Winter is a busy time for the members of Cleeve Chorale who have two of their biggest performances taking place in the upcoming few weeks.

On Saturday 17th November the acclaimed choir will be performing a remembrance concert at St Michael and All Angel’s Church in Bishop’s Cleeve. Their annual Christmas Concert takes place a couple of weeks later, on Saturday 8th December at the same venue and hopes are high that the choir will end 2018 with a couple of memorable performances. “This is the time of year we all look forward to, every single one of us in the choir is relishing the opportunity to perform,” said Catherine Newbury, who has been singing in Cleeve Chorale for over two decades.

For the remembrance concert the choir will be singing a range of songs, from nineteenth century compositions right through to modern day songs.

Catherine continued: “It’s a very diverse programme. We’ve got songs from Johannes Brahms, including his German Requiem which we’re going to be singing in German. We’re also doing a piece of music called ‘For Remembrance’ by British Composer Paul Drayton.

“We started rehearsals for our remembrance concert at the beginning of September. There’s a lot of work that goes into every performance, each rehearsal session is two hours.

“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. We’ve welcomed seven new members into the choir since September which is most satisfying.”

Once their remembrance concert is over Cleeve Chorale will be back rehearsing for their Christmas Concert, a performance Catherine says is always one of the most memorable in their performing calendar.

She added: “Our performance on 8th December will be fantastic, it’s a real feel good concert. This year we’ll be joined by children from Bishop’s Cleeve Primary Academy which is very exciting. The concert is very much a family celebration of Christmas with all the familiar Christmas carols being sung. There will be an opportunity for audience members to join in with the singing while enjoying some mulled wine and mince pies.”