St James the Less Choir

The Choir of St James the Less, Penicuik Choirmaster: Mike Hay (mike@hayfamily.co.uk) Depute Choirmaster: David McGavin Organists (of a small but very nice Organ): Mike Hay, David McGavin, Jean Hindle and Jennifer Edge (aren't we lucky?) New singers always welcome - no auditions!
Choir Links	Our Choir Prayer: "Grant, O Lord, that what we have said and sung with our lips we may believe in our hearts, and that what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives. For Jesus' sake, Amen." Photo: courtesy Mike Jackson Peeblesshire News We are a mixed choir with over 30 members, aged from 10 to 80, and have the distinction of being the first Scottish church choir (in 1930) to be affiliated to the School of English Church Music (now the Royal School of Church Music ) As well as leading the services Sunday by Sunday, we have performed a number of substantial works, including the Fauré Requiem, Stainer's "Crucifixion", Vivaldi's "Gloria" and the Schütz St John Passion. We also do a "King's College" type Carol Service on the Sunday Evening before Christmas. We rehearse on Thursday evenings from 6.45 - 8.00pm in the church hall. We have also taken part in Twinning Exchanges with choirs in Kreis Heinsberg in Germany: the Quartettverein Myhl (below), the Chorgemeinschaft Orsbeck and the Mannergesangverein St Cecilia Braunsrath. Concert in St James the Less Church by the Quartettverein Mhyl - October 1990 Concert featuring the Maennergesangverein Braunsrath, and the St James Choir - North Kirk Penicuik, June 2003 Click here to view more pictures of the visit! Each Summer, we present "Music for a Summer Evening" - a pot-pourri of sacred and secular music to round off the singing year. You can see the most recent programme here. Programmes for some previous years: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997(poster) 1994 1993 Some examples of our singing (Real Audio): A recording of the 2005 concert Some hymns recorded for BBC Scotland's "New Every Morning" (October 2008) "Gratias agimus tibi" from Vivaldi's Gloria - June 2002 ....and the last movement ("Cum sancto spiritu") "I will sing with the spirit" "Old Mother Hubbard" "Monateng kapele" Cantata "Alles was ihr tut" (Buxtehude) - from Music for a Summer Evening 12 June 2004 From the choir archive: Lullay my Liking" (part) performed at St James at Christmas 1981! Interested? We are always looking for new singers; if you're interested, please contact Mike Hay by email or phone (01968 675761), or just turn up to the church hall at 6.45pm any Thursday during school term times. Everyone is welcome, including children (so long as they are old enough to read), and there are no auditions! Number of visits: Back to St James Home Page