About Us
Solihull Choral Society is a mixed choir of some 50 members. Under the skilled leadership of its professional Music Director, Andrew Fletcher, the choir performs at least four concerts each year. The programmes draw mainly from the Baroque and Classical sacred choral repertoire, but also includes music of twentieth-century composers such as Tippett and Bernstein. Whatever the repertoire, though, the goal is always the same: to create a blended, well-tuned sound worthy of a professional group.
Professional soloists and orchestras are always engaged and certain concerts such as the Monteverdi Vespers would be performed with a specialist professional orchestra.
The choir performs regularly in the beautiful acoustic of Olton Friary and in Solihull Methodist Church. Venues outside Solihull include St.James‘s Packington, St.Georges‘ Edgbaston and St.Paul‘s Hockley.
Choir Members
The choir numbers around 50 singing members.
| Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Bass |
|
Helen Bowden Kathy Carter Helen Gibbins Gill King Joan Lilburn Jane Perera Pamela Price Ann Ramsay Elissa Renouf Ruth Sabbagh Rosalind Spittle Pauline Tregellas Alison Vining Imogen Vining |
Sue Baker Sarah Black Helen Brown Ann-Carol Carrington Janet Gibbins Karen Hodson Gillian Jackson Jo Johnson Angela Kershaw Helen Kiteley Sue Lawrence Janet Mercer Helen Milner Pauline Milnes Katherine Mulekezi Jean Pearson Carolyn Small Janet Thomas |
James Andrews Michael Bennett Paul Clark John Hickman Trevor Hockin Alan Kirkby David Tomlinson John Wilkinson |
John Bendell George Bomford Simon Durk Mark Emms Sebastian Grubb Tom Lilburn Colin Price Joseph Waggott Geoff Wyatt |
Committee
With the exception of the Music Director, who is on the committee ex officio, committee members are elected at the AGM.
| Chairman | Geoff Wyatt |
| Musical Director/Conductor | Andrew Fletcher |
| Treasurer | Helen Kiteley |
| Secretary | Carolyn Small |
| Concert Manager | Victoria Worship |
| Print and Design | John Bendell |
| Marketing and Recruitment | Elissa Renouf |
| Fundraising | Ruth Sabbagh |
| Concert Bookings | Helen Milner |
| Librarian | Ann Ramsay |
| Website/Photography | Mark Emms |
| Membership | Pauline Milnes |
Keep in Touch with the Choir
Musical Director
Birmingham-born Andrew Fletcher was educated at Moseley Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford, where he read music. A chorister at Yardley Parish Church from the age of seven, he quickly developed a strong interest in the organ and choral music. His studies with Philip Wills and Barry Draycott led to his gaining his ARCO at the age of sixteen. Under the tutelage of John Webster while organ scholar at Keble, he won the Turpin Prize at FRCO and subsequently gained the choir training diploma.