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NCS is performing in this event

Newbury Choral Society is a non-auditioned

choir with a history of over 130 years of

bringing a high standard of music to the

area. The establishment of a permanent

group of singers must have met an urgent need in the town as the

Society attracted more than one hundred members for the first

concert in 1885. Conducted by the choirmaster and organist of

Newbury's St Nicolas Church, John Shepherd Liddle, the choir made a

good impression on the Newbury Weekly News critic who wrote that

'the execution of the choruses reflected great credit upon the

members of the Society and their conductor'.

Since that first concert we have continued to perform a wide and

varied repertoire, from the great choral works of Bach, Handel and

Vaughan Williams to pieces by more recent composers Tavener,

Britten and Karl Jenkins. In its second century the choir’s conductors

have included Jonathan Finney, Robert Barsby, Leo Hussain and its

first female Musical Director Janet Lincé. Cathal Garvey has held the

position since December 2009.

You can find out more about Newbury Choral Society, its history and

forthcoming events, at www.newburychoral.org.uk.

If you are interested in joining us, please contact our secretary

through the website. We rehearse on Monday evenings at the

Methodist Church Hall, Newbury, from 7.20pm to 9.40pm. We ask

that you are able to read music but not necessarily to sight-read. You

will receive a warm welcome.

This programme was printed by Newbury College Print Room.

Newbury Choral Society

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Will Todd: Mass in Blue

Interval

In the Mood: Songs from the Great American Songbook

Ain’t misbehavin’ Night and day

Autumn Leaves Blue Moon

Begin the Beguine ‘S wonderful

Let’s do it I got rhythm

Smoke gets in your eyes Over the rainbow

Conductor: Cathal Garvey

Soprano: Hilary Cronin

Piano: Will Todd

The Will Todd Trio

Rehearsal Accompanist: Steve Bowey

We are grateful to the following organisations for their support:

The Englefield Charitable Trust

Please visit www.newburychoral.org.uk/ConcertFeedback

to tell us about your experience of our performance.

The Programme

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Will Todd: Mass in Blue (Jazz Mass) Op. 28 (2003)

Written in 2003 in response to a commission by Hertfordshire

Chorus, and originally premiered under the title Jazz Mass, Will

Todd’s Mass in Blue is a brilliant blend of driving jazz grooves and

clear, strong, choral writing against which the solo piano and solo

soprano voice weave and blend in a delightful aural tapestry. The

work reflects not only the composer’s love of jazz music and his

admiration of jazz performers, but also his own experience as an

improviser. It also allows Todd to make use of his extensive choral

skills which he deploys so effectively in works such as the oratorios

The Burning Road (Op 10) and Saint Cuthbert (Op 7) or the chorus

writing of his opera The Blackened Man. It is a confident work by a

composer who understands and responds to the jazz idiom, making

free use of the 12 bar blues sequence (which has been fundamental

in the development of jazz music) as well as more complex harmonic

processes.

The Kyrie opens with an energetic cadenza for the trio section which

builds into the first set tempo of the work. Over this the first vocal

entry is heard, a bluesy theme reminiscent of negro spirituals and

therefore apt for the text Kyrie Eleison - Lord have mercy. Gradually

other lines join the initial melody until the full choir is singing. On a

move to the sub-dominant B flat the choir ecstatically bursts forth

with Christe Eleison and as this music subsides we hear the soprano

enter on a soulful melody with a strong improvised feel, which builds

over the return of the original key of F minor. The music of the Kyrie

Eleison is repeated with the soloist interwoven around the vocal lines

Programme Notes

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in a virtuosic display. The movement slows and closes on a thrilling F

minor 11 chord.

The Gloria is set up with a fanfare from the brass which punctuates

the whole movement. From the moment the choir enters there is an

uplifting rhythmic drive to this setting with the full brass section

adding a distinctive colour. In the central section of the Gloria a

pulsating 5/8 time is set up which gradually builds until a

recapitulation of the opening material brings the movement to a

close.

The Credo features the soprano in a colourful 12 bar blues in 12/8

time. There is a strong gospel feel with the choir repeating lines from

the soloist and humming soft backing harmony. Again in three

sections, the first blues part gives way to a more sombre section at

the Crucifixus, and after Et sepultus est (and he was buried) a piano

solo leads the band into a blazing depiction of the moment of

resurrection. The Et resurrexit is set with a scorching up-tempo swing

which eventually cuts back into the 12/8 as the movement builds to a

thrilling climax.

