April 2011: Mozart’s requiem, with soloists Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano) Susan Grant (mezzo) Jonathan Nulty (tenor) Cedric Lee (bass)and accompanied by Father Michael Gill.
July 2011: Vivaldi’s Gloria, with extracts from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonnelle. Accompanied by Father Michael Gill, with soloists Lucy Green, Jacqui Silverstone Shirley Wadham (Vivaldi) andRosalind O’Dowd, Susan Grant, Jonathan Nulty, Cedric Lee (Rossini)
December 2011: Handel’s Messiah. Accompanist: Father Michael Gill; soloists: Rosalind O’Dowd, Shirley Wadham, Jacqueline Silverstone (sopranos),Deborah Reilly, Susan Grant (Altos),Jonathan Nulty, Michael McLaughlin (Tenors) and Cedric Lee (Bass).
April 2012: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, in a concert performance, accompanied by the Eloysia string quartet and Martin White (piano). Susan Grant played Dido, with RCS members and invited singers taking the other solos.
July 2012: A Summer Celebration: a wonderful programme of joyous choruses from opera and operetta, with soloists Ian Massa-Harris and Rosalind O’Dowd (and soloists from the chorus). Pianist: Martin White.
December 2012: Faure’s Requiem, with the lesser-known Requiem by Reger. Accompanied by the Eloysia quartet; soloists: Liz Benedetto (Mezzo-Soprano), Rosalind O’Dowd (Soprano) and Cedric Lee (Baritone).
March 2013: Haydn’s The Creation, accompanied by Anne Marshall, with Jerome Knox (baritone), Will Morgan (tenor), and Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano).
July 2013: Royal Baroque: a selection of beautiful English music from the 17th and 18th centuries, accompanied by Anne Marshall, with soloists Cedric Lee (baritone), Sally Pinney (soprano) and Michelle Sampson (alto).
December 2013: The Romantic Spirit: an atmospheric programme of music from the 19th century, including Elgar, Schubert and Sullivan. Guest soloists: Lindsay Bramley (mezzo) Paul Norcross-King (tenor) and Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano), with the Eloysia quartet and Anne Marshall (piano).
We also contributed to a charity Christmas concert in aid of SPEAR, a wonderful Richmond charity which helps people from homelessness to independence.
April 2014: L’allegro, il pensieroso ed il moderato by Handel. A lovely English oratorio, in English, accompanied by Mengyang Pan, with 12 soloists from the chorus and from our now-extensive network of solo singers!
July 2014: 5 Mystical Songs by Vaughan Williams (soloist Jerome Knox) and other English works from 3 centuries (soloist Cedric Lee), accompanied by Mengyang Pan (piano) and the Eloysia quartet.
December 2014: A Christmas Carol Concert. RCS joined with Whitton Choral Society (director: Neil Hawes) to present two concerts of traditional Christmas music, including carols for the audience. Accompanist: Mengyang Pan.
Again, at Christmas some of our members contributed to a charity Christmas concert in aid of SPEAR.
March 2015: Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan. A semi-staged performance of this funny show, with many soloists and costumes by students of the RACC btec course in textile design. (http://www.richmondchoralsociety.com/iolanthe-performance-28-03-2015/).
Saturday 18th July 2015: The Seasons by Haydn. Accompanied by the Eloysia String Quartet, conducted by Janet Oates. Slightly less well known than The Creation, this is still a wonderful work with lovely choruses and beautiful solos.(http://www.richmondchoralsociety.com/seasons-performance-18-07-2015/).
Friday 18 December 2015: A Christmas Soiree
– Missa Criolla* by Ariel Ramirez (soloist Ian Massa-Harris, with a Latin band)
– Sparrow Mass by W. Mozart
– The Shepherds’ Cantata by Michael Haydn (soloist: Sally Pinney, with violin duet and piano accompaniment)
Friday 22 July 2016: Fabulous Folk Concert. An evening of traditional folk songs from Europe and America.
