Wellington Choral Society
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Past concerts

Saturday 29 March 2025, 7.00pm
Wellington Choral Society gave a thrilling and moving performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah  2025 at St John the Baptist Church Wellington under the baton of Music Director, Laurence Blyth. The choir was supported by  soloists who gave both dramatic and moving performances. 

Saturday 30 November 2024, 7.00pm
Mozart Requiem
Haydn "Missa Sancti Nicolai"
with soloists from the University of Exeter and orchestr
a led by Julie Hill
We sold out on tickets for our performance of Mozart's Requiem and Haydn Missa Sancti Nicolai on Saturday 30 November 2024. It was a wonderful evening and the choir enjoyed singing these beautiful choral pieces and our audience were enthusiastic in their response. We are sorry that some people may not have been able to get tickets but do put the date of our next concert for Mendelssohn's Elijah on Saturday 29 March 2025 in your diaries now. ​

Saturday 23 March 2024, 7.00pm
Faith, Hope and Love
Mass in D by Dvorak
Requiem by Matthew Coleridge
Love Divine by Howard Goodall
Peace I leave with you by Amy Beech
The programme of music was new to the Society and although a little challenging we enjoyed singing a different repertoire. We were delighted that Matthew Coleridge was able to come and to hear us perform his Requiem in the second half. This was a moving piece with solo cello. We also had wonderful soloists for the programme: Rebecca Silverman Soprano, Charlotte Badham Mezzo Soprano, Andrew Henley Tenor and Jack Sandison Bass Baritone. Stephen Tanner was the organist and Chris Sampson cellist.


Saturday 25 November 2023, 7.00pm
​Wellington Choral Society were delighted to perform a programme of Italian Baroque music with orchestra led by Julie Hill with choral scholars from the University of Exeter Chapel Choir under the baton of our Musical Director Laurence Blyth. 


Saturday 25 March 2023, 7.00pm
Wellington Choral Society  performed JS Bach's St John Passion with a  full orchestra and soloists  under the baton of our musical director Laurence Blyth on Saturday 25 March 2023 at St John the Baptist Church, Wellington. It was a moving telling of the Passion Story by the evangelist MIke Gormley and emotional commentary from the crowd (the choir). It was a performance to be remembered. Thank you to our soloists Julian Rippon, James Quilligan, Josie Walledge, Matthew Jefferrey and Emily Harrison
Orchestra led by Julie Hill

Saturday 26 November 2022, 7.00pm
Wellington Choral Society concert    was enjoyed by all  and was a memorable  occasion. The performances of the Schubert Mass in G and Mozart Ave Verum and Laudate Dominum in the first half were moving and thought provoking. This was followed by the performance of Haydn's Nelson Mass which was thrilling at times reflecting the period of the Napoleonic wars when it was written, . We were delighted to have such wonderful soloists to join us and thank Chloe Stratta, Alice Risdon, Matthew Jeffry, and Owaline Browne.

Saturday 26 March 2022, 7.30pm
St John the Baptist , Wellington
The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins and Faure's Requiem
Wellington Choral Society were delighted to finally perform The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins on Saturday 26 March 2022. We had rehearsed this for a performance  in March 2020 which sadly had to be cancelled a week before due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  For all the singers, and we  hope our audience, it was a moving performance dedicated to the people of the Ukraine. 
​

Saturday 23 October 2021, 7.30pm
St John the Baptist , Wellington
Haydn’s Creation
Wellington Choral Society were delighted to perform our first concert 18 months away on Saturday 23 October 2021 of The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn. This was a resounding success and delighted the audience and comments were fulsome:
"I 
would like to express my appreciation to the Wellington Choral Society for the Haydn concert on Saturday 23rd October. It was a wonderfully uplifting experience and was received with much enthusiasm by the audience. I was particularly impressed that one person who had not heard the Creation before praised all aspects of the performance. Many thanks to all of you."

