Bishopwearmouth Choral Society

Choral Scholars excel in performance

Peter Watson — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 16:30:30 +0000

This is the second season in which the Society has offered choral scholarships to student majoring in voice at a local university. The scheme offers the chosen students a chance to participate in all rehearsals and concerts and aims to also provide platform opportunities as soloists.

One such event took place at the end of February by setting aside some rehearsal time to stage an informal concert to hear them as soloists. The free concert had an audience made up of choir members, family and friends, Society patrons, and members of the Minster congregation. The scholars featured were Alexandra Lee – soprano, Isabella Shea – soprano and Davina Halford-MacLeod – mezzo soprano. Unfortunately Anna Forbes, one of our current scholars could not take part because of illness. All of their self-chosen pieces were accompanied by David Murray, our Musical Director, and were received with enthusiasm by the audience, who went home impressed by their performances.

Chair’s Report – September 2025

Peter Watson — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 10:30:32 +0000

At our AGM on the 10th September, the Chair of the Society delivered a report which summarised our activities over the last season and it is reproduced here to provide a flavour of what BCS has contributed to culture in Sunderland.

“I’m pleased to report a very successful musical year. We started with a “Christmas Messiah” and the second half of the concert contained a special piece commissioned by the society. This was the beautiful; “A Child on Earth” by Lucy Walker which was written especially for Bishopwearmouth Choral Society and it was our pleasure to perform for the very first time; our first world premier!”

This was followed by a tremendous “Creation” and a beautiful French evening centring around the Faure Requiem. All three concerts were well received by the audience, and we enjoyed singing such a wide ranging repertoire.

We had our first choral scholarship students, Davina and Alex. The relationship was mutually beneficial with the young singers getting valuable experience and the choral society benefitting from their professionalism and energy. We wish them well for the future and would welcome them back at any time. We have new Alto and Soprano scholarship students for this year and are still looking for a young tenor and bass to complete the programme.

We enjoyed a singing day with David Lawrence who took us, and guests, through an exploration of the Creation”. It was really well received with the added bonus of enhancing our own performance.

We are pleased to report that the Minster is now lighter and warmer thanks to the work that has been done on the electrics and heating systems.

We will be proposing a social evening this season or next for the choir and their guests.

My thanks and gratitude, as always, has to go to David Murray and Eileen Bown who direct us and challenge us in the best way possible, and our committee who do so much behind the scenes in order to keep the society moving forward”.

Mike Foster

Chair: Bishopwearmouth Choral Society

Rehearsal restart & Annual General Meeting 2025

Peter Watson — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:54:21 +0000

Our first rehearsal of the 2025/26 season will take place on Wednesday 10th September 2025 at 7.30 p.m. in Sunderland Minster. The evening will include our AGM and the agenda, previous minutes and annual accounts are available below for you to read/download before the meeting. If you do not have the facility for that a paper copy is available from the Secretary. Please try and be at the Minster a little earlier so that scores can be organised, ready for a prompt rehearsal start.

BCS-AGM-held-4.9.2024 Download

Finance-report-2024-2025 Download

Income-and-Expenditure-2024-25 Download

Concerts-2024-25 Download

September 2025 restart

Peter Watson — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:15:00 +0000

Hope that you have enjoyed your summer break and a reminder that we will be restarting rehearsals on Wednesday the 10th of September 2025 at 7.30 p.m. in Sunderland Minster to prepare for our Brahms ‘Requiem’ concert on December 13th. Please arrive a little early for the first rehearsal so that scores can be organised ready for a prompt start at 7.30 p.m.

Our AGM will also take place during that session and papers for that will appear on this site shortly. We look forward to seeing there.

Choral Scholarships – something new to us.

Peter Watson — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 14:20:17 +0000

This has been the first season in which the Society has decided to offer choral scholarships to students majoring in voice at a local university.

The scheme offers the chosen students a chance to participate in all rehearsals and concerts, and affords platform opportunities throughout the season. They are given a small fee, and in return we reap the benefit of two wonderfully trained young voices, and the skills and musicianship they bring with them. In our June concert both of our young scholars are featured as soloists. Alexandra Lee (soprano ) will be singing the Pie Jesu in the Fauré Requiem, and Davina Halford-MacLeod (mezzo soprano) will be singing two songs by Debussy in the first half of the concert.

It has been the most wonderful experience having had them with us this season. Aside from their wonderful vocal skills, which of course contribute hugely to the sonority of the choir, their youthful effervescence and enthusiasm has been infectious, and they have been a sheer delight to share our musical experiences with – we do feel very privileged having had them along with us since December 2024 and are going to miss them greatly,. We wish them well in all their future endeavours.

David Murray – Musical Director BCS

Wednesday 28th May 2025

Peter Watson — Thu, 22 May 2025 08:15:22 +0000

There will be no rehearsal on Wednesday the 28th April 2025 so please ensure that you are not the one locked out of the Minster on that date. Rehearsals will resume the following week on the 4th of June and we look forward to seeing you then.

Exploring ‘Creation’

Peter Watson — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:28:44 +0000

The Come and Sing session led by David Lawrence on Saturday 29th March has been much acclaimed and to prove that you were there DL has kindly provided some photos :

Exploring Creation

Peter Watson — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:25:20 +0000

They came, they sang, and they explored creation at a Come and Sing Day on Saturday 29th March. The Choral Society, with guests from other societies from across the North East, were led by David Lawrence in exploring Haydn’s ‘Creation’ expertly accompanied by Eileen Bown. David is one of the UK’s most versatile conductors, with a wide experience of working with orchestras, symphony choruses and national youth choirs in more than 25 countries. The inspiring session was enhanced with insights into the history of the piece and many anecdotes from his wide experience.

Ladies from Sunderland Minster, where the session was held, also enhanced the collective enjoyment of the day by offering a wide menu of soups in the lunchtime break – much appreciated. For the BCS choir members it was part of their preparations for a full concert of the piece on April 12th (full details in the Events section of this website) whilst having a sociable and fun day.

March 28th 2026 – Mozart ‘Requiem’

Peter Watson — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:28:02 +0000

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Britten : Canticle II : Abraham and Isaac Op. 51

Britten : Rejoice in the Lamb Op.30 (orch. Imogen Holst)

Mozart : Requiem K 626

Soloists : Brittany King – soprano, Henry Kimber – hautcontre, Greg Tassell – tenor, Julian Debreuil – bass

Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.

June 13th 2026 – An evening of Opera with Bradley Creswick

Peter Watson — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:27:07 +0000

A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.

Content to be confirmed.

Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.