The start of a new year is always exciting and for Ipswich Choral Society especially as they welcomed their new Music Director Chris Borrett. Chris is well-known in Ipswich having been appointed Director of Music at Ipswich Minster in 2015, where he trains the choristers, recruiting them through workshops from over fifteen local schools.

After studying music at New College Oxford, Chris sang professionally in London and across the world. He was a member of the Monteverdi Choir and a founding member of the Marian Consort. Chris also directs the Ipswich Minster Chamber Choir. His work also incorporates choir training, singing, composing, and working as a singing teacher in the Ipswich area.

Over the last 10 years, the Choir of Ipswich Minster has featured on Classic FM’s Drivetime Discovery of the Week for their carol recording of The Road to Bethlehem. In January 2022, the choir also broadcast Choral Matins live on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship programme.  Recently, they recorded Midnight Mass for Christmas Eve for the Church of England’s YouTube broadcast.  The choir has recently recorded Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Foundling Hospital Anthem which will be officially released in April 2025.

Chris is excited to be working with Ipswich Choral Society and becoming part of an active and energetic choir committed to presenting choral music to a high standard. “It is a great honour to be appointed the new Director of Music of the venerable Ipswich Choral Society. Musically this is a wonderful opportunity for me to work with new and enthusiastic people in Ipswich and explore a bigger choral repertoire. I have witnessed both from afar and close-up (as a soloist), the wonderful contribution the group makes to the vibrant music scene here in Ipswich and East Suffolk.

Furthermore, my family and I love this part of the world and all it offers culturally. I have worked in Ipswich for the past 15 years and am very happy here. I look forward to making more wonderful music in this fantastic town.

Chris will be directing the choir this term towards a special performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Halifax Choral Society on 12th April in Halifax Minster. For the summer term, the focus shifts to rousing choral classics to be performed at the Ipswich Charter825 Festival concert in June, celebrating the 825th anniversary of the Ipswich Charter granted by King John.

Phil Powditch, Chair of Ipswich Choral Society, gave Chris a warm welcome on behalf of choir members at the first rehearsal of term: “It was a great pleasure welcoming our new Musical Director Chris Borrett at our first full rehearsal of term, working on Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Speaking to Chris, it is clear he is really passionate about the Arts in Ipswich and highly respected by many in the Arts scene in town. I’m sure we will forge a very fruitful relationship and everyone at Ipswich Choral Society is looking forward to working with him.”

Continuing their 200th Anniversary celebrations, Ipswich Choral Society return to Ipswich Corn Exchange to perform Handel’s choral masterpiece ‘Messiah’ on 14th December. It is one of the most performed works in the Society’s history, with excerpts first sung at a concert by the choir in 1825.

Joining Ipswich Choral Society for this performance are special guests Ipswich Chamber Choir, celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. Celebrating 25 years as President of Ipswich Choral Society, Cem Mansur will conduct both choirs, along with soloists from the Royal Academy of Music and the ICS Festival orchestra. Ipswich Choral Society is excited to introduce four young soloists from the Royal Academy of Music, soprano Caroline Blair, alto Oryna Veselovska, tenor Matthew Cooke and bass Tom Butler. All the soloists are supported by the Josephine Baker Trust. Accompanying all the singers is the ICS Festival orchestra, led by Michael Dolan.

Ipswich Corn Exchange is the venue that has hosted the most concerts of ‘Messiah’ by Ipswich Choral Society. Reviewing the choir archive, the concert on 14th December will be the twenty first performance of ‘Messiah’ by the Society at the Corn Exchange. The Public Hall which stood on Westgate Street opened in 1868 with seating for 1,500 people. It was a popular venue for Ipswich Choral Society concerts, with ‘Messiah’ performed there sixteen times, until it was closed in 1948.

Other locations for Ipswich Choral Society ‘Messiah’ performances include the New Assembly Rooms in Northgate Street which opened in 1821; local churches such as St Mary-le-Tower, St Lawrence’s, St Michael’s, St Matthew’s and St Augustine’s as well as the Regent Theatre and Hippodrome Theatre in Ipswich. Further afield Ipswich Choral Society also performed ‘Messiah’ at Stowmarket Corn Exchange, Felixstowe Spa Pavilion and Snape Maltings Concert Hall for the choir’s 180th anniversary.

As one of the best-known choral works Handel’s ‘Messiah’ holds a special place in the hearts of singers and audiences alike. With this performance, Ipswich Choral Society pays homage to the many singers who have sung with the choir since 1824. For the audience, it promises to be a fantastic evening and certainly not to be missed!

