Brighton Voices Community Choir Home Page

Alexander's Feast - The Unofficial Album

Unofficial pictures and videos of our recent Alexander's Feast concert at the Meeting House at the University of Sussex, taken by members of the audience and the choir.

Brighton Voices Community Choir is runs in association with All Saints Hove under the musical directorship of David Stevens. We are fully independent of the church, who are kind enough to support us and to provide us with practice space and a musical director.

The choir is non-audition and friendly. Our aim is to sing music we enjoy and to challenge ourselves by performing about two concerts a year We welcome new members for all parts.

Membership is currently £30 a term (£90 per year), but you can try us out a couple of times for free! If you decide to join, our Membership Form is here. You can fill it out online, or print it out and bring it to a rehearsal.

January 2024 onwards

Weekly on Wednesdays during school terms (no rehearsals on school half terms)
7.30-9.30pm
at All Saints, Hove.
Spring Term 2024
10th January to 20th March inclusive
Summer Term 2024
10th April to 10th July inclusive
Brief Rehearsal, AGM and Social on 10th July
Autumn Term 2024
4th September to 11th December inclusive
Optional rehearsal 18th December

Please use the main entrance. For security reasons, the glass doors will be locked shortly after the start of the rehearsal, but we will see anyone who is late and let them in.

Note - The doors on Eaton Road will no longer be opened so entry via the vestry and side entrance will no longer be possible.

There are also some pre-rehearsal sessions on skills such as reading music. These start at 7:15 at All Saints, in the Crypt.

Rehearsal and performance dates can also be found on our calendar.

Our repertoire is both secular and sacred mostly classical music, sung in four or more parts with a smattering of Victorian Part Songs. In the past we have worked on a number of pieces that are more challenging than those traditionally undertaken by community choirs and will continue to do so.

Have a look at our Performances section (see headings) to get a better idea of our repertoire.

We had a very successful Come and Sing Stainer's Crucifixion Day at St Mary's Kemptown recently. We are now working on Alexander's Feast by Handel for our summer concert, (Saturday 6th July at The Meeting House, University of Sussex) which promises to be a very special event.

David Stevens

David is the Director of Music for Brighton Voices, and, before coming to Hove, held positions in Guildford, Newcastle and Wells cathedrals. He was also the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Belfast Cathedral, and his choirs broadcast on BBC TV (including a performance on Songs of Praise), UTV, BBC Radio and Radio Ulster, sang in concerts with the Ulster Orchestra and RTÉ Concert Orchestra, performed on-stage with NI Opera, and recorded a CD of new music for Christmas. David gives organ recitals throughout the UK, and also works as an orchestral keyboard player; he has played organ, harpsichord and harmonium for concerts, broadcasts and recordings with the Ulster Orchestra. David was the Organ Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford, studying the organ with Kevin Bowyer and David Sanger, and then studied Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Patrick Russill, from where he graduated with an MA with Distinction and the Irene Burcher Prize. In 2016 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for a ‘significant contribution to the music profession.’

2024

Summer Concert
Handel: Alexander's Feast
The Meeting House, Sussex University
Saturday 6th July 2024
Tickets from Eventbrite £25 (£15 for u16s)

Download

• Remembrance Concert
Harold Darke: As the Leaves Fall
on Saturday 9th November 2024

Christmas Concert
on Sunday 15th December 2024 at 7pm

Carol Crawl
on Friday 20th December 2024 setting off at 7pm

Performance and rehearsal dates can also be found on our calendar.

Performances under David Stevens

2024

Come and Sing - John Stainer: Crucifixion
Wednesday 27th March
St Mary's, Kemptown

2023

Lessons and Carols Service
on Sunday 17th December
All Saints Hove

Christmas by Candlelight
on Sunday 10th December
All Saints Hove

'Come and Sing' Fauré Requiem
on Saturday 4th November
All Saints Hove

From Pub to Pulpit - Vaughan Williams, with Broomdasher and Coracle
1st July 2023
All Saints Hove

Songs from The Four Nations, with The Brighton Guitar Group
24th June 2023
Stanford Avenue Methodist Church

Stainer's Crucifixion
April 2023
All Saints Hove

2022

All Saints Christmas Carol Service
December 2022
All Saints Hove

Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man
November 2022
All Saints Hove

Songs based on nature
July 2022
St Mary's Kemptown

Performances by other musicians in which you might be interested…

Saturday 22nd June
7.30pm St John's Church, Knoll Road BN1 6RB

BHAO Summer Concert

Beethoven, Bizet, Lili Boulanger, Delius, Fauré, Grieg, Jan Harris, Mozart, Richard Wiliams

Free, with retiring collection for "Off The Fence" local charity

www.bhao.org

Regular Events

Wednesdays - St Nicholas' Church Lunchtime Concerts

Listing

Thursdays - All Saints Lunchtime Concerts

Listing

Fridays - Brighton Unitarian Church Lunchtime Concerts

Listing

Brighton Voices Community Choir supports a number of charities. Under the directorship of David Stevens, we have supported:

Our Christmas social event, the Carol Crawl this year visited a number of pubs in the area around All Saints for

Save The Children

We raised an amazing £272 on the night - a huge thank you to all who supported us and to those who came and performed!

We will also supported The RNLI at Brighton Marina and performed to patients in the Stroke Unit at the Sussex County Hospital in December 2023.

Choir Officers
Dave Williams

Chair

Leads committee meetings.
Ensures clear policies and priorities.
Acts as spokesperson.
Acts as focal point for the committee.
Committee Members
Jean Thrussell

Catering

Manages the coffee break teams.
Ensures supplies of comestibles.
Oversees supply of crockery, cutlery etc.
Provisions social evenings.
Oversees catering of special events.

Dave Stevens

Choir Musical Director

This position is automatically granted to the Choir Musical Director.

A choir director is a skilled music professional who leads and directs choirs in creating harmonious and expressive musical performances. This role involves a combination of musical expertise, teaching skills, and organizational abilities.

The choir director is responsible for selecting repertoire that suits the abilities and preferences of their choir members in agreement with the rest of the committee, planning and conducting rehearsals to refine the ensemble's sound, and coordinating performances for various events. He helps to shape the artistic interpretation of the music, instructing singers on vocal techniques, dynamics, and expression. Additionally, the choir directors often work closely with accompanists, vocal coaches, and sometimes instrumentalists to ensure a cohesive and polished musical presentation.
Co-opted Members
- Facebook
- Instagram
Pennie Ingram

Facebook postings

Handles our Facebook postings.

Co-opted by the IT and Media member.