Welcome to Wetherby Choral Society

Following on from our very exciting and successful 50th anniversary concert (see photos and news), we are now hard at work rehearsing for our next performance, which will include:

Vivaldi: Introduction and Gloria
Bach: Cantate 51 — Jauchzet Gott
Handel: Dettingen Te Deum

Saturday June 29th, 7.30pm

2023-24 Season Programme and ticket details

About the Society

We were founded in 1974 and now have well over 100 members. Our weekly rehearsals are friendly and informal.
We are a registered charity (Charity No. 510264) whose aim, according to our constitution, is to 'prepare music for performance and . . . to educate . . . through the presentation of a series of concerts throughout the season'. Put less formally: we all have a common love of choral singing and our objective is simple - to sing and learn together and to make good music!

We are a community choir and strive for high standards of performance. No audition is required to become a member, but the ability to sight-read is useful.

What do we sing?

Under the enthusiastic direction of John Dunford, we have covered a wide range of music encompassing most familiar choral works - and some not so often heard. From Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 to Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man, via works by, among many others, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, Fauré, Rossini, Schubert, Finzi, Puccini, Orff, John Rutter, and, of course, Handel.

Click here to see a complete list of all the concerts we have performed since our foundation in 1974.

We aim to put on four major concerts a year, (although for the 2022/23 season it will be three), normally at our home venue of St James' Church, Wetherby (by kind permission of the Priest-in-Charge and church wardens).

We occasionally perform at other venues, including Leeds Town Hall and Ripon Cathedral, and from time to time we join with other choirs to tackle major works such as Verdi's Requiem and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.

Committee 2023-24

For details of our current committee, please see our Members' page.

John Dunford, Music Director

John began his musical career as a treble in Birmingham Parish Church Choir. He continued his musical training at Trinity College of Music studying organ, singing, piano, harpsichord and conducting, where he won the Choral Conducting prize and was appointed Senior Student of the College in his final year. While a student at Trinity College of Music he formed and directed a chamber choir which won considerable acclaim. Among the choir's invitations was one to sing the semichorus in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius in Fairfield Hall, Croydon. A professional group of ten singers which he created has made a recording in collaboration with the choir of Cork Cathedral, although, at the time, John was at an international music festival in Rome working with Arthur Oldham and Claudio Abbado.

As a teacher John has been Director of Music in four independent schools including 23 years at Ashville College in Harrogate and, after a period working at Cundall Manor School as a teacher of piano and singing, he retired in 2023.

Throughout his career John has maintained an active professional life as an organist, singer and conductor. He has held a number of organists posts including a period in charge of music at Sheffield Cathedral and has played at concerts and services in some 20 Cathedrals in UK and on the Continent. In recent years he has been devoting his time to giving organ recitals, something he has never done on a regular basis with over 25 given in the last few years.

One of John's trademarks is his vocal dexterity. While professionally he sings most frequently as a tenor soloist, he has also had engagements as a bass and a countertenor. Over the years he has sung regularly with many Yorkshire choirs including Sheffield Bach Society, Sheffield Oratorio Chorus and Doncaster Choral Society. Among many other roles, he has sung Evangelist in Bach's St John Passion, taken the title role in Britten's St Nicolas, and sung the extraordinary swan solo in Carmina Burana in performances in Sheffield and Ely Cathedrals and twice in Harrogate as well as performing in most of the classical masses and requiems.

John's career moved through initial ambitions as an organist, to establishing a solo vocal career (much to his surprise) but having retired, he now devotes his musical abilities towards his choral conducting and organ practice. He is the longest serving conductor of Wetherby Choral Society (1993) and Ripon Choral Society (1997).

It is John’s belief that everyone should be encouraged to join in choral singing and his mission is to maintain the best of the great English Choral Tradition performing a wide range of music, presenting many musical challenges, with professional orchestras and soloists to the highest possible standards. His choirs will tell of his energy, sense of humour, funny stories and anecdotes all designed to make the hard work of the learning process an enjoyable experience for all.

The Yorkshire Post recently interviewed John to ask him about all things Yorkshire and you can read the article here.

Accompanist

We are very grateful to Matthew Atherton for acting as our temporary accompanist for this summer term.

Accompanist vacancy

We are now seeking to to appoint a new accompanist from September 2024. We are looking for someone who shares our love of the English choral tradition and who will relish the prospect of accompanying repertoire from the last 400 years. They should be a fluent pianist with good sight-reading and score-reading abilities, preferably with experience of the demands of choral accompaniment. Opportunities exist for playing continuo at concerts, although this is not essential.

Short-listed candidates will be invited to accompany a regular rehearsal as part of the selection process.

Remuneration and contract period are negotiable, and subject to an annual review.

If you are interested in this position, please send a letter of application and CV to secretary@wetherbychoral.org.uk from whom full details about this position, including remuneration, are available. Closing date for application is May 18th.