Portsmouth Baroque Choir at St George's

Julia Spurgeon tells us about her singing life.

My family are always teasing me about the amount of time I spend singing - but it's such good fun. As well as singing with the church choir I also sing with a group called The Wyndcliffe Voices which meet on an occasional basis and sing for special services and events in churches around the area. For the past 10 years I have also sung regularly with Portsmouth Baroque Choir. A friend I met on a music course was a member and dragged me along. Not having sung since school it was all a bit scary but Monday night rehearsals are now fun, sociable and challenging and there has to be a very serious reason for me to miss one.

Portsmouth Baroque Choir was founded 25 years ago when Drayton Choral Society was re-formed under the directorship of Christopher Burgess. When I joined it was under the leadership of Ian Schofield. Several conductors later we now sing under the directorship of Richard Barnes. Over the years we have performed a wide variety of music from Handel's Israel in Egypt with full orchestra, to the Rachmaninov Vespers, a part of which we sang live on BBC Radio Solent in 2003.

Richard Barnes is keen for us to sing more chamber music from the Baroque period and to tailor an appropriate programme for each performance. The programme for our concert at St. George's on 1st April is entitled The Way of the Cross and will have as its centrepiece, Byrd's 4-part Mass, together with music appropriate to the lenten season, including the beautiful Blessed Jesu, Fount of Mercy by Dvorak and culminating with a J S Bach setting of Christ's words on the cross and Bruckner's glorious Christus Factus Est.

Portsmouth Baroque Choir will perform The Way of the Cross at St. George's Church at 7.30 pm on Saturday 1st April. Tickets cost £8, £6 (conc.)  £2 (students/children) available from Julia Spurgeon (92257377) and on the door. A donation will be made to church funds from any profits made.