CHOIR OFFERS LOCAL MEN “A PIZZA, A PINT AND A SONG”
Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir is running a “Taster Evening” at Hogs Back Brewery on 16th April

Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir has announced a “Taster Evening” to be run at Hogs Back Brewery on Wednesday 16th April at 6:30 p.m. to encourage men into singing in a choir.

Following a very successful similar event focused around Camberley in 2024, and which led to 15 new members permanently joining, the choir is now inviting men from Farnham and surrounding areas to come along to a fun evening at the iconic home of local Surrey beers – the Hogs Back Brewery at Tongham near Farnham.  The choir is seeking both experienced singers and those who haven’t even sung since schooldays to have a go. There is no audition to join in, no need to be able to read music and everyone will enjoy a free drink, a snack and a short singing session guided by the choir’s exceptional Music Director, Philip Viveash-Brainch. There is no charge for taking part, but pre-booking is requested for catering numbers – at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/ECIV.

Announcing the event, Chairman of Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir, Peter Viveash, said “We are passionate about spreading the word to men about both the physical and mental health benefits of singing in a choir” and added “No one should be be nervous about trying us out – we have a great deal of fun while being expertly tutored and supported by our MD”.
 

It was the turn of the good folk of Farnham to be treated to one of our roving sing-outs on Saturday 22nd February.  We entertained shoppers in the Lion & Lamb Courtyard and were sporting our new choir baseball caps!

At a recent rehearsal, Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir presented the donations from their Christmas concert to Community and Engagement Officer, Fleur Powell, from the charity Parity For Disability. Total donations were over £1,200 with Gift Aid..
Making the donation Peter Viveash said “Parity For Disability provides much needed support for local people with multiple disabilities. Our choir member, Matthew, massively benefitted from the service and so we were delighted to repay that by supporting the charity”.  In response, Fleur Powell thanked the choir saying “Your kind donation shows the support in the community for people with multiple disabilities. These funds will help ensure our students continue to have access to specialist staff, equipment and technologies, engage in fun activities, build friendships and networks, use and develop skills and contribute to their community just like everyone else is doing. We couldn't be more grateful!"

After forty years of being unpaid accompanist to our choir Margery has earned her retirement!

Not only that, the powers that be have awarded her the The British Citizen Award for Services to the Community (BCAc) in recognition of her support to us, and we were delighted to present it to her during our rehearsal on Monday, along with our gifts and a rendition of "What would I do without my music".  Attached is the press release announcing the award to Margery. In it the citation reads:

SURREY CHOIR ACCOMPANIST HONOURED WITH  THE BRITISH CITIZEN AWARD

Margery Wakefield, from Surrey, is among 26 exceptional individuals to be honoured with the esteemed British Citizen Award (BCA).

Margery was presented with her BCA Medal of Honour and Certificate of Honour at a local presentation attended by members of her local community, family, friends and Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir.  Margery received the coveted BCA Medal of Honour for Service to Community (BCAc). Recipients of The British Citizen Award are entitled to use the post-nominals to commemorate their achievements.

The Rushmoor Odd Fellows Male Voice Choir, (now the “Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir”), was formed in 1960 and since then has performed to raise money for charities large and small locally and nationally. In 1984, Margery joined as the Choir’s accompanist and has just retired after 40 years volunteering. She has been instrumental in entertaining the public, improving the musicality of the choir members, and was an ever-present volunteer at every rehearsal and performance. 

Over the last 40 years, Margery rehearsed with the choir every week for 40 weeks a year, supporting around eight concerts per year, accompanying four different musical directors. Now 87, Margery’s volunteering still continues as she turns all of her attention to ‘The Kindred Spirits’, a choir formed from women recovering from breast cancer.

With Margery’s four decades’ support, the choir has raised over £400,000 for many projects within the local area including local Hospices, Make a Wish Foundation, The Hope Hub, a homeless charity and nationally contributing to the Parkinsons Disease Society. Margery’s dedication to improving the choir’s performance has been diligent and she has engaged all choir members with humour and ensured a sense of teamwork runs through the charity.

Stephanie Wood from BCA Partner One Stop commented, "This year's medalists exemplify the incredible support within our communities, especially during challenging times. We're honoured to partner with the BCA and play a part in recognising these exceptional individuals.


Happy Retirement Margery Wakefield BCAc!

We were very happy to be invited to support Rushmoor Borough Council's first-ever Men's Health Day in Farnborough on 18th January. As well as a table/stand at which members of the choir were on hand to explain the many physical and mental health benefits to be gained by joining a choir we provided a short "sing-out" to entertain the shoppers in the Princesmead shopping centre

Our Christmas Concert this year, at High Cross Church in Camberley on 19th December, was a "sell-out" with a capacity audience of over 200 including Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Sarbie Kang and many other honoured guests.

The packed church was treated to a wonderful, seasonal selection of songs with the choir singing "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas", "Ding Dong Merrily On High", and "The Christmas Song" in their programme and guest soprano, Laura Sillett, performing eight Christmas numbers from stage and screen including well-loved traditional hits such as "White Christmas"  through to a comic number, "Don't Talk About Christmas", that was specially written for Laura.

The choir also included non-seasonal favourites, "Speed Your Journey", "On The Street Where You Live", "Bring Him Home", "76 Trombones", Londonderry Air", "What Would I Do Without My Music?", and "Wellerman" in their programme. "My Lord What A Mornin'" featured as the "choral hug" number (sung around the audience) that has now become a regular feature of our concerts.

The audience got to join in with a Christmas medley (Snow Business) while the choir tried to hide various Father Christmas paraphenalia from the stern gaze of Music Director, Phillip Viveash-Brainch. As the concert was in support of the Parity For Disability charity, choir member and previous service user of the charity, Matthew James, provided a solo rendition of "Stars" from Les Miserables and the whole concert culminated with a performance of "O Holy Night" with Laura Sillett taking the solo.


 

Oh! the weather outside is frightful...
It was a chilly and damp morning outside Tesco's at The Meadows in Camberley today - but we cheered up the shoppers with some festive numbers. We were supporting the 41 Club and Father Christmas (!) collecting for a variety of good causes. Roger's sausage rolls were a welcome addition!

Our first actual concert for the festive season was with the Sandhurst Silver Band at a new location for us - the renowned Camberley music venue called "The Login Lounge".  We performed a variety of seasonal songs, the band played some others and the audience got to join in with a couple of well-known christmas carols. Our set included It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas, Ding! Dong! Merrily On High, Deck The Hall, Past Three A'Clock, The Christmas Song, and we also included a few non-festive favourites - On The Street Where You Live, Seventy-Six Trombones, Londonderry Air and Wellerman.
It was a sell-out concert in aid of Surrey Heath Age Concern with the audience having a lovely start to their Christmas season. As you can see - the charity were also very happy, with £400 raised: