The Story of...
Congresbury Singers
The ‘Congresbury Theatre and Arts Group’ formed in 1971 and split into five sections in 1972: drama, choral, music appreciation, art and folk.
The Group dissolved in 1976, leading to the formation of two separate groups: ‘The New Congresbury Singers’ and ‘Congresbury Drama Group’.
The formative meeting of Congresbury Singers was on 7 September 1976.
Congresbury Singers from the 1970's
The 1970s
In the early years, Congresbury Singers and the Drama Group often collaborated. The Singers also started to perform their own concerts.
21 December 1976: ‘Love is born’
12-14 January 1977: ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, with the Drama Group
22 April 1977: ‘From Tartan to Denim’, with Yatton Consort
9 June 1977: ‘A Garland for the Queen’, part of the week-long village celebration for the Silver Jubilee
24 February 1978: ‘Trial by Jury’
24 June 1978: ‘Captain Noah and his floating zoo’
2 December 1978: Fauré's ‘Requiem’
27-28 April 1979: ‘Welcome Spring’
December 1979: ‘Sing Noel’
click/swipe to see the Programme covers
Ode to the Congresbury Singers (1979)
‘Tis every Tuesday evening
That they troup into The Plough
They’ve all been singing lustily
And all are thirsty now
The ‘Congresbury Singers’ they are called
And they practice once a week
With David their choir master
For perfection he does seek
He works them hard each Tuesday
Basses, tenors, altos and sops
He never stops till he is sure
Their concerts will not be flops
Then at The Plough they all will meet
At about 10 o’clock at night
And there they drink and some will eat
But nobody gets tight (well not many)
Then just as closing time draws near
Jack will always be found
Clutching a tin of mintoes
Which he hands out all around
They used to meet some friends there
To have a laugh and chat
But they’ve gone off to Hong Kong
To live in a government flat
And those same friends across the seas
Say ‘think of us sometimes’
Especially at Christmas time
And when the New Year chimes
The 1980s
During the 1980s, the Singers continued to provide chorus support to the Drama Group, as well as performing the following concerts:
31 May 1980: ‘Summer Sunday’
11 July 1980: ‘News from Newtown’
21 December 1980: ‘Sing Christmas’
29 November 1981: Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’
21 May 1983: ‘Second time around’
10 December 1983: ‘In praise of music’
2 June 1984: Gilbert and Sullivan ‘Princess Ida’
22 December 1984: ‘Carols at Christmas’
23 November 1985: Come and Sing Handel’s ‘Messiah’
7 December 1985: ‘Faure & Handel’
10 July 1987: ‘Summer Sunday’ & ‘Trial by jury’
4 February 1989: ‘500 years of English song’
27 April 1989: Spring concert
click/swipe to see the Programme covers
The 1990s
27 October 1990: ‘Mary Walter Memorial Concert’
19 December 1990: ‘Carols and all that’
13 July 1991: ‘Supper and song’
21 December 1991: ‘Carols and Christmas music’
18 December 1992: ‘Carols and Christmas music’
3 April 1993: Bach’s ‘St Matthew Passion’
20 July 1993: ‘Summer Promenade Concert’, with St Andrew’s School
1 April 1994: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’
16 July 1994: Gilbert and Sullivan ‘HMS Pinafore’
8 April 1995: Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’ & Schubert’s ‘Mass in G’
16 May 1997: Gilbert and Sullivan evening
19 December 1997: Carol concert
23 March 1998: Stanford’s ‘Songs of the fleet’ & Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’
18 November 1999: ‘Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast’ & ‘Bavarian Highlands’
14 December 1999: Carols and readings
2000 - 2005
15 April 2000: ‘Century of Song’
11 November 2000: ‘Anthems for Armistice’
12 December 2000: Carol concert
7 April 2001: ‘A Viennese evening’
9 June 2001: Congresbury Music and Arts Festival
17 November 2001: Handel’s Coronation Anthems, with Hertford College
23 November 2001: Handel’s Coronation Anthems, at Hertford College
18 December 2001: Christmas concert
13 April 2002: ‘A Soirée with Sullivan’
17 December 2002: ‘A celebration of Christmas’
20 March 2003: ‘Trial by jury’, and English & American part-songs
12 June 2003: ‘A celebration of British song’
15 November 2003: ‘A concert of anthems from ancient to modern’
13 December 2003: Christmas concert
22 June 2004: ‘Music for Midsummer’
13 November 2004: ‘All at Sea’
14 December 2004: ‘Christmas concert of carols and readings’
8 March 2005: ‘Olivet to Calvary’, at Hertford College
19 March 2005: ‘Olivet to Calvary’
25 March 2005: ‘Olivet to Calvary’, with Hertford College & Holy Trinity
12 November 2005: ‘On with the Dance’
13 December 2005: ‘A Christmas celebration’
Collaboration with
Hertford College, Oxford University
2001 - 2005
The Musical Director at the time, Andrew Sheppy was a regular singer at Hertford College in Oxford. Some of the students enjoyed visits ‘to the country’ to join the Congresbury Singers in a concert. In 2002 The Singers were invited to Oxford to join them singing in the University Church of St Mary.