Like the Gloria the Sanctus is set for the choir and band without the

soloist. It is a beautiful, slow ballad set up initially on the piano in

which the woodwind players are featured, especially soprano sax.

The movement provides a welcome period of tranquility and

reflection after the sheer energy of the previous three movements.

The Benedictus begins with solo double bass over which the choir

sings a theme which builds up from the basses through the rest of the

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voices. This music is gradually invaded by a new, more driving beat

and the solo voice begins to weave into the texture once again. This

funky riff gradually takes over and the music emerges into a powerful

Hosanna section with punching brass and a jubilant choral sound.

The Agnus Dei grows out of the dying echoes of the Hosanna with a

haunting soprano ballad accompanied by piano. In the stirring

maestoso which follows, we hear the main themes of the work on

high trumpet fanfares and strong trombone chords. Once again the

strong 12 bar blues harmony underpins the texture. A huge climactic

entry from the choir subsides into a gentle A minor section in which

intricate choral lines are woven over a simple, repeated chordal

structure. After another big build this time with the chorus featured,

the music returns to the opening ballad theme, the soprano now

accompanied by soft choir and brass. This is a substantial movement

and is more than beautiful – it is painful, plaintive, a cry for mercy

and a prayer for peace. Traditionally the mass would end here, but in

another dramatic master-stroke Will Todd leaves the altos hanging

on a soft E after the last chord of the Agnus Dei. The air of

expectation grows as the sopranos softly recapitulate the Credo

theme. Gradually the music builds with the soloist entering and then

the tenors and basses. Suddenly the driving 12/8 beat of the Credo is

forcing the music forward as the choir sing Et expecto resurrectionem

(we look for the resurrection) and the music comes back to the key in

which the work began, F minor. The emphatic final chords of the

work leave the listener not in quiet contemplation but jerked forward

into praise and belief. Credo Amen!

© Ralph Woodward 2003

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Mass in Blue libretto

1. Kyrie Lord, have mercy

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy upon us.

Christe eleison. Christ have mercy upon us.

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy upon us.

2. Gloria Glory to God in the highest

Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory be to God in the highest.

Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ

voluntatis.

And peace to all people on the

earth.

Laudamus te; benedicimus te; We praise you; we bless you;

adoramus te; glorificamus te. we worship you; we glorify you.

Gratias agimus tibi We give you thanks

propter magnam gloriam tuam. for your great glory.

Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, O Lord God, Heavenly King,

Deus Pater omnipotens. God the Father Almighty.

Domine Fili unigenite Jesu

Christe

O Lord Jesus Christ, the only

begotten Son

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Lord God, Lamb of God,

Filius Patris. Son of the Father.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, You take away the sins of the

world,

miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.

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Qui tollis peccata mundi, You take away the sins of the

world,

suscipe deprecationem nostram. receive our prayer.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, You are seated at the right hand

of God,

O miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus

Dominus,

For you alone are the holy one,

tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. the most high Jesus Christ.

Cum Sancto Spiritu With the Holy Spirit

in gloria Dei Patris. in the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

3. Credo I believe in one God

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem

omnipotentem,

I believe in one God, the Father

Almighty,

factorem cœli et terrae,

visibilium omnium et

invisibilium.

Maker of heaven and earth, of

all things visible and invisible.

Et in unum Dominum, Jesum

Christum,

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex

Patre natum ante omnia

saecula.

the only-begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all

worlds.

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Deum de Deo, Lumen de

Lumine, Deum verum de Deo

vero,

God of God, Light of Light, true

God of true God,

genitum non factum,

consubstantialem Patri;

born, not made, of one being

with the Father.

per quem omnia facta sunt. Through Him all things were

made;

Qui propter nos homines et

propter nostram salutem

descendit de cœlis.

Who for us and for our salvation

came down from Heaven.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu

Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et

homo factus est.

and was incarnate by the Holy

Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and

was made man:

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub

Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus

est,

And for our sake he was

crucified under Pontius Pilate,

died and was buried:

et resurrexit tertia die,

secundum Scripturas,

And on the third day rose again

according to the Scriptures:

et ascendit in cælum, sedet ad

dexteram Patris.

And ascended into Heaven, and

sits at God's right hand:

Et iterum venturus est cum

gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos,

And He shall come again in

glory, to judge the living and the

dead:

cuius regni non erit finis; And His Kingdom will have no

end;

Et in Spiritum Sanctum,

Dominum et vivificantem,

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the

Lord, and Giver of Life,

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qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Who proceeds from the Father

and the Son.

