KENNINGTON AND DISTRICT UNITED CHURCH CHOIRS

A Short History

The Kennington & District United Church Choirs came into being in December 1973, when singers from the three Kennington churches, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist, came together for a united Carol Service to further the cause of Christian unity in the village. Having greatly enjoyed the experience, the Choirs met again the following Easter to sing Stainer’s Crucifixion and just before Christmas parts of Handel’s Messiah. From this fairly small beginning, the numbers began to grow, drawing singers from Abingdon, Radley, Oxford and beyond. The Choirs began to meet on a regular basis, and started to perform oratorios in the spring, lighter religious works in the summer, and an annual performance of Messiah in the autumn. The Carol Service continues each year on a Sunday evening just before Christmas.

In 1979, it was decided to widen the range of the repertoire by including non-religious works in the summer concert. First of all it was a performance of Hiawatha by Coleridge-Taylor, and then just before Christmas of that year, the first Gilbert & Sullivan concert appeared with a performance of The Pirates of Penzance. It was such a success that G & S concerts were given twice a year – in the summer and just before Christmas – and this pattern has survived up to today, with light opera by Offenbach and Léhar appearing from time to time to add a touch of variety.

We have been fortunate to have principals from both the Oxford and the Abingdon Operatic Societies to share the G & S concerts with us; and for our spring and autumn oratorio concerts we have been able to call on the services of some of the best solo singers in the county. Our standards have been extremely high. Accompanists, too, have served us excellently, including Margaret Quartermaine, Sheila Hales, John Oxlade and Jamal Sutton. The Choirs’ founder and conductor since 1973 has been Trevor Cowlett.

Concerts are given not only in Kennington, but also in various halls in Oxford, Abingdon, Witney and Woodstock. Entrance is always free, and collections are taken for charities of all kinds – local, national and international. Since 1973, the Choirs have raised over £212,000.00 in this way. Almost everyone has been more than happy to give their services without fee, and the Choirs themselves cover the running costs of the concerts. We are greatly indebted to the Methodist Church in Kennington who not only allow us the use of the building for rehearsals, but also purchased two new pianos in 1985 to be used by the Church and the Choirs.

Over the years, more than 560 people have sung with us, and the choir is very much a family. Each year we have a dinner, and each year we go out into Oxford in December to sing carols in the city centre for the Save the Children fund. The Choirs also sing at church services when required. We have an “open door” policy, whereby anyone who enjoys singing can come in and sing with us – there are no auditions and no subscriptions. Rehearsals are held each Friday evening in the Kennington Methodist Church Hall at 7.45 p.m. Many new friendships have been made. The following pages show the wide range of music that has been sung, giving enjoyment both to the singers and the listeners, and at the same time helping worthy causes who often are in great need of funds.

The Choirs are always searching for new ways to grow and develop. They are always looking for new singers. Our aim is to produce music of the highest quality in which everyone can join, and to have fun in doing so. Please contact Trevor Cowlett if you would like to know more, on 01865 –735885 or via e-mail on trevor@cowlett.co.uk

The works sung since 1973 are as follows:

1973 Carols	1974 Crucifixion - Stainer Messiah Part 1 - Handel Carols
1975 Messiah Parts 1 & 2 - Handel Large-scale Anthems Elijah - Mendelssohn Carols	1976 St. Matthew Passion - Bach Captain Noah & His Floating Zoo German Requiem -Brahms Messiah - Handel Carols
1977 Requiem - Fauré Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Webber B Minor Mass - Bach Messiah - Handel Carols	1978 Requiem – Mozart Noah & Joseph - Horowitz & Webber Elijah – Mendelssohn Messiah – Handel Carols
1979 St. John Passion - Bach Hiawatha's Wedding Feast - C. Taylor The Pirates of Penzance - G & S Messiah - Handel Carols	1980 Israel in Egypt - Handel Merrie England - Edward German (2) Iolanthe - G & S Messiah - Handel Carols
1981 Creation - Haydn Crucifixion - Stainer The Merry Widow - Lehár Large-scale Anthems Gondoliers - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols	1982 Judas Maccabaeus - Handel Olivet to Calvary - Maunder Die Fledermaus - Strauss (2) Creation - Haydn Yeomen of the Guard - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols
1983 Carmina Burana - Orff Crucifixion - Stainer La Belle Helene - Offenbach (2) Elijah - Mendelssohn Mikado - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols	1984 The Dream of Gerontius - Elgar Olivet to Calvary - Maunder Orpheus in the Underworld - Offenbach (2) German Requiem - Brahms HMS Pinafore - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols
1985 G & S Evening at Rose Hill Requiem - Verdi Crucifixion - Stainer La Vie Parisienne - Offenbach (2) Creation - Haydn Patience - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols	1986 G & S Evening at Witney Missa Solemnis - Beethoven Olivet to Calvary - Maunder The Merry Widow - Lehár (2) Elijah - Mendelssohn The Pirates of Penzance - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols
1987 G & S Evening at Wesley Memorial Hall St. Matthew Passion - Bach Die Fledermaus -Strauss (2) The Merry Widow - Lehár Iolanthe - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols	1988 Iolanthe - G & S St. John Passion - Bach Gondoliers - G & S (2) Ruddigore - G & S (2) Messiah - Handel Carols
1989 Requiems - Fauré and Mozart Yeomen of the Guard - G & S (3) Mikado - G & S (4) Messiah – Handel Carols - in The Corn Carols	1990 Elijah - Mendelssohn HMS Pinafore - G & S (4) Messiah - Handel Patience - G & S (5) Carols - in The Corn Carols
1991 Requiem - Verdi The Sorcerer - G & S (4) Messiah - Handel The Pirates of Penzance - G & S (7) Carols - in The Corn Carols	1992 The Dream of Gerontius - Elgar Iolanthe - G & S (6) Messiah – Handel Gondoliers - G & S (6) Carols - in The Corn Carols
1993 Creation - Haydn (2) The Mikado - G & S (6) Messiah - Handel (2) Yeomen of the Guard - G & S (5) Carols - in The Corn Carols	1994 German Requiem - Brahms (2) Orpheus in the Underworld-Offenbach (6) Messiah - Handel (2) Ruddigore - G & S (5) Carols - in The Corn Carols
1995 Passion & Easter Music (2) La Vie Parisienne (5) Messiah - Handel (2) The Pirates of Penzance - G & S (6) Carols - in The Corn Carols	1996 Requiem - Fauré (2) Mendelssohn - Hymn of Praise (2) The Merry Widow - Lehár (5) Messiah - Handel (2) HMS Pinafore - G & S (5) Carols - in The Corn Carols
1997 Elijah - Mendelssohn (2) Die Fledermaus - Strauss (5) Messiah - (2) Iolanthe - G & S (5) Carols - at the Westgate Carols	1998 Requiem - Verdi (2) Gondoliers - G & S (6) Messiah - Handel (2) Mikado - G & S (5) Carols - at the Westgate Carols
1999 Carmina Burana - Orff (2) Vespers - Mozart (2) Yeomen of the Guard - G & S (5) Messiah - Handel (2) Pirates of Penzance –G & S (5) Carols - at the Westgate Carols	2000 German Requiem – Brahms and Gloria – Vivaldi (2) La Vie Parisienne – Offenbach (5) Messiah – Handel (2) The Sorcerer – G & S (5) Carols - at the Westgate Carols
2001 Stabat Mater - Dvorak Song of Destiny – Brahms Zadok the Priest – Handel Princess Ida – G & S (5) Messiah – Handel HMS Pinafore and Trial by Jury – G & S (5) Carols - in the Westgate Carols	2002 Petite Messe Solennelle - Rossini The Merry Widow – Lehár (5) Messiah – Handel Gondoliers – G & S (5) Carols – in the Westgate Carols
2003 Requiem – Verdi Die Fledermaus – Strauss (5) Messiah – Handel Iolanthe – G & S (5) Carols – in the Westgate Carols	2004 Gloria - Vivaldi Christ on the Mount of Olives – Beethoven Orpheus in the Underworld-Offenbach (5) Messiah – Handel (2) Ruddigore – G & S (5) Carols – in the Westgate Carols
2005 Aida - Verdi

March 2005