Christmas Voices 2024
The choir performed their Christmas concert on Wed 18th December at The Spire Church at 7:00pm. The audience enjoyed a range of Christmas music from carols to choral to popular music. The choir was very pleased to present a healthy retiring collection to their chosen charity which this year is the Stroke Early Supported Discharge Team (ESD) at Frimley Park Hospital
Summer Voices 2024
This concert was held on Saturday 6th July 2024 at 7:30pm in The Spire Church, South St, Farnham GU9 7QU and included a wide range of music including a medley of songs from Kiss Me Kate; popular music such as Field of Dreams and Bob Dylan recordings; and some religious pieces.
The choir was pleased to raise over £1,000 from a retiring collection for our chosen charity which this year is Cancer Testing South. This charity gives men a chance to take responsibility for their health by providing a simple pain-free blood test produces a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) reading which may indicate the presence of prostate disease. More details can be found on the website for Cancer Testing South
A booking for this simple test can be made at Book a PSA test
Visions of Dylan at The Farnham Maltings
Friday 19th to Sun 21st July
The choir were delighted to be asked to take part in the Community of Choirs event as part of the Visions of Dylan weekend (19th-21st July) held at The Farnham Maltings. A number of singing groups, including Voices Together, joined together to perform some of Dylan’s iconic songs.
Christmas Voices 2023
Our Concert was performed on Wed 13 December 2023 at 7:00pm in The Spire Church, South St, Farnham GU9 7QU
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM FARNHAM VOICES TOGETHER COMMUNITY CHOIR
“We singers make bold” sang the Farnham Voices Together Community Choir at their Christmas concert at The Spire Church last Wednesday “to celebrate Christmas and bring you good cheer”. And this they certainly did! In their first concert under new Music Director Laura Brown, the choir’s offerings included both the familiar and the less well-known with joyous songs from Africa and Christmas film favourites as well as A Celebration of Christmas - a set of carols in new arrangements by Karl Jenkins. The choir rose magnificently to this challenge, getting their tongues round the Latin in In Dulci Jubilo and singing the complex harmonies and rhythms with confidence. Their regular accompanist Alan Whiting was joined here by the accomplished young recorder player Rosemary Hill, who also played two solos, one of which was a set of her own variations on O Come All Ye Faithful.
The audience also had the opportunity to join in carols and the Hallelujah Chorus - an established choir favourite - when they stood, following the tradition allegedly started by George II.
The enjoyment of this exuberant Christmas celebration showed clearly in the smiles from the choir as they responded well to their new conductor, in the applause from the 150+ audience and in the £1000 raised for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in a retiring collection.
Farnham Voices Together Community Choir Christmas Concert at The Spire Church Farnham 13.12.2023 - photograph by Harvey Hunt
Summer Voices 2023
Our Concert was performed on Saturday 1st July 2023 at 7:00pm in The Spire Church, South St, Farnham GU9 7QU
The choir gave a very successful concert to a capacity audience of 171 under the masterly direction of Valerie Hoppe
The following is the Farnham Voices Together Community Choir Concert review for Farnham Herald
Conducting legend’s grand finale
There was standing room only in a packed Spire Church on Saturday 1st July when Farnham Voices Together Community Choir said farewell to their founder-director Valerie Hoppé, with a Summer Concert including a typically attractive blend of new songs and choir evergreens.
Not only was this Valerie’s swansong with the local community choir she started 13 years ago, but also marked the final concert in a remarkable career spanning more than 60 years conducting large choirs.
The evening started with sacred music by Cherubini and Mozart, followed by powerful renditions of two Verdi choruses. After a patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers sung by Keith Mortimer and the Choir’s tenors and basses, the first half concluded with a number of popular songs. The highlight here was undoubtedly a tender and lyrical performance of The Rose, arranged especially for Valerie Hoppé and this choir by Gwyn Arch. Obviously a choir favourite and one could hear why.
The second half consisted of a medley from Guys and Dolls, a classic musical combining convoluted plot and hugely memorable songs by Frank Loesser. If the tuning was not always spot-on, the choir more than made up for it with singing of great gusto and commitment.