Qui cum Patre et Filio simul

adoratur et conglorificatur:

Who, with the Father and the

Son, is worshipped and glorified,

qui locutus est per prophetas. Who has spoken through the

Prophets.

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam

et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

And I believe in One, Holy,

Catholic and Apostolic Church,

Confiteor unum baptisma in

remissionem peccatorum.

I acknowledge one Baptism for

the forgiveness of all sin.

Et expecto resurrectionem

mortuorum,

And I await the Resurrection of

the Dead:

et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. And the Life of the world to

come. Amen.

4. Sanctus Holy, holy Lord

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Holy, holy, holy,

Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Lord God of Sabaoth.

Pleni suni coeli et terra gloria

tua.

Heaven and earth are full of Thy

glory.

Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

5. Benedictus Blessed is he

Benedictus qui venit in nomine

Domini.

Blessed is He who comes in the

name of the Lord.

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Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.

6. Agnus Dei O Lamb of God

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata

mundi,

Lamb of God, who takes away

the sins of the world,

miserere nobis. have mercy on us.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata

mundi,

Lamb of God, who takes away

the sins of the world,

dona nobis pacem. grant us peace.

Credo reprise

Credo. I believe.

Et expecto resurrectionem

mortuorum,

And I await the Resurrection of

the Dead,

et vitam venturi saeculi. And the Life of the world to

come.

Credo. I believe.

Interval of 20 minutes

In the Mood

In the Mood is a collection of choral arrangements of popular classic

songs from the Great American Songbook. Tonight we are performing

the following selection:-

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Ain’t misbehavin’: Lyrics by Andy Razaf, music by Tomas “Fats”

Waller and Harry Brooks in 1929. It was created as a theme song for

the musical comedy Connie’s Hot Chocolates, first performed at

Connie’s Inn in Harlem.

Autumn Leaves: Lyrics by French poet Jacques Prévert, music by

Joseph Kosma in 1945. In 1947 Johnny Mercer wrote the English

lyrics and it has become a jazz standard in both French and English.

Begin the Beguine: Written by Cole Porter in 1935 and made popular

by band leader Artie Shaw. The word Beguine refers to a style of

music and dance, a combination of French ballroom and Latin folk

dance.

Let’s do it: Written by Cole Porter in 1928 for his first successful

Broadway musical Paris. The song was later used in the English

production of Wake Up and Dream in 1929 and in the film of Cole

Porter’s Can-Can in 1960.

Smoke gets in your eyes: Composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by

Otto Harbach for the musical Roberta in 1933. It was performed in

the 1935 film version which co-starred Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers

and Randolph Scott.

Night and day: Written by Cole Porter in 1932 for the musical Gay

Divorce. A recording by Fred Astaire topped the charts for ten weeks

and it went on to be performed by Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt, Tony

Bennett, Shirley Bassey and many others.

Blue Moon: Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. It

was created as the title song for the film Manhattan Melodrama but

was cut before the film’s release. Hart wrote different lyrics, creating

the song as we know it today.

‘S wonderful: Composed by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira

Gershwin. It first appeared in the Broadway musical Funny Face in

1927 and again in the 1951 film An American in Paris.

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I got rhythm: Written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin in 1930.

It was sung by Ethel Merman in the Broadway production of Girl

Crazy and also featured in An American in Paris.

Over the rainbow: Music composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip

Harburg for the film The Wizard of Oz in 1939. It was sung by Judy

Garland in the starring role and won the Academy Award for Best

Original Song. It was adopted by American Troops sent to Europe in

the Second World War as a symbol of the United States.

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Since moving from his native Ireland to London in

2009, Cathal Garvey has conducted Southern

Sinfonia, London International Orchestra, Covent

Garden Chamber Orchestra, I Maestri, London

Repertoire Orchestra, London Medical Orchestra,

King's College London Symphony Orchestra and

Morley College Choir. He was Chorus Master and

Assistant Conductor for two seasons at Grange Park

Opera. He is currently on the conducting staff of the

Royal Academy of Music.

Cathal is conductor and Artistic Director of the London-based Ulysses

Symphony Orchestra, which he founded in 2015. More recently, he took its

professional sister-orchestra, the London Ulysses Orchestra, on a six-city

tour of China at the end of 2016, which included a performance at the

Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Cathal was appointed Musical Director of

Newbury Choral Society in 2009. Since 2015 he has been Musical Director of

Billingshurst Choral Society.

Cathal began violin and piano studies in Cork at an early age, continuing at

the Cork School of Music and later reading music at University College Cork.

