We are a small, friendly group, professionally led and based in Southampton. We give at least two local concerts a year, one in November and one in May or June.
We sing a range of music spanning the 16th to the 20th centuries and in various styles, including folk songs, other part songs, longer classical works, classic popular songs and some new music.
We are also a very international group. We welcome visitors from abroad who come from widely different musical traditions who would like to join us for a period. We have a regular exchange with the choir of St. André de L'Eure in Normandy.
The choir was founded by members of Southampton CND who enjoyed singing and began giving concerts in 1986 to raise money for various charities. The plan was to sing for pleasure, and at the same time to raise money for charity, by performing peace-songs, madrigals, folksongs, other part-songs, and anything else we could manage. These are still our aims, though we have gradually extended our repertoire and our membership, and established links with MANA (Musicians Against Nuclear Arms) and with the international organisation Sing for Pleasure.
Our conductor is Gordon Willis, who conducts rehearsals and concerts, and sometimes joins us as a singer and tenor soloist (under a deputy conductor). He studied music at Dartington College of Arts and Southampton University, where his studies included piano, composition, and singing. He has composed extensively for theatre and church, and now also teaches piano, sight-reading for choral singers, musical composition and music theory.
