We’re a friendly crowd – although we are a crowd. We rehearse at least once a week for roughly ten months of the year and with around 200 members we can produce a mighty sound.
We encourage and help members to be the best singers they can be, both technically and vocally. We work with professional musicians and soloists, running workshops and choral training weekends so that people can polish their sight reading, learn new vocal techniques and spend time doing the thing they love – singing.
We have an enviable reputation for the quality of our performances and we exist to give local people a chance to sing with talented professionals and perform some of the most glorious choral music ever written.
But it’s not all work!
Every two years we tour overseas. Previous tours have included Leiden, Seville and Cordoba, Naples and Sorrento, Lisbon, Munich and Salzburg. In 2011 we were honoured to sing the Mass at the beatification of Pope John Paul ll in St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest.
Every year we have the opportunity to join with other choirs and sing in some of central London’s major concert venues; including Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican.
We have an end of season wrap party before we break for the summer.
Our private Members’ page gives members the opportunity to exchange messages with each other, get information about rehearsals, other concerts, find useful rehearsal aids and even suggest choral pieces for future programmes. A weekly newsletter keeps you up to date with choir matters and ad hoc ‘noticeboard’ is sent around to let you know about other concerts and singing opportunities as and when they arise.
A choir our size takes a lot of organising, all of which is undertaken voluntarily so we expect all our members to get involved. Whether you have a talent for handling the public, talking to music journalists or persuading local businesses to advertise in our programmes, or even shifting chairs or baking cakes for our rehearsals, you’ll find a warm welcome at HCS!
Want to find out more? Have a look at how you join us