About us
Concert in Romsey Abbey, Easter 2017
We have at least three concerts a year. Christmas and Easter concerts take place in the wonderful setting of Romsey Abbey, where the 12th century building offers a unique atmosphere and a fine acoustic for our wide-ranging programmes of sacred music. Although we concentrate on a sometimes demanding repertoire of unaccompanied singing, we are joined from time to time by orchestral ensembles and instrumentalists, as well as professional soloists. We have also joined forces with other choirs, including Romsey Choral Society, the St John Singers and Romsey Abbey Choir, for larger scale pieces. Our very popular Christmas concert always includes carols for choir and audience.
The summer concert, often with a selection of secular music, aims to amuse and entertain audiences who can also enjoy a picnic. We have held these concerts in a number of lovely venues, including the ancient barns at Michelmersh in 2010. In 2011, 2014 and 2017 we took part in the triennial Romsey Festival, in 2012 visited the Royal Victoria Country Park on Southampton Water and in 2013 sang in Old Alresford Place, a former Georgian rectory. In 2015 we visited Mottisfont Abbey with its famous garden of old roses. At the 2016 concert in the Abbey URC we said farewell to Ian Wicks, our conductor for the last fourteen years.
Every year in October we have a weekend away and sing services in a cathedral or abbey church. In 2011 we travelled to the Champagne region of France to sing in Epernay, 2012 Worcester Cathedral, 2013 Southwell Minster, 2014 the Abruzzo region of Italy (May) and Gloucester Cathedral, 2015 Coventry Cathedral. In 2016 we visited Bristol Cathedral when Philip Lawson made his debut as our conductor and in 2017 we welcomed to Romsey the Paderborn Motettenchor and Collegium Cantorum Holzminden from north-west Germany: we make a return visit in 2018.
The main performances over the last few years are listed on our Archive page.
The summer concert, often with a selection of secular music, aims to amuse and entertain audiences who can also enjoy a picnic. We have held these concerts in a number of lovely venues, including the ancient barns at Michelmersh in 2010. In 2011, 2014 and 2017 we took part in the triennial Romsey Festival, in 2012 visited the Royal Victoria Country Park on Southampton Water and in 2013 sang in Old Alresford Place, a former Georgian rectory. In 2015 we visited Mottisfont Abbey with its famous garden of old roses. At the 2016 concert in the Abbey URC we said farewell to Ian Wicks, our conductor for the last fourteen years.
Every year in October we have a weekend away and sing services in a cathedral or abbey church. In 2011 we travelled to the Champagne region of France to sing in Epernay, 2012 Worcester Cathedral, 2013 Southwell Minster, 2014 the Abruzzo region of Italy (May) and Gloucester Cathedral, 2015 Coventry Cathedral. In 2016 we visited Bristol Cathedral when Philip Lawson made his debut as our conductor and in 2017 we welcomed to Romsey the Paderborn Motettenchor and Collegium Cantorum Holzminden from north-west Germany: we make a return visit in 2018.
The main performances over the last few years are listed on our Archive page.
Rehearsal in Romsey Abbey