After completing his Masters Degree in Conducting, he studied for two

years at the prestigious College of Moscow Conservatory. Cathal began his

career as an Opera Chorus Master working for most of Ireland’s major

opera companies including Opera Ireland, Opera Theatre Company, Anna

Livia Opera Festival, Opera South and Lyric Opera. He worked on over fifty

productions with these companies and acted as Assistant Conductor for

many of them.

During his ten years in Dublin, Cathal conducted many orchestras including

the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and

the Dublin Baroque Players, and from 2001 to 2006 was Principal Conductor

of the Dublin Orchestral Players. From 2004 to 2009 he was Musical

Director of the Dun Laoghaire Choral Society.

Cathal Garvey - Musical Director

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Will Todd’s music is sung and loved all

over the world. A composer of great

fluency, his work encompasses choral

works large and small, opera, musical

theatre and orchestral pieces, as well

as jazz compositions and chamber

works. His 2003 mass setting Mass in

Blue has been performed extensively

worldwide; many times with the Will Todd Trio and Will at the piano.

He has collaborated with award winning choirs The Sixteen and

Tenebrae, as well as with the BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra,

The Halle Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, Opera Holland

Park, Welsh National Opera, The Bach Choir and The Genesis

Foundation. His discography includes best selling choral discs Lux Et

Veritas and The Call of Wisdom (Tenebrae; Nigel Short), Alice's

Adventures in Wonderland (Opera Holland Park) and Mass in Blue, all

on the Signum Classic label. His music is regularly broadcast on Classic

FM, as well as on BBC Radio 3.

Will Todd's music is valued for its melodic intensity and harmonic

skill, often incorporating jazz colours, and his choral music is much in

demand from amateur as well as professional performers. He has

worked extensively with community choirs, children's choirs, youth

choirs and church choirs, writing a large body of approachable

liturgical music and directing regular workshops in the UK and

internationally.

Notable works include the operas The Blackened Man (2001), Alice's

Adventures in Wonderland (2013), Sweetness and Badness (2006),

the oratorios Saint Cuthbert (1995), Ode To a Nightingale (2011),

Rage Against the Dying of the Light (2014), The City Garden (2013),

The Burning Road (1996), the musical The Screams of Kitty Genovese

(2010), choral works Mass in Blue (2003), Requiem (2009), Te Deum

Will Todd - Composer/Pianist

Photograph by Andy Holdsworth

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(2008), Jazz Missa Brevis (2015), My Lord Has Come (2012), The Call

of Wisdom (2012), and orchestral pieces Concerto For Emma (clarinet

concerto 2015), Suite from Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1994) and

Violin Concerto (1996). In 2016 he collaborated with the former

children's laureate Michael Rosen to create Lights, Stories, Noise,

Dreams, Love and Noodles, a work commissioned by The Bach Choir

for youth singers, choir and band.

Will Todd grew up in the city of Durham in North East England, where

his grandfather worked as a coal miner. He now lives in the South

East of England with his family.

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London based soprano Hilary Cronin is in

demand as a soloist and ensemble singer.

Recent engagements include Poulenc’s

Gloria with Walton Voices and Mozart’s

Requiem at St Martin-in-the-Fields where

she is a St Martin's Voices Fellow, as well as

Handel's Messiah at the Bristol Old Vic with

the Erebus Ensemble and Harry Bicket and

The English Concert. Hilary currently sings at St Bartholomew the

Great and is an alumna of Genesis Sixteen. Hilary has sung with

groups including Eo Nomine, Renaissance, Illuminare, Siglo de Oro,

Erebus, Reverie and Britten Sinfonia Voices. Hilary covered the roles

of Minerva in Monteverdi's Ulysses' Homecoming and Diana in

Cavalli's La Calisto in English Touring Opera's 2016 Autumn Season.

Hilary trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire where she studied with

Teresa Cahill and was a Robinson Hearn and Trinity London Scholar in

addition to being the Dame Susan Morden Choral Scholar at the Old

Royal Naval College Chapel. Prior to this, Hilary read Music at Royal

Holloway University of London where she received the Driver Prize

for Excellence in Performance and the Dame Felicity Lott Bursary and

was a soloist for Hyperion recordings and live BBC Radio 3 Broadcasts

with The Choir of Royal Holloway.

Upcoming engagements include recordings with The Choir of St

Sepulchre’s and Illuminare, Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder and

Liebeslieder with Seraphim and Handel’s Messiah at Cranleigh School.