"I thought the choir were in good voice, the harmonies were simply beautiful. I appreciate that many of the passages were extremely challenging but the choir sailed through with style. The reduced numbers did not appear to impact the performance
 "
​
​
Saturday 28 March 2020
St John the Baptist, Wellington
Jenkins-The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
CANCELLED 
 due to Coronavirus

Saturday 14 December2020
​Wells Cathedral
SING FOR SOMERSET Carol Service
Laurence Blyth conductor

WCS joined members of other local choral societies again in the wonderful setting of Wells Cathedral, taking part as Somerset Voices and accompanied by The Mid Somerset Orchestra. The Service highlighted the work of the   NSPCC 
​


Saturday 30 November 2019
St John the Baptist, Wellington
​Wellington Choral Society performed Brahms German Requiem accompanied by piano duet and with soloists Tim Mirfin Bass and Krystle Ride Soprano. There was a full church and the society was delighted to welcome Mark Lithgow Deputy Mayor of Wellington Town Council to hear the concert. It was a moving performance of a wonderful work that has many truly melodic movements reflecting Brahms approach to celebrate life in this requiem mass. Tim Mirfin Bass soloist also sang the four 'Ernste Gesange' and the choir sang the beautiful 'Geistliches Lied'.

Saturday 30 March 2019
St John the Baptist, Wellington
Bach: St Matthew Passion
Musical Director: Laurence Blyth
Evangelist: Nicholas Hawker (tenor), Jesus: Tim Mirfin (bass)
Soloists: Emily Griffiths (soprano), Sebastian Field (countertenor)
Michael Gormley (tenor), Matthew Cann (bass), David McKee (bass)
​with the Wellington Consort and the Wellington Sinfonia

​Wellington Choral Society was delighted to receive countless messages of praise and appreciation received for our performance of the Passion in front of a packed house. It was a very special occasion, because to our delight our Patron, Elizabeth Watts was present. Also present, on one of the last official engagements of his mayoralty, was our good friend and supporter, Cllr Gary James, Mayor of Wellington and his wife Bee.
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Saturday 15 December 2018
Wells Cathedral

SING FOR SOMERSET Carol Service
Laurence Blyth conductor

WCS joined members of other local choral societies again in the wonderful setting of Wells Cathedral, taking part as Somerset Voices and accompanied by The Mid Somerset Orchestra. The Service highlighted the work of the Somerset Community Foundation. ​

Sunday 2 December 2018
Wellesley Theatre, Wellington
Christmas at The Wellesley

​WCS took part for the first time in this local Christmas event, together with other local groups and societies, and sang two carols from the programme planned for the 'Sing for Somerset' Carol Service in Wells Cathedral later in the month.

Saturday 24 November 2018
​
St John the Baptist, Wellington
REMEMBRANCE - 100 YEARS
​
Musical director - Laurence Blyth
Wellington Choral Society, Welllington Sinfonia 
Sarah Wynne (soprano - in place of Catherine Luke who was ill), Olivia Jane Gomez (mezzo-soprano), Michael Graham (tenor), James Quilligan (baritone) and David Davies (organist)

WCS presented a Concert of Remembrance with a programme of readings, organ music and choral singing which included Geraint Lewis 
The Souls of the Righteous, John Ireland Greater love hath no man, Ralph Vaughan Williams Lord, Thou hast been our refuge and Duruflé Requiem. 
​
The Mayor of Wellington, Cllr Gary James, the Deputy Mayor and their consorts were present. Cllr James thanked the Society for "... a very moving and thoughtful concert, in true respect for the Fallen, not only of 100 years ago but for all of our service personnel who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf!"
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Michael Rose, President of the Wellington Branch of the Royal British Legion, wrote "I felt proud that the town was capable of putting on such an ambitious and fitting tribute to all those who died and/or suffered through the conflicts of the last 104 years." 

Our retiring collection for this concert was for for SSAFA Somerset, who work with all branches of the Armed Services and their families and dependents.