Handel’s Messiah

Saturday 14 December 2024, 7.00pm

Ipswich Corn Exchange, IP1 1DH

  • Ipswich Choral Society
  • Cem Mansur Conductor
  • Special guests Ipswich Chamber Choir
  • Soloists from the Royal Academy of Music
  • Caroline Blair Soprano | Oryna Veselovska Alto
  • Matthew Cooke Tenor | Tom Butler Bass
  • ICS Festival Orchestra

Tickets (includes booking fee): Full £22, U16s £11

Available from the Corn Exchange Box Office tel: 01473 433100 or online ipswichtheatres.co.uk

The Royal Academy of Music soloists are supported by the Josephine Baker Trust.

ICS Dec2024 concert poster

More wonderful memories for Ipswich Choral Society’s 200th anniversary year, with the “Celebrating Wolsey” event last Saturday, sadly the last performance with Robin Walker conducting as ICS Music Director.

Celebrating the anniversaries marking 550 years since the birth of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and 200 years since Ipswich Choral Society was formed, the “Celebrating Wolsey” community event was held in Christchurch Park on 29th June. Ipswich Choral Society was delighted to receive a community grant from the Thomas Wolsey 550 project and commissioned three new choral works by Elizabeth Alexander, Mark Blatchly and Stephen Rumsey, all premiered at the event.

The rehearsal before the concert was an emotional one, as the choir presented Robin with gifts and cards, plus an amazing choral cake from local supplier Simply T’s! Preparing for concerts is hard work, however Robin ensured that rehearsals were as enjoyable as the final performances.

From Robin’s debut “Glorious First” concert back in November 2015, he directed Ipswich Choral Society for fantastic concerts at Snape, the amazing “Ipswich Remembers” performances in Ipswich Corn Exchange, travelled to Halifax and further afield to Belgium and Italy, conducted the choir’s debut performances in Ely Cathedral and Blythburgh as well as numerous concerts around Ipswich, before rounding it all off with the outdoor performance in Christchurch Park.

Everyone at Ipswich Choral Society will miss Robin and we wish him all the best for his future plans.

Conducting the choir has given me opportunities I’d never have had, and for that I’m so very grateful.  I never thought I’d get the chance to work with dancers, choreographers, film makers, a world-class professional orchestra, poets, photographers, be interviewed on the radio, and to get to know you all.  It’s been great experience – I’ve learnt so much about myself, about music, and about what it means to be a choir and sing together.  Thank you.” Robin Walker

Wow, what a day! Saturday was amazing, from the afternoon rehearsal through to the concert finale. Our 200th anniversary was well and truly celebrated in style!

Singing again with our Yorkshire friends Halifax Choral Society was wonderful, thank you for making the journey down to Suffolk and celebrating with us. Britten Sinfonia were fantastic, it was a delight to watch them during rehearsal and in the concert. The soloists, Anna Dennis, Ryan Vaughan Davies and Dan D’Souza were absolutely fabulous. We were blown away by their amazing singing. Our accompanist Mark Blatchly was also there on stage with us, playing the chamber organ superbly.

Last but certainly not least, celebrating his birthday as well as the anniversary Robin Walker. A huge task preparing for the concert and directing everything on stage, all that hard work paid off! Thank you Robin from us all Ipswich Choral Society.

The message from Cem Mansur, ICS president, says it all!

Congratulations to you all for such an exciting and moving performance at Snape. Your work, dedication and love of the music shone through in every bar. Great work by Robin and all of you.
I felt once more, privileged and proud of our association and can’t wait to make music together again.
Best wishes to you all,
Cem

Very special for ICS, also on stage with us for the afternoon rehearsal and the concert, was one of the handwritten scores used by the founding ICS members. The book of 23 religious anthems scored for the Alto voice is inscribed on the cover “Ipswich Choral Society 1824”; the manuscript paper is watermarked 1822.

Choirs are all about people. We meet and sing together every week at rehearsal, as do many thousands of choir members across the UK. ICS members have been meeting for 200 years, and then delighting local audiences with concert performances.

To have a piece of ICS history on stage with us was incredible. Many thanks to Suffolk Archives for allowing us to have the 1824 score for the day. Certainly helped make the 200th anniversary celebration memorable and allowed the 2024 members contribute to that rich heritage of the Ipswich Choral Society.

Special thanks to Matt Clarke for the photography.

The Suffolk Chronicle dated 24th January 1824 announced that a Musical Society was to be formed and a concert to be held at the end of March 1824.  That Musical Society was Ipswich Choral Society and started out with around 20 singers. The newly formed society met on Tuesdays once a fortnight to rehearse for their first concert, and Ipswich Choral Society still meets on a Tuesday, although rehearsals are now weekly.

