- Our New Chairperson
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Date Posted: Sat, 27 Jan 2024
Horsham Chamber Choir begins 2024 with a new Chairperson in the shape of Lisa Quas. Lisa has been a member of the choir since 2007, and was appointed to succeed Peter Hooper at the choir’s last Annual General meeting in 2023.
Lisa originally hails from near East Grinstead, where her early musical tastes were influenced by listening to Bach and Benjamin Britten with her father, who sadly died when she was just 8 years old. Lisa sang with school choirs, but focussed on her passion for dance leading to a performing arts degree at university. Whilst studying and choreographing for performances at university, Lisa was introduced to the minimalist compositions of Steve Reich, Phillip Glass and the resident Musical Director at the time, Gavin Bryars.
Her love of choral music continued in the background throughout her early working life in London, and whilst researching images for use on classical albums and cd’s she came across a recording of Thomas Tallis choral works including “Spem in Alium’. “I think this was the key moment that brought all my musical influences together and subsequently led me to join a choir”, she recalls.
Family life brought Lisa back to Sussex, and an opportunity to start singing again (as an alto) in 1999 when she joined West Sussex Philharmonic to perform Faure’s Requiem, a piece she had always wanted to sing. She subsequently moved to HCC a few years later through a friend who was a soprano and soloist the choir at the time. “Over the years HCC has given me the chance to sing a wide variety of choral music with such a brilliant group of people, guided by skilled (and very patient) musical directors”, she explains.
Lisa is Director of Business Resources at Millais School in Horsham, and brings a wealth of experience to HCC’s management through working with Boards of Governors and other committees. Her journey to choir rehearsal every week is almost always by bike, but a considerably shorter journey than the testing Prudential London 100 mile route (taking in most of the 2012 Olympic route including Leigh Hill) which she is proud to have completed in 2017 in under 6 hours at an average speed of 17mph!
- Threshold Concert - WSCT interview
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Date Posted: Mon, 6 Nov 2023
Timothy chats with Phil Hewitt from The West Sussex County Times about our next concert which is this Saturday at The Barn in the Causeway at 16:30. Click the link below to view the interview: Click to view video
Tickets are still available HERE
- Folk Traditions concert update
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Date Posted: Sat, 24 Jun 2023
Due to illness, The Drystones are unable to come this evening. Fidl player Anna Lowenstein and folk/experimental cellist Francesca Ter-Berg are stepping in to save the day. Anna is one of the UK’s most sought after Klezmer fiddle style players. Francesca is possibly best known as one half of the highly esteemed Fran & Flora, who are described by BBC Radio 3 as ‘London’s best kept secret.’
We hope to perform with The Drystones at a later date.
- 40 years a chorister, and going strong
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Date Posted: Fri, 12 May 2023
- News article
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Date Posted: Sat, 25 Mar 2023
- More press in the Horsham Pages
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Date Posted: Tue, 21 Feb 2023
- WSCT article 9th Feb 2023
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Date Posted: Thu, 16 Feb 2023
- New Musical Director
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Date Posted: Fri, 27 Jan 2023
HCC are delighted to announce that Timothy Peters joined us in January as our new Music Director. Timothy is an accomplished conductor and a talented tenor and composer. Last year he was appointed Fellow of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and also as Musical Director of Surrey’s LGBTQIA+ Choir, Surrey Rainbow Choir.
Timothy, who graduated with an honours degree in music from Sheffield University, has been featured as a soloist on BBC Radio 4 and regularly performs for choirs and orchestras around England.
Timothy teaches singing, musical production, DJ performance and the composition component of GCSE and A-level Music and conducts choirs at the City of London Freemen’s School.
- New Accompanist
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Date Posted: Thu, 26 May 2022
We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Ian Miles as our new Accompanist, starting in September. Ian lived in Oxfordshire until 2018 when he moved to West Sussex. He has been a respected community and church pianist and organist for many years supporting a wide range of events and choirs. Ian also offers language/phonetic coaching to vocalists. We warmly welcome him to the Choir and wish Elizabeth Burtenshaw a very happy retirement with much gratitude.
- Nice press coverage
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Date Posted: Fri, 25 Mar 2022
A very nice piece in the West Sussex County Times this week.
If you haven't got tickets yet, click here.
- New YouTube channel!
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Date Posted: Sat, 29 Jan 2022
Live recorded highlights of the 2021 Christmas concert at St Mary's, Horsham. YouTube Video URL:
