Choir celebrates 50th anniversary with gala concert
The St John Singers marked five decades with a concert in St Thomas's Church, Salisbury.
The event took place on Saturday, July 5, under the direction of musical director Stephen Abbott, showcasing a range of music from the 50-strong chamber choir.
The programme included two compositions by Stephen and Salisbury Cathedral's director of music, David Halls, both specially made for the occasion.
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St John Singers during a Christmas performance. (Image: Ash Mills) Stephen's reflective pieces, Spaces in your Togetherness and This is the Day the Lord has Made, opened the concert.
They were followed by David's dramatic Hymn to St Cecilia, a tribute to the patron saint of music and musicians.
The choir then performed three summer madrigals by Sir John Rutter.
These were accompanied by Andrew Post on the piano and Hannah Grimley on the double bass.
The organ-accompanied Te Deum by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Linden Lea by Sir Ralph Vaughan Williams added variety to the programme.
The concert concluded with Mozart's Coronation Mass, backed by an orchestra and soloists Chloe Riordan, Cassandra Dalby, Morley Beswick, and the choir's Robert Blakey.
The audience, who filled the church to capacity, expressed their satisfaction with the performance, with one attendee describing it as "the very best we've heard them sing."
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