Thursday 15th December 2016: A Christmas Celebration. An evening of seasonal songs and carols including Missa Brevis in B flat by Joseph Haydn, The Three Kings by Peter Cornelius, Lullay my Liking by Thomas Hewitt-Jones, Von Himmell Hoch by Johann Schein and featuring the World Premiere of Silent Night by Janet Oates. We were joined by guest choirs Cantati Camerati and The Chamber Choir of St James’s Catholic Primary School as well as soprano soloist Rosalind O’Dowd and The Eloysia String Quartet
Friday 31st March 2017: Baroque Jewels. An evening of lovely baroque music by Purcell, Handel, Bach and Monteverdi with guest soloists Sally Pinney, Colleen Nicoll, Lucy Green, John Vallance and Cedric Lee and accompanied by Michael Keen on Piano and Harpsichord, Chris Reading and Janet Oates on Flute and Rachel Louw on Cello
Saturday 15th July 2017: Elijah. Mendelssohn’s glorious oratorio performed with guest singers and soloists accompanied by Michael Keen on Piano
Saturday 16th December 2017: Oratorios for Christmas. Charpentier’s Pastorale sur la Naissance de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ and Oratorio de Noël by Camille Saint-Saëns performed with soloists Sally Pinney (soprano), Joanna Arnold (mezzo), Jill House (alto), Andy Evans (tenor), Matthew Duncan (baritone), Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano), Alex Carlisle (mezzo), John Vallance (tenor), Stephanie Bell (soprano) and musicians Michael Keen (piano/harpsichord), Gerald Place (bass viol), Mary Stallebrass and Chris Reding (flutes/recorders)
Saturday 24th March 2018: Music for Easter. Lux Aeterna by Morton Lauridsen and Charles Gounod’s Troisieme Messe Solennelle, collaborating once more with Whitton Choral Society and accompanied by Michael Keen (piano)
Friday 13th July 2018: Vive L’Europe! A celebration of music and shared culture from around Europe with guest soloist Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano) and musicians Michael Keen (piano and percussion) and Chris Reding (flute/recorder)
Friday 14th December 2018: Handel’s Messiah. Accompanist: Michael Keen; Soloists: Olivia Moss (soprano), Lindsay Bramley (Alto), David Menezes (Tenor) and Jerome Knox (Bass).
Saturday 6th April 2019: A Night at the Opera. Collaborating with Ormond Opera and accompanied by Michael Keen (piano) to perform extracts from some of the world’s favourite operas.
Friday 12th July 2019: Ethel Smyth Mass in D. Illustrated talk by RCS MD Janet Oates, on the life and works Of Ethel Smyth including a performance of March of the Women Accompanist: Michael Keen; Soloists: Felicity Hayward (soprano), Lara Harvey (Mezzo), David Menezes (Tenor) and Crispin Lewis (Baritone).
Friday 13th December 2019: Vivaldi Gloria, Dixit Dominus by Isabella Leonarda and other seasonal favourites. Accompanists: Michael Keen (piano/harpsichord), Chris Reading (flute), Euan Tait (double bass), Gerald Place (viola de gamba). Soloists: Janet Oates (soprano), Joshua Elmore (countertenor)
Monday 13th December 2021: Mozart’s requiem, with soloists Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano) Caroline Carragher (mezzo) Bo Wang (tenor) Stuart Orme (baritone) and accompanied by Michael Keen.
Monday 4th April 2022: Fauré requiem, Gabriel Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine, Léo Delibes: Agnus dei, Saint-Saëns: Offertoire: justorum animae, Charles Gounod: Ave verum corpus, Cécile Chaminade: Interlude for solo piano, Chaminade: à travers bois, Lili Boulanger: Parfois Je suis triste (soprano solo), César Franck: Panis Angelicus (choir & soprano solo) with soloists Milana Sarukhanyan (soprano) Clinton Fung (baritone) and accompanied by Michael Keen.
Thursday 14th July 2022: An evening of birdsong themed music by Richard Rodney Bennett, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Antonin Dvořák, Thomas Vautor, Amy Beach, Johannes Brahms, John Bartlet, G.F Handel, W.A. Mozart, Martin Jones, Sheena Phillips, Stephen Sondheim, Charles V. Stanford, Joseph Haydn. The choir were joined by soloists Charlotte Collier, Natasha Elliott, Crispin Lewis, Rosalind O’Dowd, Annie Pang, Dawn Rolt, John Twitchen, John Vallance, with Chris Reding (flute) and Mike Keen (piano)
Monday 12th December 2022: Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Messe de Minuit, Amy Beach: Peace on Earth, Mel Bonis: Allons prier, Adolphe Adam: O Holy Night, Peter Cornelius: The Three Kings, Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio (extracts), Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carol. The choir were joined by soloists Elizabeth Humphries (alto), Rosalind O’Dowd (soprano), Stuart Orme (baritone) and accompanied by Mike Keen (piano). Click here for highlights