Photo L to R: Richard Harvey, George Vass, Heather Houston,
Deputy Mayor Jamie Day and Colin Dunkerley
The Choral Society’s charity concert of Hymns and Anthems on 4 February raised a fantastic £2,500 for the Hospice of St Francis, Berkhamsted.
Heather Houston, Ambassador for the Hospice, thanked the choir warmly for their support and said how much she enjoyed the concert, which featured well-known works by Sir Hubert Parry, including I Was Glad, Blest Pair of Sirens, and Jerusalem.
She told the audience about the free, expert care that St Francis provides to people from St Albans and surrounding areas with life-limiting illnesses and about the support it gives to their families.
Colin Dunkerley, Chair of the Choral Society, said: “We’re very grateful for people’s generosity for such an important cause. What’s more, everyone including the singers had a wonderful time.”
The choir, conducted by Music Director George Vass, also sang English anthems including Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus, Tallis’s If Ye Love Me and Ireland’s Greater Love Hath No Man. Richard Harvey, the choir’s accompanist, played two Chorale Preludes by Parry – Rockingham and Eventide. The audience enthusiastically joined in with hymns including O Praise Ye The Lord and Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer.
Afterwards, the audience and performers mingled over tea and cakes provided by volunteers from the charity.
The fund-raising takes the total the choir has raised for the hospice in the last three months to nearly £3,500, following the successful carol singing to commuters at Christmas.
