A New Chapter

We did it! After two years of hard work, this amazing choir put on an absolutely fantastic concert at Saint George’s in Bristol this July. I want to take a moment to reflect on the growth and development of both the choir, my own career, and the two years that have passed.

At our last concert in 2023, we had 27 singers perform with Evergreen Chorus, and at that time, I was also conducting The Blackwell & Nailsea Ladies Choir, and The Saint Andrew’s Children’s Choir. I brought all three choirs together for that concert, which meant a total of 60 singers, 3 pianists, and one percussionist. Each choir sang their own sets of music, and we had a few joint songs as well. A highlight, was our finale. All performers on stage singing ‘When I Grow Up’ from Matilda featuring children’s solos and duets.

After 2023’s ’Songs of Flight’, the feedback from our performers was ‘when can we do that AGAIN?!’. I decided 2025. The target was set. Over the next 2 years, I began to navigate an incredibly complex time in my own life, as my family made the decision to sell our home in North Somerset, and relocate to Crickhowell, Wales. A dream many years in the making was finally realised. In order to move, decisions had to be made. Sadly, I was no longer able to conduct The Backwell & Nailsea Ladies Choir, nor The Saint Andrew’s Children’s Choir. Transitions and goodbyes are always hard, however I do know that both choirs are still singing and enjoying their new conductors. I learnt a lot from leading these choirs and am grateful for the years we spent together. Now, I travel to North Somerset on Mondays. I still conduct The Hawthorn’s Choir in Clevedon on Monday mornings, and teach music at Wrington Primary School in the afternoons.

Whilst navigating this complex move (ever wonder why I chose the theme ‘Songs of Home’ for our concert? It was clearly on my mind!), I also took on another challenge – this time a professional one. I started my MA in Voice Pedagogy with The Voice Study Centre in 2023. This is a 3 year, part time Masters. It’s built around practice-based research, and prepares its students for working in the field of research, academic publishing, and PhD programmes. No small challenge! Discussing my MA deserves a post unto itself, as it has been transformative to my career. It certainly has helped me identify where I want to take Evergreen Chorus going forward, and has provided me with the education required to achieve my goals. I have one year left of studies, and anticipate graduating in Autumn 2026.

Before getting two far ahead, it’s important to acknowledge how Evergreen Chorus has grown in the past two years. What was 27 performers meeting in Wrington on Monday evenings, is now a total of 60 performers spread between two Chapters. Our original chapter, based in Wrington, currently has 48 members! Our new chapter in Crickhowell has 12 – not bad for only forming this choir a few months ago in a landscape of many established choirs in the area.

One of the highlights for me, of Saint George’s 2025, was featuring singers from the Crickhowell Chapter in a small group performance of ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’. With George on lead vocals, and Jenny and Amy providing back-up harmonies and the often underrated role of moral support! Despite a couple false starts, I did thoroughly enjoy stepping into the role of accompanist for this piece. I spend a lot of my working week accompanying singers at the piano, but had never accompanied in a large scale performance. Working with our drummer, Fraser McAllister, and this small group was an absolute joy.

So what’s next? September will bring new choir members. This is always such an exciting time, as many people choose to join choirs at the start of academic years. We will be starting lots of new music, as well as bringing back some old favourites, all in preparation for performing at Christmas. Details on Christmas performances are still being organised. Then, it’s looking forward to 2026. It will be our 5 year anniversary in May 2026… perhaps a special concert will be in order?

I aim to develop this website, with additional features that will help our choir grow and learn. I am in the process of developing workshops and masterclass opportunities that will be available to both Evergreen Chorus members, and the general public. I am also looking at how I can provide educational opportunities online, especially for Choral Conductors. I would like ensure the next generation of Choral Conductors can benefit from my experience and practice-based research.

To recap on two years of Evergreen Chorus growth and development, I would like to add it would be an impossible task without our fantastic accompanist, Tori Thomas. How lucky are we to have such a talented and dedicated piano player with us at rehearsals and performances. This really elevates our rehearsals, and allows me to focus more deeply on technique and pedagogy. I hope to hire an equally talented accompanist for our Crickhowell chapter in 2026. We just need a few more voices to join us this September and we will be ready for the next stage of growth and development.

So to recap. In two years, we have doubled in size, put on two Christmas concerts, sung at a food festival, and performed in one Gala concert. We have set up a new choir chapter, and launched a website! I can’t wait to see what new adventures await our choir as we look forward to 2026, 2027, and beyond!