BEVERLEY CHAMBER CHOIR TO CELEBRATE 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH CONCERT THIS SATURDAY

Final rehearsals are taking place as the Beverley Chamber Choir prepares to mark its 25th anniversary with a concert in St Mary’s Church.

The performance of Faure’s Requiem on Saturday 16th November comes around a quarter of a century since Alan Binnington founded the choir after spotting an opportunity for a choir in the East Riding that could perform small scale choral works to a high standard.

And so was born the Beverley Chamber Choir, who officially performed together for the first time in September 1999, with a membership of around 35 singers.

Twenty-five years on, the number of singers remains almost the same, with the choir currently under the direction of Jeffrey Makinson, who makes the journey over the Humber Bridge from Lincoln, where he is the organist and assistant director of music at the city’s cathedral, every Tuesday evening.

Currently, the choir generally performs four concerts every year – Good Friday, one in June and another in November before ending the year with a Christmas carol concert.

Next year’s Good Friday performance, on 18th April, will see the choir present a special performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, with a large audience expected in St Mary’s, where all the choir’s events usually take place.

Kevin Ormond, a founder member, told Beverley Life that the choir has sold approximately 16,500 tickets to almost 100 performances it has put on over the last 25 years.

And the choir remains as strong as ever, with members eagerly arriving to practice their latest piece every Tuesday evening.

“We were formed as a charity on 1st September 1999,” said Kevin. “We were around slightly before then, but not officially as Beverley Chamber Choir.

“Our first concert was Easter 1999, but we were officially born in the September. We were formed primarily to bring a different type of music and singing to the area.

“We are a smallish chamber choir and all members are auditioned, as has been the case from the beginning.

“Over the 25 years, we have performed on 103 occasions, of which 96 have been on our own, and the others with other local groups, such as the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra in Hull City Hall, and the East Riding County Choir. We’ve also visited six cathedrals to perform.

“The choir was formed by Alan Binnington who was also the organist and director of music at St Mary’s Church.

“For a number of years, Alan had wanted to form a smaller choir who were capable of performing different performances in different places.

“The choir membership has tended to be around 35 people, so we are a relatively small group. We have had three music directors, Alan, until 2010, Mark Pybus, who was the head of music at Hymers, and latterly, Jeffrey Makinson, the organist and assistant director of music at Lincoln Cathedral.

“Our concerts tend to run in a cycle – Good Friday, June, a mid-November concert and carol concerts at Christmas.

“In terms of the number of people who have been to our concerts over the 25 years, we have sold around 16,500 tickets.

“We’re still very vibrant and still get good audiences for our four yearly concerts. We are currently making final preparations for our November concert before Christmas and a big event on Good Friday.

“The November concert will include the Faure: Requiem, which as far as choral music is concerned, is a very popular piece.

“In fact, we have performed it on five occasions already and every time we do so, people love it. That’s the reason why we have picked it for this year, as it harks back to where we were 25 years ago.

“Both Peter Hunt (secretary) and I were involved with that, although a few years younger, and 25 years later we are still going strong.

“After the November concert, we have a carol concert on 13th December, which is always extremely popular.

“Then on Good Friday, which is a late one in 2025, we are performing JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
Peter Hunt, secretary of the choir, added: “The St Matthew Passion is one of the huge pieces of choral music.

“In fact, many people believe it is one of the finest pieces of music ever written. It’s incredibly profound and it’s always special to sing it on Good Friday.

“It’s a big piece and lasts around two and a half hours. It involves 14 players in an orchestra and five soloists, so it takes a lot of effort to put on.

“But we always look forward to our Good Friday concert.

A chamber choir is defined as a small or medium sized choir, who usually sing classical or religious music in a concert setting.

Kevin explained that at the time the choir was formed by Alan Binnington, no other group in the East Riding was doing anything similar.

From its early beginnings, the Beverley Chamber Choir has gone from strength to strength, with members sharing some special moments together over the years.

And it’s hoped there will be plenty more to come over the next 25 years and beyond.

“Currently, we have 32 members, who are mostly local, although some do travel from York,” said Kevin.
“One of the reasons the choir was set up was to give people opportunities to educate the public about chamber music, as well as give musicians in the area the chance to widen their knowledge and skills.

“That still stands to this day and when people come along to practice on a Tuesday night, they develop their skills.

“Over the years, we have delivered some hard pieces but one of the highlights has been Bach’s Mass in B minor.

“We performed that as part of a Bach Festival in 2013 and again in 2015. Our Christmas carol concert took us by surprise one year when it was the first, and only time, I had to put the sold-out sign on our posters.

“But every concert is special in its own right. From our perspective, it’s been special to go and sing in places such as York Minster and Lincoln Cathedral.

“It’s an opportunity for the group to do something special together. Singing with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra was also a highlight, as we were performing pieces with Anthony Hedges, which had been specially written to mark the anniversary of the abolition of slavery.

“It’s fantastic that we can attract someone like Jeffrey to be our music director. He travels all the way over from Lincoln every Tuesday to spend a couple of hours with us.

“We were one of the first to take a small-scale Messiah to Beverley Minster at a time when everyone was used to the big choirs performing them.

“And in 25 years, things have changed, so a lot of other choirs are doing many of the things we were when we first started.

“Twenty-five years ago, Alan Binnington had quite a foresight, and who knows where the next 25 years will take us.

“We’re grateful for St Mary’s Church, who are supportive of the choir, and we are very much welcomed.”

Beverley Chamber Choir’s concert, which includes a performance of Faure’s Requiem takes place on Saturday 16th November in St Mary’s Church in Beverley from 7:30pm to 9:15pm.

Tickets are priced £17.50 (reserved) and £15 (unreserved). These are available from Beverley Tourist Information, by calling 01482 391672 or at www.beverleychamberchoir

Tickets will also be available on the door from 7pm on the evening of the concert.

Other concert dates are:

Friday 13th December 7:30pm Christmas Carol Concert

Friday 18th April 2025 Bach: St Matthew Passion

Saturday 28th June 2025 Summer Concert

Saturday 15th November 2025 Autumn Concert

Friday 12th December 2025 Christmas Carol Concert