Tuesdays 10.00 am-12.00 pm Wilmslow, Cheshire. Singing for Fun (men's voices)(20 weeks+)

Tuesdays 1.30-3.30 pm Wilmslow, Cheshire. Singing for Fun (mixed voices)(20 weeks+)

Wednesdays 10.00 am-12.00 pm Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. Singing for Fun (mixed voices)(20 weeks+)

Fridays 10.00 am-12.00 pm Wilmslow, Cheshire. Singing for Fun (ladies' voices)(20 weeks+)

(organisers: the Wilmslow Guild, 1 Bourne Street, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5HD. 01625 523903)

All of the above choral groups are currently in full swing; nevertheless, new members are welcome to join us at any stage.

The Tuesday mixed-voices group has flourished at the Wilmslow Guild on Tuesday afternoons for the past eighteen years. Singers of all ages and levels of experience or inexperience (including none at all!) continue to be warmly welcomed into this extremely friendly and non-threatening group!

The Ladies' Singing for Fun developed out of the mixed-voices group in September 2001, and quickly developed into a very proficient and enthusiastic ensemble, as well as (again) a very friendly and welcoming one. Once again, singers of all levels of experience, including very limited, will be very welcome to join us.

The Wednesday morning mixed-voice group, which meets at the Parish Rooms in Cheadle Hulme, near Stockport, was a brand-new venture in September 2006, resulting from the ongoing success, and popularity, of the existing Tuesday and Friday groups. This group, too, has now established itself, and more male singers, of all levels of experience or inexperience, will still be particularly welcome to join this happy group. If potentially interested but unsure whether or not this is the right group for you, please just turn up and find out – you will be warmly welcomed!

The Tuesday morning male-voice group, which meets at the Dean Row Community Centre in Summerfields, near Handforth, was a brand-new venture in April 2011. Its instant success resulted in a fine debut appearance at the Guild concert in May. The Guild's own new boy band has already extended a warm welcome to some new members, but will continue to welcome more male singers of various levels of vocal experience, including very little. The musical repertory is attractively varied, taking in folksongs and part-songs, barbershop and close harmony items, as well as carols for the imminent Christmas season.

Please Contact Us, or telephone, if you wish to learn more about any of these activities, especially if you are considering joining.

Singing Courses at Higham Hall, Cumbria....

Roger Wilkes also directs several residential singing courses at Higham Hall in Cumbria. These courses include ever-popular Singing for the Tone Deaf weekend courses at Higham, designed both for any interested beginner and for those who have never dared sing before! The next Singing for the Tone Deaf course will be held in February 2012.

Other singing courses at Higham, aimed at singers of various levels of experience or inexperience, include Carols with Confidence, which caters both for experienced singers and, again, for those who have little or no previous experience of singing at all, as well as graduates of the Singing for the Tone Deaf weekends. The next such event will be held in December 2011.

Each year in May we hold a long-weekend 'Come and Sing a Musical' weekend, at which items from one or other musicals or shows, together with selections from Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, are rehearsed and performed. The next event will take place from 11 to 14 May 2012; music to be performed will be drawn from 'The King and I', by Rodgers & Hammerstein, 'The Student Prince', by Sigmund Romberg, and 'Merrie England', by Edward German.

(organisers: Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9SH (telephone 017687 76276; email admin@highamhall.com; web site www.highamhall.com. A brochure is available, and Higham’s web site gives much further information)

....and Choral Singing Weekends at Alston Hall, near Preston, Lancashire

In October 2011 Roger directed a successful Choral Singing weekend course at Alston Hall, Longridge, Lancashire. The very varied repertoire for the weekend included Coronation Anthems by Handel , and works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Elgar, and John Rutter. This event is now re-established in the Alston Hall calendar as an annual one; the next Choral weekend will be held from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 September 2012. Further details, and application forms, may be obtained from Alston Hall (telephone 01772 784661; or write to Alston Hall, Alston Lane, Longridge, Preston, PR3 3BP; or visit the Alston Hall web site shown above.

This web site last updated: 30 October 2011