Hilary Cronin - Soprano

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Gareth Huw Davies - Bass

Gareth Huw Davies is a London-based double and

electric bass player. His work includes varied sessions,

TV, West End theatre, jazz, big band, and classical

crossover. He has performed all over the world in

concert halls, theatres and jazz venues, collaborating

with and recording for a wide range of musicians

including Graham Coxon, Mark Eitzel, Sir Willard White,

the Will Todd Trio, Simple Minds, Chrissie Hynde,

Charlie Dore and the Tootsie Rollers, and he is the regular bassist for the

long running Welsh live music TV show Noson Lawen. He also works

professionally as a recording engineer and producer, particularly with

composer Will Todd, and as a music theatre keyboard programmer, notably

on the West End productions of Cabaret and Scrooge, and Legally

Blonde. Gareth does occasional corporate, INSET and workshop education

for the Wigmore Hall and others, and is Director of CSSM Summer School of

Music at Sherborne School.

Jim Fleeman - Drums

Jim has led a varied and extensive career,

working with artists such as Martha Reeves

and the Vandellas, Mark Eitzel, Kenny

Wheeler, Omar, Damon Albarn, Sir Willard

White, Mike Figgis and the Halle

Orchestra. He has played on several BBC 1 and 2 and Sky television series

and has worked on theatre productions including Damon Albarn’s Monkey:

Journey to the West and the RSC’s award-winning Matilda the Musical. Jim

has been working with Will Todd since 1999 and has played on the

recordings of Mass In Blue, Te Deum, Jazz Evensong and Songs of Peace,

also performing those works extensively around the UK and on BBC radio.

The Will Todd Trio

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Steve studied organ and piano from an early age,

playing the organ regularly at St Francis and St

Andrews churches in Coulsdon.

After studying Engineering at Salford University

he moved to Newbury to work for Vodafone. In

1991 Steve was appointed as accompanist of the

Cromwell Singers and became their musical

director in 1993. From 1992, he was Director of

Music at St Mary's Church, Shaw-cum-Donnington, and regularly

accompanies for local choirs, including the Douai Choral Society, the

Downland Chorale, the RSCM Southern Cathedral Singers, Berkshire

Maestros youth choirs, Worcester College Oxford and Newbury

Choral society.

In June 1995 an opportunity at work took Steve to live in Holland. On

returning to Newbury in 1997 he returned to St Mary's Shaw-cum-

Donnington as organist. He is a regular performer in the Newbury

and District Organists' Association lunchtime recital series and has

also given recitals in Thaxted, Caterham and Manchester and

Farnham. In 2001 he was appointed Musical Director of the Sandham

Singers.

In 2006 Steve joined the Royal College of Organists, and in July the

following year took the examination for Associate (ARCO) in which he

was awarded the Limpus prize for performance, as well as the

Sowerbutts and Samuel Baker prizes. After further study, he was

awarded the Fellowship diploma (FRCO) in January 2011.

Steve Bowey - Accompanist

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Honorary Life Patron: Lady Knill Chairperson: Liz Wallace Secretary: Nat Smith Treasurer: Tracy Smith Concert Manager: Mike Barthorpe Rehearsal accompanist: Steve Bowey

SOPRANOS ALTOS

Rachel Atkinson Rebecca Berger Helen Bomgardner Kat Brandon Marion Croxford Sarah Foley Janet Freer Pat Hayward Gill Hitchcock Rachet Holt Monica Huddie Murrie Jackson Lauraine Leigh Klugman Bev Lewis Penny Lovelock Lynne Moore Debbie Murphy

Clare Owen Margaret Owen Laura Rushton Taylor Brigitta Small Sarah South Judeth Stock Fenisia Stopher Heather Yule

Katharine Andrews Gayle Ashby Hilary Banks Denise Barthorpe Helen Cook Jacquie Cooper Nicola Foster Fiona Friend Lynette Harper Jenny Hayward Mavis Hughesdon Gwenda Hutchinson Mary Lawler Emma Leader Viv Masson

Susanne Padel Barbara Riggs Georgina Seaman Sally Sinclair Nat Smith Tracy Smith Ann Turner Ann Vodden Liz Wallace Sally Walsh Penny Webb

TENORS BASSES

Peter Angwin Mike Barthorpe Andy Blake Matthew Evans Russell George Derek Harwood

Nick Lampkin Richard Papworth Neil Rendall Andrew Salisbury Angela Whitcomb Nick Yates

Peter Bell David Bomgardner Mike Braide David Craig John Garbutt David Hunt Alexander Jackson

Richard Moore Barrie Seaman Jon Trickey

NCS members singing in tonight’s performance

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NCS is delighted to be the featured choir for this event