 8:30-8:45pm for a tea, biscuits and a chat)
Location
St Thomas Church
Lowther Street
York YO31 7ND
Plenty of Free parking available on site (In the Carpark and on the Street)
Paying for sessions
Singings sessions cost £6 each. If anyone has difficulty paying, please contact me directly to arrange something that works for you.
You can pay for the whole Spring term in advance (£66) using the Paypal button below:
You can also pay for individual sessions online here using the Paypal button below:
You can also pay for the 2022 Summer term in advance using the Paypal button below:
You can also pay for the 2022 Autumn term in advance using the Paypal button below:
Rehearsal Calendar 2022
(blue = rehearsal dates)
Spring Term: January 11th to April 5th (half term break 1st and 8th March)
Summer Term: April 26th to July 26th (half term break 7th June)
Autumn Term: September 13th to December 13th (half term break 25th October)
Concerts
Our latest performance was the Christmas concert at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, Christmas 2019, for the Church’s Conservation Trust. Then COVID happened! Before that, we had 3 short concerts in Homestead Park, as part of York Big Sing 2019. In June 2019, we performed a concert at the Unitarian Chapel, York, to raise funds for St Nicholas Fields Nature Reserve and Environmental Centre. In March 2019, we performed as part of the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Community Choir Festival.
We performed a short concert and vocal workshop in Rowntree Park, as part of York Big Sing 2018. In June 2018, we performed a concert at the Unitarian Chapel, York, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of St Nicholas Fields Nature Reserve and Environmental Centre. In August 2017, we performed as part of Refugium, a special composition created by director Jon Hughes, and performed at Creswell Crags limestone gorge in Derbyshire. This combined specially composed vocal pieces for choir with a 30 meter outdoor ambisonic speaker circle to create an immersive experience for the audience, and was seen by over 250 people.Our first concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio York, Friday April 7th 2016. It was part of York in Harmony, a project run by the BBC to encourage community choir singing in York.
Repertoire
In terms of repertoire, the key words are simplicity and beauty. Music doesn’t have to be complex or difficult to be beautiful, and the human voice comes into its own with simple material that contains real emotional depth.
We are all the custodians of a rich global vocal music tradition, and so much of it is accessible, singable, and easy to learn. We can draw on music from many countries and traditions, connecting with artistic and vocal expression from diverse cultures. Our repertoire includes the following, and is growing all the time:
Bat’onebis Nanina – traditional Georgian folk song
Bright Morning Star – early North American folk song
Bushes and Briars – English folk song
Didn’t Leave Nobody but the Baby – slave era North American spiritual
Grey Funnel Line – English folk song
Haiku for St Nicks – specially composed for the choir by composer David Hammond 2018
Hamba Lulu – South African traditional
Hide Your Love Away – The Beatles
Canopy of Voices – contemporary fusion of South Indian vocal music and modern European composition
Lou Bouie – traditional L’Occitan
Love Call Me Home – Peggy Seeger
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica – South African national anthem
Nkosi Yiba Nenceba – traditional African
O Sing to Me of Heaven – Primitive Baptist/early North American spiritual
Plovi Barko – traditional Croation folk song
Shell Prayer – contemporary composition by Jon Hughes 2016
Shimona – contemporary choral composition
Shoshaloza – traditional work song from Southern Africa
Sithi Molweni – Xhosa greeting song from Africa
Siya Hamba – traditional Xhosa song from Africa
Somagwaza – traditional African initiation song
South Australia – sea shanty from the 18th century
Sto Mi e Milo – traditional Macedonian folk song
Tantum Ergo Sacramentum – traditional Corsican spiritual
The Parting Glass – Irish folk song
The Young Fisherman – English folk song
Through the Gate – contemporary composition by Jon Hughes 2017
Thuma Mina – traditional African
The Stonegate Singers 