In aid of Ukraine
On 6th May 2022, we took part in a concert in Cheltenham College Chapel in aid of the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The first half of the concert involves individual performances by each of the groups, including ourselves, and in the second half we combine to perform the Requiem by Maurice Duruflé.
You can still donate to this excellent cause.
York Minster
In a lovely memento of our choir tour to York, here are recordings taken from the live-stream of two services on 24th April 2022. The sun shone and the stained glass looked magical.
Choral Eucharist
Choral Evensong
Joanna L'Estrange: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
We are incredibly pleased to present a world premiere of a delightful new piece by Joanna Forbes L'Estrange. This setting of Shakespeare's sonnet number 18 was comissioned by Clare Porter in memory of her late husband, Michael.
We recorded this music in May 2020 in our own homes, under lockdown conditions, using a mixture of mobile phones, webcams and other domestic recording devices.
John Sanders: My beloved spake
This choir favourite was written by John Sanders, former organist at Gloucester Cathedral. It deserves to be better known.
All of our parts are currently full and so we are not actively recruiting new members.
Even though we have no permanent vacancies at the moment, we love hearing from people who would be available to stand-in for a concert if we need replacement or additional singers. Please provide your details via our online contact form so we know a bit about you and can get back in touch. We may contact you about an audition if that’s appropriate.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.
Why join the Oriel Singers?
We are one of Gloucestershire's leading choirs, performing a wide range of music from Elizabethan madrigals to newly commissioned sacred works. Occasionally we perform larger scale works, such as Bernstein's Chichester Psalms or Jonathan Dove’s For An Unknown Soldier.
We perform across Gloucestershire and the surrounding area, and regularly go on tours across the UK and abroad - recent tours include Winchester Cathedral and Perugia (Italy). As well as performing to a high standard, we socialise regularly, both with post-rehearsal pub trips and other social events.
We don't note-bash in our rehearsals, and enjoy performing interesting and challenging new works as well as traditional favourites.
Who are we looking for?
We're looking for good singers: being able to read music is a must, and moderate sight-singing abilities are beneficial.
If you are interested...
Please contact us using our online form and then we can chat about what choir membership involves.
You can still sing with us occasionally even if you cannot commit
We run a come-and-sing day each year - unless there is a global pandemic of course.
Concert artwork
Would you like to become a Friend of The Oriel Singers?
We perform concerts around Gloucestershire and we always aim to provide you with engaging programmes, sung to the highest standards. We budget carefully to cover our costs from our concert income, but occasionally we would like to embark on more ambitious projects that stretch our current finances. We may wish to include instrumentalists or professional soloists, or to commission new music. These are expensive ventures, but they are also exciting experiences for any musician or audience member.
We invite you to join our Friends of The Oriel Singers scheme, which will mean that, for a small donation each year, you will be able to support us to continue to present an uplifting and exciting musical programme. For just £30 a year per person, or £50 for a shared membership, you will receive regular updates about concerts and events and an invitation to a special Friends’ event that we intend to hold each year.
Some Friends help in practical ways too, such as front-of-house roles. Others simply enjoy joining us for an party. We are all part of the Oriels team.
Friends membership is available online via our TicketTailor shop - it is easy to become a Friend of one of the friendliest choirs around!
Alternatively, please complete this form to become a Friend and send it with a cheque to The Treasurer of The Oriel Singers, 20 Old Bath Road, Cheltenham GL53 7QD.
We usually perform concerts on behalf of charities and other good causes, or as a part of local music festivals. We are always interested in new opportunities, so if you would like us to sing for you - and you can guarantee a good audience - then please do get in touch.
Please feel free to use any of the material on this web site for the purposes of promoting or reviewing our concerts. If you wish to use any of the material for other purposes, please ask.
Images and hyperlinks
Images can be obtained directly from our on-line gallery. Click on the image that you require and it will expand to fill most of your screen. Right-click on this expanded image and select 'save image as...' (or equivalent), or click on the download icon in the bottom-left of the image, to save a copy to your computer.
You may also wish to put our website URL (www.orielsingers.org.uk)and our logo onto your posters, web sites and programmes. Right-click on the images below to download them.
(Logo for dark backgrounds)
(Logo for light backgrounds)
Flyers
Some promoters have produced excellent A5 flyers and posters, which have been distributed to local shops, businesses, community centres, doctors' surgeries and churches. There are some fine examples on our gallery page.
If you do produce a flyer then please send us a copy and we will put it on this website. If your concert is near to Cheltenham then choir members may be able to put up a few around the town, if you send us hard copies.
Do remember to include our website URL (www.orielsingers.org.uk) and logo.
Local media
The best concert promoters make contact with local media organisations. Town and village magazines and church notices/newsletters are obvious places to advertise, as are local businesses. Local newspapers will often offer a free events listings service.
Charities often have email distribution lists and newsletters which will make sure that many willing supporters know about the concert. You may even get a slot on local radio or an article in a local newspaper, particularly if you can link it to a good story about the work of your charity.
Local papers may accept review articles after the event, particularly if you write it for them and provide photographs. This can be a good way to raise awareness of your charity.
If you have a local festival, then it is often a good idea to hold the concert during the festival, or at least to advertise it during that period. Also, never underestimate word-of-mouth: if you know people who have been to one of our concerts before, then get them to spread the word.
Some promoters turn the concert into an event by providing food before, during or after the main music-making. If you have a team of culinary-minded volunteers then this can be an enjoyable way to attract more audience. We will sometimes sing lollipop numbers with post-concert food.
It is worth putting effort into good advertising: a large audience makes the concert more enjoyable for everybody, as well as raising money for a good cause. Our record fundraising amount is £17,500 in a packed Cirencester Parish Church; this was achieved by Cotswold Life, who put together a Christmas concert with celebrity readings. This was an exceptional amount which we would love to exceed one day!
Concert practicalities
Running a choir like ours is quite expensive as we must buy music and hire rehearsal venues. We therefore request a fee. All profits are yours to keep.
We generally ask to use the concert venue for a few hours before the performance so that we can rehearse. Concert venues that are moderately warm and with toilets are preferable.
We also ask for a cup of tea between the rehearsal and concert, if this is possible. We definitely sing better when we have had a chance to relax a little before we perform!
Please do not let any of the above put you off: do please contact us to discuss the best way to work with the arrangements that are appropriate for you.