Singing in a choral society was a popular pastime in the late 19th Century. By 1885 there were 264 members of Ipswich Choral Society made up of 94 sopranos, 65 altos, 40 tenors and 65 basses. Today Ipswich Choral Society has around 90 members, and always happy to welcome new members.

On 23rd January 2024, Ipswich Choral Society celebrated the anniversary of it’s formation 200 years ago during an extended rehearsal break. The cake was absolutely delicious and totally demolished!!  We sang even better after the break and now can’t wait to perform The Creation at Snape Maltings with Halifax Choral Society and the Britten Sinfonia to celebrate in style.

Photo1 of ICS rehearsal on 23 January 2024Photo2 of ICS rehearsal on 23 January 2024Photo3 of ICS rehearsal on 23 January 2024

 

 

January 2024 will mark a major milestone for Ipswich Choral Society, reaching 200 years since the formation of the society. A great achievement that everyone in Ipswich should be proud of. Members still enjoy performing a variety of choral music in the friendly company of like-minded singers, and rehearsals are still on Tuesday evening, same as in 1824!

To put this in context, 200 years ago, George IV was on the throne, Beethoven and Schubert were still alive, transport mainly by horse drawn coach (the world’s first public railway using steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, was opened in 1825) and the rules of football hadn’t been drawn up. Ipswich Town was formed as an amateur club in 1878.

Thanks to a National Lottery Heritage grant a few years ago, Ipswich Choral Society was able to research the history of the choir. Searching archives, a rather special, hand-written book of scores, with the inscription “Ipswich Choral Society, Alto 1824” was uncovered. The hand-written music was excerpts from Haydn’s ‘The Creation’ which was then performed in public by the newly formed society the following year.

The research undertaken has enabled Ipswich Choral Society to discover details of past concert performances which has thrown up some interesting discoveries.

The earliest surviving concert programme found dates back to 1829. Ipswich Choral Society have performed with world famous soloists such as Robert Tear, Janet Baker, Kathleen Ferrier, Owen Brannigan, Michael Maybrick, Frank Titterton, Isobel Baillie, Felicity Palmer, and Lesley Garrett. Benjamin Britten was President of the Society from 1948 to 1958. All the research was published in a book “Notes in Time” describing the formation of the Society and its impact on the Ipswich arts scene.

Ipswich Choral Society will be performing Haydn’s ‘The Creation’ at Snape Maltings on 20th April 2024 as part of the bicentenary celebrations. The 200th anniversary season will be launched on 9th December 2023 with the return of Ipswich Choral Society’s Christmas Spectacular. For details of the anniversary events, please visit our events page.

Ipswich Choral Society will be back rehearsing from 5th September at Northgate Arts Centre. New members are always welcome, as well as improving your singing, joining a choir is a great way to make new friends. And for Ipswich Choral Society, making memories for future members to look back on in another 200 years’ time!

Friends of ICS are hosting a Quiz Supper evening to raise money for Ipswich Choral Society’s 200th anniversary events. You are invited to gather a team of 6 people or we can assemble scratch teams if you prefer to come on your own – a good way to meet new people! Compere will be ICS Chair, Phil Powditch. There will be rounds to suit everyone, including young people – visual and tactile skills may be as handy as general knowledge.  There will be a cash bar and a raffle, plus prizes for the winning quiz team of course.
Saturday 18th March, 7pm at Grundisburgh Village Hall
£12 per person, max 6 people in a team
Entry fee includes supper
There will be a cash bar and a raffle
Parking is available
To book, call 01473 258943
Scratch teams can be assembled, let us know when booking

 

Quiz flyer image

We have received some sad news that our dear friend June Catling has passed away.  June was a familiar face at ICS rehearsals and concerts where she had been providing refreshments for us and our audiences since the mid-eighties.

Her enthusiastic fundraising, with events such as Coffee Mornings, Christmas Fayres and various cake sales, helped the choir beyond measure and allowed us all to enjoy our hobby, creating memories for that we will forever cherish.

We send our sincere condolences to all of her family and friends.

We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It was a privilege to sing the music at our June concert to mark her Platinum Jubilee, that her Majesty would have enjoyed hearing throughout her reign.

Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this difficult time.

Dig out your music folder, sharpen your pencils and grab some throat lozenges, it’s back to choir after the summer break!

Ipswich Choral rehearsals start up Tues 6 September, 7.30pm at Northgate Arts Centre in Ipswich. This term we’re working on requiem masses by John Rutter and Gabriel Fauré, to be performed at St. Mary-le-Tower on Saturday 12 November.

Please come along if you would like to sing with us! For more information, email our recruitment officer Kate Dixon who will be happy to answer any queries you may have.