Belper Singers

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Belper Singers at Christ Church

Belper Singers is an experienced chamber choir of about thirty voices. We are based in Belper, Derbyshire, in the Derwent Valley Mills Heritage Site, and perform in Belper, in the surrounding villages and also further afield. Our current repertoire includes both sacred and secular works, mostly sung unaccompanied or with organ, but occasionally with a small orchestral ensemble.

Performing at Christ Church

Applications to join the choir are always welcome – see Thinking of joining us?

To find out more about the choir, or about our concerts, or about booking the choir for a wedding or event, please see below how to contact us.

Registered Charity Number: 1175985

Our Concerts

We usually perform three formal concerts a year in Spring, Summer and Autumn. We then have more ad hoc performances such as carol singing and singing as part of church services. You can read about our historic performances on the Concert History page, or take a look at the calendar for upcoming performances.

Next Performances

About the choir

Belper Singers is an experienced chamber choir of some thirty voices, most of whom live in or near Belper. Our current repertoire includes both sacred and secular works, mostly sung unaccompanied or with organ, but occasionally with a small instrumental ensemble.

The music is drawn from compositions from the 16th to 21st centuries. Recent programmes have included Vivaldi’s Gloria, Rutter’s Gloria, Morten Lauridsen’s ‘”Nocturnes”, Eric Whitacre’s  “Water Night” and “Cloudburst”, and Howard Goodall’s “Eternal Light”.

The choir performs regularly throughout the year in venues around Derbyshire, including churches, community centres, pubs and historic buildings such as Haddon Hall. We have sung Evensong in a number of cathedrals, including Derby, Lichfield, Beverley Minster, Birmingham, Coventry and Southwell Minster.

We work in collaboration with local churches and other organisations to promote our concerts in and around Belper, often as a fundraising event for the host.  We also perform at local fetes and festivals, we take part in informal events such as carol singing, and we are available for weddings – please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Listen to our music

 “My Soul there is a Country” by Parry
”Sleep” by Eric Whitacre
“Exsultate Deo” by Palestrina

Our Conductor

Paul Burke Portrait

Paul Burke is conductor of Belper Singers, and Director of Chapel Music at Lady Margaret Hall. A graduate of Worcester College, Oxford, and the Royal Academy of Music, he has worked with numerous choral societies and chamber choirs; his work with London Contemporary Voices involved several performances at the BBC Proms and Queen Elizabeth Hall, as well as collaborating with musicians ranging from Imogen Heap and Nitin Sawhney to U2 and Andrea Bocelli.

Active as a composer, Paul’s music has been recorded on the Naxos and Convivium labels, and performed in cathedrals and churches across the UK; highlights include premieres by Salisbury Cathedral Choir, the Choir of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Thinking of joining?

We are always keen to hear from singers who would like to join our very friendly group. An ability to sight read music is very helpful, but not essential. Opportunities arise each season for solo work within our programme for those who would like to develop this aspect of their talent.

Application forms for all prospective members can be obtained by emailing us (see Contact us). When a vacancy occurs, an applicant is invited to join the choir for two or three rehearsals, after which, if appropriate, there is a short informal audition.

Rehearsals

Weekly rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings from 7:45pm to 9:45pm, in the Congregational Church off Green Lane, Church Walk, Belper, DE56 1DB. There is a small car park at the church in addition to public car parks within a few minutes walking distance. The railway station is about ten minutes walk away, and buses run regularly nearby.

Rehearsals are normally held during school terms only. Members are expected to attend the majority of rehearsals for a particular performance.

Costs

Choir members pay an annual subscription, currently set at £165, but consideration will always be given to members who feel the subscription is beyond their means. This will be done in the strictest confidence. Music is usually provided free of charge.

Choir History

Choir at Christ Church Belper

In the mid 1960s a new course of “evening institute classes on choral singing” was advertised in the Belper News. The tutors were music staff from Ecclesbourne School, and the classes were held in the Herbert Strutt Grammar School, followed by refreshment at a local tavern. A keen and talented group became regular members, and after a few years this group stopped being a class and became a choir, Belper Singers.

Belper High School opened in the early 1970s, and its music staff provided conductors of the choir, now some twenty singers, five each of soprano, contralto, tenor and bass voices. The ability of those singers is demonstrated by the inclusion of Vaughan Williams’ Mass for two choirs in the repertoire, with soloists drawn from the members of the choir.

Rehearsals moved to various venues in the town, including rooms in the East Mill at one point. Amalgamation with another choral society took the membership up to about thirty. The conductor also changed as commitments and careers changed. In the mid 1980s one of the tenors singing with the choir offered to take on the conductor’s role, which had become vacant. This was Christopher Dixon, who served loyally and expertly as conductor until 2011. Several current members of Belper Singers have sung with the choir since Christopher became conductor.

Mitchell Holland was Musical Director of Belper Singers from May, 2012 to December, 2017, when appointments at St. John the Baptist, Berkeswell, Nether Stowe High School and Wolverhampton University made travelling to Belper too much. The choir was honoured to sing at Mitch’s wedding, the music including one of his own compositions.

From Spring, 2018 to July, 2019 Belper Singers enjoyed a wide variety of music with Olivia Shotton as musical director, culminating in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem and her own setting of three poems by Christina Rossetti. She was offered a place at The Royal Academy of Music to study for a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting, and moved to London in the autumn. 

In September, 2020 Tom Dobney became Musical Director, bringing us his extensive experience of leading vocal ensembles, latterly as Director of Music at Abbots Bromley School. After a brilliant Christmas concert, the coronavirus lockdown in March prevented our Spring concert or any further rehearsals taking place. Tom moved to Switzerland in August, 2020 to take up a teaching position.