June is an important month for members of the Cleeve Chorale choir. Every year the long-standing vocal group perform a summer concert, and this time round songs from some of the most well-known musicals are to be performed by the Bishop’s Cleeve-based vocal group.

Catherine Newbury, Chairman of the choir, says the final few practice sessions will give members of Cleeve Chorale the opportunity to finely tune their vocal chords ahead of the concert on June 30th. “The countdown to our summer concert is well and truly on and we’re all really looking forward to what is always one of the highlights of the year,” said Catherine. “We’re going to be joined on stage by students from Grangefield School which is going to be a real delight. We want to create a fun atmosphere, it’ll be a very informal event, one for all the family to enjoy,” she added.

The choir will be singing songs from some of the most well-known musicals on June 30th, and, as Catherine explains, will be a different vocal challenge to their previous concert. Said Catherine: “Heather Parker joined us 18 months ago as our Musical Director, she’s been a great addition to the team. Heather is very keen for us to do a mixture of performances, so to sing more up-tempo songs from musicals will be a real thrill. We’ve been practising every week since our last performance, so it’s all systems go now for our concert later this month.

“We’ll be performing songs from ‘My Fair Lady’, ‘Oliver’ and ‘West Side Story’. We’ll also be joined by children from Grangefield School in Bishop’s Cleeve, they will be accompanying us on the songs from ‘Oliver’ and will be performing on their own, singing songs from ‘Matilda’. We want people to come and have fun, there will be tables with refreshments on, so it’ll be very informal and relaxed. We’re all going to dress in bright, summer clothes, it’s going to be a real celebration.”

Catherine, who has sung with the choir for two decades, is a big believer in the positive aspects of singing. She said: “Being part of a choir is great, not just because of all the times you get to perform, but also the friends you make along the way. We’re a very welcoming choir and are always looking to accept new members. We’re so lucky to have a wide range of ages represented, we’ve got students right up to people in their nineties. At weekly rehearsals we always have a 15-minute break in the middle where we can all get together and have a catch-up. We also try and organise regular social events to inject a bit of fun into proceedings.”

Once the curtain is drawn on their summer concert, the choir will be straight back to practising for their next performance in November. Catherine continued: “We’ll be commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War in our remembrance concert on 17th November at St Michael & All Angels Church in Bishop’s Cleeve. And then our attention will turn to our Christmas concert back at the same church in December which is always one of the best concerts of the year. It’s great to have so many concerts to look forward to, it can be a challenge but it’s one we all embrace.”