Residency at Worcester Cathedral 18th and 19th February 2023

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Choir and supporters spent a wonderful weekend at Worcester Cathedral singing three services over the two days.

It’s always a great honour to sing in a Cathedral and Worcester was the most incredible setting with wonderful architecture and acoustics.

Thanks to Tim Ingold for his fantastic accompaniment on the organ and to Andrew for guiding us through the music for 3 services which is no mean feat!

We’re very grateful to everyone at the Cathedral for being so friendly and welcoming and we hope to return again in future.

Christmas Concert 17th December 2022

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Our Christmas concert at Minchinhampton Church explored the history of Christmas songs and carols from medieval to modern.

The programme featured Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams (in honour of his 150th anniversary) and a host of beautiful a capella pieces and traditional carols – with the customary audience participation!

There was a  retiring collection for local charity, The Long Table, who talked to us about their work in the Stroud community.

Summer Concert , 17th July 2022

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The beautiful canal-side church of St. Cyr’s in Stonehouse was a cool sanctuary on a searingly hot summer’s day as we celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with music from all around Britain.

The programme included Britten’s Choral Dances from Gloriana as well as modern classics from Lennon and McCartney and Lloyd Webber – plus a wonderful medley of theme tunes from her majesty’s favourite – James Bond.

We were joined by the wonderful soprano, Megan Strachan who performed two beautiful arias for us and the afternoon was rounded off with a delicious afternoon tea.

Thanks to all the team at St Cyr’s who made us feel so welcome.

 

Tenors UnLimited at Stroud Subscription Rooms. Sunday 30th January 2022

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An opportunity to support Tenors UnLimited on their latest tour really brightened up the dark days of January for THS.
As part of their new show ‘That’s Amore’ we joined the trio for four songs; Mr Blue Skies, Nessun Dormer, You Raise Me Up and From Now On. Quite a different experience to our usual concerts!
Scott, Jem and Paul, dubbed ‘The Rat Pack of Opera’, are hugely talented and were great fun to work with. And the show was fantastic – not to be missed if they’re back in the area.
See their latest news at www.tenorsunlimited.com

Christmas Concert 2021 – Bach Magnificat in D with Christmas carols old and new

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Saturday 18th December 2021, Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton


After two long years without a concert, we were overjoyed to able to perform with the Capriol Chamber Orchestra at Minchinhampton church for Christmas.

And what great evening it was, beginning with the Magnificat and followed by a selection of carols and orchestral pieces by the Capriol, all brought together by our wonderful Musical Director, Andrew Hopwood.

Congratulations to the choir members who sang such amazing solo’s and to the orchestra and Julian Elloway who did us proud on organ and piano. The audience lifted the roof when they joined in with some of the carols and the Capriol’s ‘interactive’ version of Sleigh Ride was a highlight of the evening.

Jonathan Trim’s new arrangement of Away in a Manger brought the evening to a wonderful conclusion with a memorable performance by choir and orchestra. Click here to listen.

This concert was originally planned for Christmas 2020, which should have been a year of celebration for the Thames Head Singers’ 40th anniversary – it may have been belated, but it was fantastic to share our birthday bash with an audience at long last.

From a member of the audience….

“It is two weeks since I came to your Christmas Concert at Minchinhampton Church, and I will always remember it as one of the highlights of Christmas 2021.
It was a joy to be there, but I am sure not easy for you to prepare for in these difficult days of ‘Covid’. It truly was a great achievement and I am sure greatly appreciated and enjoyed by everyone who came. Thank you all so much.”

Five Valley Sounds
There was a retiring collection for local charity, Five Valley Sounds who produce and distribute an audio version of the Stroud News and Journal and other publications to local people who are blind or have difficulty reading. For further information email [email protected]

Christmas 2020 Broadcasts

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Faced with another lockdown we decided to broadcast a series of carols and readings during the week before Christmas in place of our usual concert.

These were recorded in advance at the Beacon Hall in Painswick with the choir suitably distanced and all wearing masks – quite a challenge!

We also broadcast a performance of The Gloucestershire Wassail on 9th January as the traditional Stroud Wassail was also cancelled.

What a year!

You can listen to O Little Town of Bethlehem and the Gloucestershire Wassail below each followed by a seasonal reading. The other five recordings can be found on our Facebook page.

Thames Head Singers return to rehearsals

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It was lovely to return to ‘real life’ rehearsals having been rehearsing on Zoom since the beginning of lockdown.Our new venue, The Beacon Hall in Painswick, is very spacious and well ventilated with all the relevant Covid precautions in place.  We’re just keeping our fingers crossed for good weather as we have to vacate the room for 15 minutes half way through for the room to be ventilated!

Despite wearing masks we are still able to make a great sound and it’s so lovely to be surrounded by all those wonderful voices once again.

THS celebrates 40th Anniversary – 5th February 2020

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The choir was the brainchild of Lady Edith Robertson of Oakridge and Brian King, who first discussed the idea on Christmas morning 1979. The first rehearsal followed on 5th February 1980 at Lady Robertson’s house, with a total of 12 singers.
The first performance was at a confirmation service at Bussage Church on 25th May 1980 which was officiated by the Bishop of Gloucester. The first concert was held at Rodmarton Village Hall on 19th July, raising £150 for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. The Choir’s charitable work continues to this day. THS helped to raise £2,000 for Rodborough Church last Christmas (2019) with a ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ concert featuring a new Thomas story written by choir member Katie Fforde and her sister, Jane Gordon-Cumming.
Today the choir has 33 members and rehearses weekly at Brimscombe School. Musical Director, Andrew Hopwood has been with the choir since 2012 when he took over from Richard Sharpe. “THS a friendly group of singers who have an eclectic taste in music. Thus, their programs are always wide ranging, challenging and hopefully interesting to perform and listen to,” comments Andrew.
The choir’s longest serving singer is Paul Baxter who joined the choir in 1988 and sang with many of the choir’s original members, he says “I’m sure the founders of the choir would be proud that it’s still flourishing 40 years on – raising money for good causes and giving much enjoyment to its members and audiences alike.”
The anniversary year was due to be marked by special programme of events including a spring concert at St Laurence Church, Stroud celebrating Gloucestershire composers and a performance at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen on 11th July. On 5th July a summer afternoon tea concert at St. Cyr’s Church, Stonehouse was set to include music chosen by members of the choir, past and present… And then came Covid!

Thomas Saves Christmas – December 2019

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This was a wonderfully unconventional Christmas concert with a new Thomas the Tank Engine story, specially written by choir member, Katie Fforde and her sister, Jane Gordon-Cumming – beautifully narrated by Dominic Cotter from BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

The church was full and almost £2,000 was raised to fund upkeep and repairs on this beautiful and treasured building.