Would you like to sing with us?
We have just finished our 2018/19 season with a fun (and linguistically challenging!) concert of jazz, swing and latin songs.
Over the summer break we are looking for new members – particularly tenors and basses. We will restart rehearsals in September for a weekend residency at Durham Cathedral and our Autumn concert of Duruflé, Bruckner, Ravel and more in November.
Looking ahead to our Summer Soirée
We have just shared a wonderful day with the talented composer and conductor Bob Chilcott and were delighted that so many local singers could join us – not least to help devour the legendary Lea Singers cake mountain!
The Leas are now working on some toe-tapping songs for our Summer Soirée – Latin, Swing and some funky a cappella numbers – to be served with fizz and canapés in the magnificent setting of Academy St Albans near London Colney. Saturday 15th June is the date.
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Bob Chilcott is coming to Harpenden
We all enjoyed our recent concert in St. Nicholas’ Church, Harpenden where we performed Bach’s Magnificat and A Time to Dance by Alec Roth. We were delighted that Alec Roth was able to come to hear the performance and both he and the rest of the audience had an enjoyable evening.
Next, on 6th April, the Lea Singers are excited to welcome Bob Chilcott to St. George’s School, Harpenden for a day singing his music. This is open to everyone aged 10 to 80+ with no sight-singing experience required. Do come along… there’ll be cake too!
We are also starting work on our summer concert which will be a selection of Latin, a cappella and Swing music for choir with fizz and canapés at Academy St Albans on Saturday 15th June. Details
We currently have vacancies for Tenors and Basses, so get in touch if you would like to audition.
Into 2019…
We rounded off 2018 with another successful Christmas Concert, and were delighted to raise £517 for The Samaritans by raffling our famous Lea Singers Hampers.
We are now looking forward to our Spring concert of Bach’s wonderful Magnificat with Alec Roth’s specially written companion piece, A Time to Dance. This will be on 16 March in St. Nicholas Church, Harpenden.
Only three weeks later on 6 April, we are delighted to welcome Bob Chilcott, the talented choral conductor and composer, to Harpenden for a day’s singing workshop.
We currently have vacancies for Tenors and Basses, so get in touch if you would like to audition.
We crossed the Bridge of Hope…
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Across The Bridge of Hope in St Albans Cathedral on 10 November. It was a really special evening. Tori’s programme, charting the world’s conflicts from Agincourt to the present day, was truly moving. It was lovely to hear two of our interns – Katie Sutton (Jan Sandström, Across the Bridge of Hope) and Phoebe Wakefield (Ēriks Ešenvalds, Only in Sleep) – sing stunning solos, and to have Sheena Phillips, the composer of Song of Sorrows, with us in the audience. Our audience loved the premiere of Peter Foggitt’s The Permanence of the Young Men.
If you missed it but would like to find out what all the fuss was about, Tori is reprising the concert with pro singers at St Matthew’s Church, 20 Great Peter St, Westminster, London SW1P 2BU on Friday 23 November at 19:30 – with guest appearances from the Leas. Do join us!
Choir’s out for summer…
We finished our season with Morning Service at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, singing Byrd, Mozart and Howells in magnificent surroundings. Looking back, it’s been a momentous first year under Tori’s leadership, starting with Bernstein, Duruflé and Panufnik and ending with the profound silliness of The Birds and The Bees. The chaps’ The Animals Are Coming, Barry and Mike’s Hippopotamus Song, George’s Poisoning Pigeons in the Park and Penny’s Ugly Duckling were particularly memorable.
We went through our bi-annual voice tests at the end of term and are delighted to have several new members joining us in the Autumn. We are still on the lookout for a couple of low basses, and will be interested to hear from potential interns over the summer. Other voice parts are welcome to contact us too – we maintain an active deputies’ list and are always pleased to hear from new singers.
Next year’s programme looks great, with a Remembrance-themed concert in St Albans Cathedral on Saturday 10 November and the Bach Magnificat to look forward to in the Spring. Have fun in the sun everyone!