Back in Business

In October 2021 the choir held it’s first concert since the pandemic began. Fittingly we performed at the Burns Club in Irvine, the venue of our final pre-pandemic concert in February 2020 (though we did also sing evensong at St Bride’s in Glasgow the following month).

A mixed programme of French, German (Bach) and Scottish music was presented, comprising renaissance, baroque and contemporary pieces – we may even have given the premiere of parts of a work generously made available for choirs to download free earlier in the year by composer Tom Cunningham, setting words penned by Alexander McCall Smith.

The concert was warmly received and it felt good to be singing in public again. Since then we have also sung a mass for All Souls in St Bride’s church, Glasgow – featuring Victoria’s glorious Officium Defunctorum requiem mass – and we will be singing a further mass at St Columbkille’s church, Rutherglen at the end of November. Mindful of social distancing and capacity requirements, we have fielded a reduced choir for each event, but care has been taken to ensure that every member gets to sing in at least one event.

We hope that, with rehearsals now taking place in our original venue at the University of Strathclyde again, this is just the start of a planned full season ahead.