This evident enthusiasm transmitted itself to the audience in such well-known numbers as Luck be a Lady, I’ve never been in love before and Sit down, you’re rocking the boat. Among the soloists too, Paula Smith and Allan Hilliar were particularly outstanding in transporting us so effectively to the seedy 1950s New York underworld.
Underpinning all this, the church’s supportive acoustic emphasised the choir’s nicely-integrated sound and appropriate dynamics and shading to excellent effect.
After the concert the retiring collection raised £1,000 to support SANDS, a charity which aims to help save babies lives and support bereaved families.
All in all, a fitting celebration of an extraordinary conducting career.
Voices Together resume rehearsals in September under their new Music Director, Laura Brown. For further details please visit www.farnhamvoicestogether.uk
Our Christmas Concert Christmas Voices 2023 will be on Wednesday 13 December.
If you missed our concert or would like a reminder click on the video below:
Christmas Voices 2022
Our Christmas Concert was held on 14th December in St Andrew's Church Farnham, Upper Church Lane in Farnham at 7.00pm.
Under our Musical Director Valerie Hoppé, Farnham Voices Together Community Choir gave a Christmas Concert and were delighted to welcome a capacity audience on a distinctly chilly evening. As usual, the choir’s wide variety of sacred and secular Christmas songs included both new and well-known offerings, finishing with a romp through the Twelve Days of Christmas in which the arranger Craig Courtney set each verse to a different musical genre. Wagnerian maids-a-milking anyone?
The audience had the opportunity to join in carols and the Hallelujah Chorus and also enjoyed readings - Luke’s account of the shepherds at Bethlehem complementing the first half and helpful seasonal health and safety advice to accompany Jingle Bells in the second. Alan Whiting also provided two solos, temporarily stepping away from his usual role as accompanist.
The retiring collection for the Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance raised £765 and audience members were wished a final Merry Christmas along with a mince pie as they left.
Thank you one and all!
If you missed us click here to see an example what you missed:
and for more pictures of the concert please go to our Gallery
Summer Voices 2022
Saturday 18th June 2022 at 7:00pm in The Spire Church, South St, Farnham GU9 7QU
The Summer Concert held on 18 June at the Spire Church Farnham proved to be a joyous occasion for both the capacity audience and choir members. The first half was a selection of songs from the choir’s repertoire over the past 12 years, interspersed with two solos from choir members Sean and June. Changing the formal uniform for ‘Technicolor T-shirts’ set the tone for the second half - a medley from Joseph - and a great time was had by all!
After cheers, laughter, applause and even a standing ovation, the audience’s appreciation was further reflected in the retiring collection for Ukraine which raised over £1000.
For more pictures of the concert please go to our Gallery
Platinum Jubilee Concert 2022
Thursday 2nd June at Farnham Castle
The choir was delighted and honoured to be invited by Farnham Town Council to help celebrate the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June. Farnham Voices Together Community Choir joined with many other choirs throughout the UK and the Commonwealth to sing a newly written song for Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Despite being a chilly evening the choir sang with joy two pieces one at the reception and later ‘A Life filled with Grace’ - the specially commissioned song for the Jubilee - as beacons were lit across the UK in celebration of this extraordinary moment in our history.
See two videos of the event kindly recorded and supplied to us by ‘Robyn Antill, Australian friend of Voices Together Community Choir Farnham
Jubilee Reception Jubilee Song
Jubilee Concert update
We have received a certificate commemorating our participation in the Jubilee concert
Christmas Concert 2021
Held on Wed 15th December 2021 at 7:00pm in St Andrews Church Farnham
After a gap of two years, it was wonderful to hold our Christmas concert - with an audience! - at St Andrew’s.
Having resumed rehearsals in September 2021 after 18 months’ silence, it was really exciting to give an hour’s concert of seasonal songs and readings as well as three audience carols. The 45 choir members were delighted to have such an appreciative capacity audience, including the Farnham Town Mayor, Cllr Alan Earwaker.
It was a great way to end our first term back and begin the Christmas celebrations.