Saturday 24 March 2018
St John's Church, Wellington
Handel: Messiah

​
Wellington Choral Society
conducted by Laurence Blyth
​Daisy Walford soprano, Juliet Curnow mezzo soprano
​
Nicholas Hawker tenor, Matthew Cann bass
and Wellington Sinfonia

​In front of an almost full house members of WCS put on a memorable performance of Handel's Messiah, which was attended by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Wellington and their Consorts. It was a special occasion for another reason too - the Society was using its own recently-purchased staging for the first time and we're looking forward to our November concert when we will be able to complete the set-up with new seating. 

​The retiring collection was for STAR, the Somerset Trust for Arts & Recreation.
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Saturday 16 December 2017
Wells Cathedral

SING FOR SOMERSET Carol Service
Laurence Blyth conductor

WCS joined members of other local choral societies in the wonderful setting of Wells Cathedral, taking part as Somerset Voices and accompanied by The Mid Somerset Orchestra. The Service highlighted the work of the Somerset Community Foundation. 

Saturday 25 November 2017
Exeter Cathedral

R. Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.1 "A Sea Symphony"
(Sponsored by The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust)
Wellington Choral Society, Exeter Choral Society, Exmouth Choral Society
​
with the Exeter Symphony Orchestra

Conductors: Laurence Blyth and Brian Northcott
Soloists: Alison Burnett soprano, Paul Sheehan baritone

All seats were sold for our November concert which was a very special occasion for WCS. Our Music Director, Laurence Blyth was tasked with bringing over 200 voices together - members of his three choirs, Wellington Choral Society, Exeter Choral Society and Exmouth Choral Society - for this very challenging work, Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony. "I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to conduct such a large-scale performance of this amazing symphony in such stunning surroundings. Many of the singers had not sung in the Cathedral before, and I knew that they were looking forward to it," he said.
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The concert included Sir Arnold Bax's tone poem, November Woods, performed by Exeter Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Brian Northcott, and began with the choir singing RVW's Old Hundredth Psalm (All People that on earth do dwell).

There was a retiring collection for the RNLI.
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© James Forshall
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© James Forshall
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© James Forshall

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Saturday 25 March 2017
​St John’s Church, Wellington 

   
Music by HANDEL, POULENC, MENDELSSOHN and ELGAR
Conducted by Laurence Blyth

Héloïse West soprano
David Davies organist

WCS is extremely grateful to Robin Maddock for the photos shown below.
​(Click on an image to enlarge it.)
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Saturday 26 November 2016
St John's Church, Wellington

WCS performed J S Bach's Christmas Oratorio in English to an almost full house, with Julia Featherstone (soprano), Olivia Jane Gomez (mezzo-soprano), Samuel Jenkins (tenor), Julian Rippon (bass) and Wellington Sinfonia, conducted by Laurence Blyth.


(left) Image of Virgin and the Christ Child, by Luca della Robbia, reproduced by kind permission of All Saints' Church, Nynehead

Thank you to Piers Yeomans for the photos shown below.
(Click on an image to enlarge it)
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Samuel Jenkins, tenor and Olivia Jane Gomez, mezzo-soprano
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Julian Rippon, bass and Julia Featherstone, soprano
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Laurence, WCS and Wellington Sinfonia
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The choir

Concerts from 2000 and past reviews

​       >  List of Concerts since 2000
       >  Review March 2016
​       >  Review November 2015
       >  Review March 2015
       >  Review November 2014
       >  Review March 2014

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Copyright © 2021 Wellington Choral Society, Somerset
  • Home
  • About us
    • Patron
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    • Privacy Policy
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  • History
  • CONCERTS
    • Past concerts
    • Future concerts
  • Join us
  • MEMBERS
    • News & general information
    • Dates for the diary
    • Rehearsal notes and Practice Aids
    • Concert day
    • Fundraising
    • WCS's policy documents
  • Cameo
  • Contact