Chichester’s St Richard Singers return

A Song Shall Rise will see Chichester’s St Richard Singers return to the concert platform on Monday, December 6 at 7.30pm at St Peter’s in Westhampnett.
St Richard SingersSt Richard Singers
St Richard Singers

Singers chairman Kirsten Scott said: “St Richard Singers are giving their first performance since Christmas 2019, and it will be an offering this Christmas time with a difference.

“Like for all amateur choirs the inability to meet face-to-face for 15 months has been hugely challenging. We have done some online singing projects, among them Christmas Carols and a Virtual Come & Sing at Easter. However, these were no substitute for the real thing, and so we organised our first live rehearsals as soon as the singing ban was lifted.

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“Our usual venue proved too small for socially distanced singing, and so we held outdoor rehearsals in the paddock at St Peter’s Church in Westhampnett. We were inspired by this great Cathedral of the Outdoors where the poor acoustics were more than compensated for by the peaceful backdrop of open skies, trees, bird song and sunsets.

“We even shared this rehearsal space with grass snakes, bats and barking dogs. On occasion we were quite literally singing in the rain and had to quickly rescue the keyboard into the church porch, but our spirits remained undampened.

“The music we will be presenting is an unusual collection of old and new, known and lesser-known, mournful and celebratory pieces. With it we wish to remember the past year, who and what we have lost, but also give thanks for what we have found. Above all we want to celebrate music and community and say a huge thank you to the people of St Peter’s for providing us with singing space.”

Entry is free with retiring collection to be split evenly between St. Peter’s Church and St Richard Singers.