History of the Choir

Originally known as the Southport Bach Society, the choir was founded in late 1965 by David Bowman, the then organist at Holy Trinity, Southport and now known to A-level music students as the author of various music textbooks. His original intention was to have a small chamber choir, but over the years the choir has grown and now numbers between 45 and 50 singers.

After 5 years David Bowman moved to Ampleforth. He was succeeded at Holy Trinity by David Williams, who also took over the musical direction of the Society. The original intention had been for a society that comprised choir and orchestra, but this idea did not prove to be workable and it was decided to change the name to the Southport Bach Choir.

In the thirty-eight years that the choir was under David Williams’ direction it grew considerably in size and repertoire, establishing a good reputation in Southport and the surrounding area. The choir sings music covering a wide variety of styles and spanning over 400 years, as the list of works on the link below demonstrates.

Rehearsals take place in Southport on Thursday evenings at Holy Trinity Parish Centre, Hoghton Street. There are three main concerts in a season, that take place in Holy Trinity itself, with the June concert frequently forming part of the Holy Trinity Festival. We have also performed at other places in and around Sefton. Carol-singing in the town centre in aid of a local charity has become an annual fixture.

Performances are often accompanied by professional soloists and orchestra or instrumental ensemble. Occasionally we have joined with another choir to perform a larger scale work. In 2011, for instance, members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir joined us for a concert that included Holst’s Hymn to Jesus. And some members of the SBC joined the RLPC to sing Mahler’s Symphony no. 8.

We are keen to attract new members and new audiences and with this in mind we are exploring possibilities for performing outside Southport from time to time and varying our repertoire. This year we organised a ‘Come and Sing’ at a church in Crosby and hope to hold a second one at this church in 2012. Another new venture in December 2011 was to invite singers who are not necessarily experienced in choral singing to join us for a workshop which featured jazzy arrangements of carols and was designed to emphasize the fun side of choral singing.

Conductors of the Choir:

1965 - 1970 David Bowman
1970 - 2008 David Williams
2008 - 2012 Ian Wells
2012 - Ian Crawford

Works performed - ordered by date