Crispin Lewis, our conductor of Luton Choral Society got married to Emma on Saturday 05th October at St-Martins-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square. The lovely service included 2 movements from Bach's Magnificat sung by an excellent small choir with organ accompaniment by Crispin's father, Raymond Lewis, and 3 trumpeters. The whole service was stunning, and Emma and Crispin will start their life together with a day to remember. After their honeymoon, Crispin will be back at work with Luton Choral Society rehearsing our autumn concert of Rheinberger and Cherubini for our concert on 30th November 2024. |
Click on More Events above, to see the details of our Come and Sing Day in Polish, Romanian, and Hungarian |
Luton Choral Society likes to help the local community especially at Christmas time, and we were delighted to be able to perform a little carol service at the Capwell Grange Care Home on 13th December. We sang many popular carols over the course of a little under one hour, and these were warmly appreciated by the residents, some of whom enjoyed joining in with the ones they knew and remembered. |
The Hat Gardens was opened in May 2023 and provides a focus near the Mall for people to get together and for events to be performed. As part of Luton Council's Christmas at the Hat Gardens event on 09th December, Luton Choral Society sang a number of Christmas carols for the community to join in with, ending with We Wish You A Merry Christmas. |
We performed our autumn concert on Saturday 02nd December 2023 at St Augustine's church. It was a Christmas in Venice themed programme including 3 pieces by Monteverdi, and works by Palestrina, Marenzio, and Schütz in the first half, and then after mulled wine and hot drinks in the interval, the second half was Vivaldi's Magnificat. The church was cool, but the atmosphere was warm, and we were expertly accompanied by Sam Prouse on the organ continuo and 2 violinists. The excerpt below is from the Magnificat - Sicut Locutus Est, Movement 8 | |
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September 2023 marks the start of Luton Choral Society's 152nd season, and the programme of major concerts in the autumn of 2023 and spring and summer of 2024 is shown in the image above. Tickets are available on-line on this website for the autumn concert on 02nd December - Christmas in Venice. |
Luton Choral Society performed our summer concert on Saturday 01st July 2023 at St Augustine's church. The works were Chichester Psalms and Choral Suite from West Side Story both by Leonard Bernstein, which were hugely enjoyed by our audience, and the Coronation Gloria by Charles Stanford in commemoration of the recent coronation of King Charles. The photo shows the choir enjoying the afternoon rehearsal before the concert. |
Sir Graham Bright has been the President of Luton Choral Society since 1995, but has now decided to step down owing to poor health. We thank him very much for his support and help over the 28 years of his presidency. We are delighted that Kelvin Hopkins has accepted our invitation to be our next President. Kelvin has been a tremendous supporter of the Society for over 40 years, regularly attending our many concerts, and we look forward to his continued support and advice as our new President. |
Luton Choral Society gave a carol concert to the residents of Rosalyn Care Home on Thursday 15th December which was very well received. Some residents joined in the singing and applauded the carols which was uplifting and helped the Christmas spirit. |
Luton Choral Society performed Christmas carols at Keech Hospice on Sunday 04th December from 4pm as part of LCS's desire to provide community service music to Luton charities. As part of their Light Up a Life Service, we sang Panis Angelicus by C Franck, and the carol Ding Dong Merrily on High. Clare Burden from Keech Hospice said - "I just wanted to say a big thank you for last Sunday. You and the choir were amazing and sang beautifully. The feedback we received from people while they were waiting for the bus back was very positive, so thank you for your support and voices." |
Sara Kelby, chair of the society, said: “We have just celebrated our 150th season and both performed Haydn’s Creation which was the first piece ever performed by the choir in public in 1871 and also commissioned a celebratory work from Cecilia MacDowall. "We often perform in churches but in recent years have also sung in the Carnival Arts Centre, the Mall and outdoors in the town centre. We took part in the celebrations at the town hall for the lighting of the beacon to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. "We were not allowed to meet up during the pandemic but rehearsed weekly on zoom which meant we were unable to hear one another. We are very glad to be back rehearsing and making music together. “However in common with many other choirs our numbers have fallen since the pandemic and we are keen to recruit new members in every part but especially men!” The first term’s membership is free and there is no audition to join the choir. You do not need to be an experienced singer but do need to be able to sing in tune and blend with others. It is also useful to be able to read music but not essential as the conductor and other members of the choir can offer assistance. Said Sara: “Singing is good for your physical and mental health and being part of a community of singers who become friends is an enjoyable, relaxing and moving experience. Please contact Rosemary on 01582 579748 and look at our website www.lutonchoralsociety.org.uk to find out more information. We are waiting to hear from you.” | |
For more information, see: | https://www.lutonchoralsociety.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=visit |
Our programme for 2023 starts with rehearsals on Tuesday 10th January 2023 at 19:30, working on Hummel Mass in Bb and Fauré Requiem If you would like to come along, click here |