We are having three Christmas Zoom singing sessions for the three weeks from 27^th November at the cost of £10. These are open to anyone who would like to join us. They run from 7:15 to 8:30 pm on a Friday evening. We will be concentrating on Christmas carols from Carols for Choirs Vols. 1 and 2, so the songs will be familiar. Have no fear that anyone will criticise your voice – you will be muted and will be singing to yourself at home, but in the jovial company of others on Zoom. Please join us.

Any queries please contact:

Sandra at  or

Kathy at   

Unfortunately, the All Saints’ Singers have not been able to meet in person during the Covid crisis, but, not to be outdone, a stalwart group have been singing with our music director, Sebastian Thomson, using Zoom.

We have enjoyed getting to grips with Brahms’ ‘How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place’, Vivaldi’s Credo RV 591 and Mendelssohn’s Te Deum and look forward to tackling more beautiful choral works next term.

In addition, we are having three sessions singing Christmas carols and anthems in the run-up to Christmas.

Singing on Zoom has a few drawbacks, the main one being the inability to hear the sound of our voices together as a choir. Because of differences in timing between different internet systems using Zoom it is impossible to sing together. We therefore sit in the comfort of our own home and sing to ourselves. We hear the piano and are ably guided by Sebastian, and we accompany recordings of the pieces, but our voices are muted. Advantages include the fact that mistakes go unnoticed and, of course, refreshments can include wine or a sneaky gin and tonic, which helps enormously. More than that, we have the pleasure of a few minutes’ social interaction prior to the singing and that is helping raise our spirits and ensuring a sense of community.

Nothing will replace the joy of singing together as a choir, but it will be many months before we will be able to do that safely, and for some of us our Zoom sessions are the next best thing.

As soon as we are able to meet we will be working towards concerts. We will keep you posted.

The impact of Covid on choirs has been significant because singing is deemed to carry a substantial risk of droplet and aerosol dispersal, and thus the spread of Covid19. Even in Glyndebourne the singers have to be nine foot apart! Therefore, unfortunately, we are unable to plan any concerts for the immediate future. But please be assured that although we are unable to meet physically we are trying to keep ourselves in voice by holding virtual choir meetings in the form of Zoom sessions with our choirmaster, Sebastian Thomson. So far we have had two sessions and plan ten more over the autumn term. We have chosen two delightful pieces, Brahms’ ‘How lovely is thy dwelling place’ and Vivaldi’s Credo R.V. 591, to add to our repertoire.

As soon as the Covid pandemic allows us we will start planning our next concert. We will keep all those subscribing to our newsletter up to date with future plans.

It is with great sadness that we have decided to cancel both our forthcoming concert at the end of March and the “Understanding your voice” event with Anna Shackleton.

We plan to reschedule these events once the coronavirus is behind us.

There will be no rehearsals till further notice.

An afternoon choral workshop with Janet Lincé

This was held on the afternoon of Sunday 20th January at the Matrix with Peter McMullin as accompanist.

It attracted a number of new people besides the regular choir members and was enjoyed by all. We received a great number of valuable tips and had, as promised, a very enjoyable afternoon.

We are looking for new singers.  We rehearse on a Friday evening in Sutton Courtenay. Rehearsals for our next concert  of three of Handel’s Chandos Anthems start on the 14th September 2018. You can just come along but it would be helpful if you were to contact the secretary then we can be sure to have a copy of the music for you.