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Welcome to the Bridgwater Choral Society website.  

The Choral Society has been at the heart of cultural life in Bridgwater since it was re-formed in 1949 by conductor Rex Browning, with the aim of providing music of quality from the classical choral repertoire in the town and district. Early performances were in the Arts Centre and Town Hall, later moving to the fine parish church of St Mary’s.  

The Society has been fortunate to have been led by three outstanding conductors - Rex Browning, William Llewellyn, and Iain Cooper.   

The Society was due to celebrate its 70th Anniversary when the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic caused rehearsals and concerts to cease, subsequently many choir members were unfortunately unable to return to rehearsals and In 2021 a further blow was dealt by the sudden resignation of conductor Iain Cooper.

Harmonia - The Choir's New Lease of Life.

Following the resignation of Iain Cooper the future of the Society looked bleak.  However, a dedicated group of singers did not wish to see the choir fold, and resolved to try to keep the choir going in some form under the leadership of Jackie Ayres, a musician of wide experience, including conducting which she studied at the Guildhall in London.  

The Autumn Term 2021 culminated in participation in the Civic Carol Service in St Mary's Church, Bridgwater.  The conventional 4 part singing of the Choral Society was not possible due to lack of numbers, but a programme of carols and arrangements from across the ages and around the world were extremely well received and made for a most enjoyable event.

As rehearsals resumed in January it was decided to name this new group from within the Choral Society as Harmonia. This new group is going from strength to strength under Jackie's leadership.

We now rehearse at the Salvation Army Hall, Moorland Road, Bridgwater on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 pm. We are n9ow a full 4 part choir again with an excellent balanace, being fortunate to have a number of quality tenors and basses to match our experienced sopranos and altos. We are once again able to venture into the choral repertoire tackling pieces from Handel to Rutter. We are committed to the continuation of choral singing in the town and offering the opportunity for singers within our community to join our very friendly and sociable group.

We plan to hold several concerts annually and would welcome interst from anyone wishing to sing with us or to be part of our Friends of Bridgwater Choral Society which gives early information about our concerts and for a very small annual sum, a reduction in the cost of tickets.

For further details please contact Secretary Sue Pow on 01278 662755 or Conductor Jackie Ayres on 01278 652060