About Us

The choir started out in 2010 as the Parents’ choir of Tower House School, under the guidance of then THS Head of Music, Sam Gosden. His ethos was described in a program note from a few years later:

 

In the time since it was formed, the ensemble has grown from strength to strength. We began as a chamber choir based and are based at Christ Church. This is very much a community choir and a large percentage of members are from the Barnes-Chiswick-Sheen areas. The community aspect of the choir is very much relied on.

I sometimes challenge the choir beyond their horizons, much to their amusement, but they seem to rise to each occasion with increased energy and commitment.

One principal remains. You do not have to have any experience in choral singing whatsoever; as a group we will make you feel welcome and nurture your interests in singing. Within 6 months, you will be helping new members integrate within the choir.

The essence of the choir is to sing, listen to music and enjoy coming together on a Tuesday night, followed by a debrief in our local pub.

 

When Sam left Tower House and took over at a bigger school it coincided with a new family arrival. His time became severely stretched, and in 2016 he handed the choir on to Chris Stokes. Chris had previously been accompanist for the choir and a talented bass when permitted! He was committed to carrying on the philosophy on which Sam built the choir, and the choir continued to build up our repertoire and expand our musical range with some exciting new pieces. While we retain some link to Tower House School through local friendships, the choir is now firmly a local community choir. Anyone is welcome!

 

Under Sam and Chris we have been on tour to Salzburg and to Vienna, and future tours are under discussion.

 

 

Now we enter a new phase of our development. Chris will be leaving the choir after the 2019 summer concert, after he also succumbed to the arrival of a new baby which put too much strain on even his incredible ability to juggle a dozen responsibilities at once. We wish him and his young family the very best, and will miss him.

 

We are very excited to announce that Dave Anstice-Pim will be taking over as Musical Director when we reconvene for our tenth anniversary year in September. Watch this space for Dave’s bio and thoughts on where he would like to take the choir in the next decade of our history together.

 

If you are interested in becoming a part of this friendly musical group, please get in touch with us via the contact page, or come to one of our concerts. We look forward to meeting you.