The Oxford Singers came to Congresbury to sing Olivent to Calvery and some of the singers then went to Oxford to repeat the performance.
2006 - 2009
11 April 2006: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’, at St. John’s, W-S-M
9 May 2006: 30th anniversary concert
9 December 2006: Christmas concert
31 March 2007: Excerpts from ‘Brigadoon’ and ‘White Horse Inn’
8 December 2007: Christmas concert, with excerpts from Handel’s ‘Messiah’
17 May 2008: ‘An evening of Gilbert and Sullivan’
6 December 2008: Christmas concert
9 May 2009: ‘Songs for Springtime’
14 November 2009: ‘A celebration of Handel’s 250th anniversary’
19 December 2009: ‘Annual concert of readings and carols’
2010 - 2016
6 March 2010: ‘A concert of music for Lent and Passiontide’
22 May 2010: ‘Favourite Operatic Choruses’, with Liz Glen
13 November 2010: ‘Ragtime to Summertime’
14 December 2010: Christmas concert
24 December 2010: ‘Congresbury Singers at Cadbury House’
17 April 2011: ‘Music and readings for Easter’
11 June 2011: ’An evening of Gilbert and Sullivan’
24 September 2011: ’An evening of Gilbert and Sullivan’ at Banwell
26 November 2011: ‘An evening of music from English shows’
20 December 2011: ‘Annual concert of carols and readings’
24 December 2011: ‘Congresbury Singers at Cadbury House’
25 March 2012: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’
14 April 2012: ‘Songs for all seasons’, for Yatton Music Society
4 June 2012: ‘Last night of the proms’, part of the village celebration for the Diamond Jubilee
10 November 2012: ‘The music of Rodgers and Hammerstein’
18 December 2012: ‘A concert of carols and readings’
16 March 2013: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’ at Winscombe
17 March 2013: ‘Music and readings for Passion Sunday’
8 June 2013: ‘An evening of French music’
28 September 2013: ‘September Song’, for Yatton Music Society
9 November 2013: ‘A concert of Viennese music’
17 December 2013: ‘Annual concert of carols and readings’
30 March 2014: ‘Favourite music from oratorios’
5 April 2014: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’ at Chelvey
21 June 2014: ‘Folk songs of the British Isles’
8 November 2014: ‘A lark over the trenches’
16 December 2014: ‘Annual concert of carols and readings’
7 March 2015: Bach’s ‘A short passion from St Matthew’s Gospel’
17 March 2015: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’ at Clevedon
21 March 2015: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’ at Nailsea
2 May 2015: Yatton Music Festival
20 June 2015: ‘Music to celebrate 800 years of St. Andrew’s Church’
7 November 2015: ’Songs that saw us through WW2’
15 December 2015: ‘Annual concert of carols and readings’
12 March 2016: ‘The Lord is my shepherd’
22 March 2016: Stainer’s ‘The Crucifixion’ at Kingston Seymour
18 June 2016: ‘Great music from great films’
Congresbury Singers
40th anniversary season (2016/17)
Congresbury Singers
40th anniversary season (2016/17)
- 15 October 2016: The Lord is my Shepard at Chelvey
- 12 November 2016: Handel’s Samson and Hurd’s Swinging’ Samson
- 20 December 2016: Christmas in Congresbury
- 1 April 2017: Faure’s Requiem & Cantique de Jean Racine
- 11 April 2017: Stainer’s Thr Crucifixion at Long Ashton
- 13 May 2017: Yatton Music Festival
- 24 June 2017: Summer concert to celebrate ‘40 years of singing’
2017 - 2023
11 November 2017: ‘Loves Old Sweet Song’
19 December 2017: ‘Christmas in Congresbury’
17 March 2018: ‘Spirituals and Songs from The Deep South’
23 June 2018: ‘The Magic of the Musicals’
10 November 2018: ‘Everyone Sang’
18 December 2018: ‘Christmas with Congresbury Singers’
6 April 2019: St Luke Passion attributed to J S Bach
9 November 2019: ‘English Music Hall and French Folies’
17 December 2019: ‘Christmas with Congresbury Singers’
20 November 2021: ‘The Show Must Go On’
9 April 2022: ‘The Passion of the Christ’ by Arthur Somervell
2 July 2022: ‘Another Op’nin’, Another Show’
19 November 2022: ‘Songs for the Long Nights’
20 December 2022: ‘Unto us a Child is Born’
1st July 2023: ‘Wonderful World of Music’