In this section you will find reports on our concerts, singing days, social events and other aspects of Barnby life in the past few years.
May 2017
Spring and summer concerts 2017
We were very pleased to welcome a large and appreciative audience to St Michael’s Church, Bramhall on Saturday 11 March for our spring concert.
February 2017
Outstanding Singing Day
Our Singing Day on Saturday 11 February 2017 was the most successful yet, attracting more than 70 singers from across the region. Once again, the day was led by Keith Orrell, Musical Director of the William Byrd Singers and the Liverpool Welsh Choral Union, who guided us expertly through three of Rachmaninov’s wonderful Vespers – including tutoring us in the pronunciation of Old Church Slavonic! – and introduced us, by special request, to one of his own compositions, Exsultet, a joyful work based on some of the original plainsong melodies and infused with uplifting rhythms and melodies.
January 2017
Christmas season 2016
A very busy Christmas season for the Choir began on Saturday 3 December, with many members participating in our annual visit to Nether Alderley Church in support of their Christmas Fair.
July 2016
Open garden success
As part of the Choir’s fund-raising efforts, David and Pauline Neild opened their garden to the public on the afternoon of Sunday 5 June. The garden is very attractive, with a wide variety of mature trees, shrubs and perennials.
April 2016
Spring concert
We were delighted to welcome a capacity audience to our Mozart concert on 5 March 2016 at Bramhall Parish Church.
February 2016
Singing day 2016
We were delighted to welcome over 60 singers to our 2016 Singing Day, on Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, on Saturday 6 February.
January 2016
Christmas activities 2015
Once again, Christmas for The Barnby Choir began with the singing of carols in Nether Alderley Church on the first Saturday morning in December.
December 2015
Vocal training evening
In October we gave over one of our regular Tuesday rehearsals to a vocal training evening led by the experienced singer and voice coach Maggie McDonald, who coaches the Hallé Choir.
October 2015
New season now under way
The 2015-16 Season got off to an enthusiastic start on Tuesday 8 September. We were delighted to welcome several new members and would still be pleased to hear from singers in all sections who would be interested in joining us.
July 2015
Piano recital rounds off season in style
We were delighted to attract a large and enthusiastic audience for our closing event of the season, a piano recital by our conductor Lloyd Buck, partnered by Stephenie Leung, on the afternoon of Saturday, 20 June at St Bartholomew’s Church, Wilmslow.
May 2015
Former members
Two distinguished former members of The Barnby Choir, Elisabeth Hessey and Stanley Kirkham, passed away in April. Here we pay tribute to them.
March 2015
Singing Day success
We are delighted to report that our Singing Day on Saturday 7 February 2015 attracted 66 singers made up equally from Choir members and visitors. Our Singing Days provide an opportunity to sing music which is not normally included in our concert repertoire, and this year everyone enjoyed a very stimulating day under the expert direction of Keith Orrell, learning some of the 40 or so motets composed by Anton Bruckner.