St. Mary's has a full 4-part choir and regularly sing at services here in St. Mary's upholding the church's musical tradition. We also sing with other choirs and around the local area at various events. We are proud to be the winners of the coveted BDOCA Hatpin trophy for SATB choirs this year after a superb performance from the choir on the day.

Anyone interested in joining the junior choir should be between the ages of 7 and 17 with a good  reading ability. Adult singers are also welcome. Please contact the choirmaster for more information.

What  should you expect?
 
We are affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) and use their Voice For Life program. Two adult members have achieved the adult singing award, two juniors choristers the bronze and two the silver awards. Many famous stars started off singing in choirs, it is a good foundation, develops the voice and provide plenty of practice. Here is a small list of famous people who were in church choirs: Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Katy Perry,  Avril Lavigne, Aretha Franklin, Whiney Houston and Mission Impossible's Kevin Costner.

There are several things choristers will gain from being in St. Mary's choir, not just musical skill:

1. Free musical training
2. The opportunity to make new friends and contacts.
3. Feeling of satisfaction and achievement
4. A transferable skill that you can use for the rest of your life.
5. Under 16s increase reading ability, speech fluency in languages, team working, social skills, memorising capacity, time management skills, learning ability, problem-solving ability, ability to handle performance pressures (stress), artistic ability, and neatness have all been shown by research to improve from being in a choir.
6. Youngsters get a small financial reward for weddings - a welcome supplement to pocket money.

The choir is a good social environment for both the children and adults and we sing a wide variety of beautiful and challenging music.

The Church Organ