We were devastated to learn of the death of our wonderful Musical Director Ben Thapa on Monday 9th September 2024. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.
We had one marvellous year with Ben at our helm and what a privilege it was. We will miss his irrepressible enthusiasm and absolute belief in us as a choir.
His unique turns of phrase, however, will happily remain with us: “Less barnyard, more Bath Assembly Rooms please” (Handel’s ‘And the Glory..’) and “You’re thinking but I’m singing fiction!” (how to sing Christe eleison, Mozart Req), being a couple of favourites.
Ben said that he loved bringing people together to sing and we are going to continue doing just that, with great heart and with him in our thoughts, helped by the brilliant Penny Homer who has agreed to take us on.
Thank you and welcome! To Penny Homer, our new Musical Director
Our next event is:
To book tickets in advance please use the QR code above or click here
About the choir
Sheen Gate Choir is a non-selective community choir based in East Sheen, South West London, UK. Formed in 2009, we rehearse every week in the Sheen area, and try to perform a major work every year, as well as other smaller concerts.
We find that singing is a cathartic experience. It is uplifting, challenging and rewarding, and is a social part of our members’ lives. You do not need to be able to read music or have previous experience in a choir to join us. All you need to do is commit to Tuesday nights during term time (and don’t worry if you cannot commit to every one, you can still be a part of the choir and a part of performances).
We rehearse from 7.45pm to 9.30pm and then head to one of our local pubs to catch up.
In recent years, major concerts have included Haydn’s Creation, Faure’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, Saint Saens’ Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Mozart’s Requiem as well as more contemporary works by the likes of Britten, Vaughan Williams, Whitacre, Rutter and Goodall. We have travelled to perform with other choirs in Salzburg and Vienna, and at the Royal Albert Hall.
New members are always welcome. If you would like to join us, please complete the following form and we will get back to you as soon as possible. No audition is required – you can just turn up and have a go!