Mayor of Hailsham Enjoys Choral Society’s Summer Concert

The Mayor of Hailsham and his Consort got into the spirit of summer when he joined in the celebrations of the Hailsham Choral Society’s latest concert, which was held at Hailsham Parish Church on Saturday [6 July].

The Society’s Summer Concert featured a programme of shorter choral works including Haydn’s jubilant Te Deum, Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine and popular motets by Parry, Bruckner and Duruflé. The concert was conducted by Musical Director Jozik Kotz, with accompanist William Hancox on piano.

Town Mayor Cllr Paul Holbrook, who attended alongside his wife and Consort, Barbara, were delighted to have been invited to attend the concert: “We’ve attended many of the Society’s concerts to date and enjoyed every single one of them. I am very grateful to the Society, their conductors and accompanists for staging such wonderful concerts, and the summer concert held on Saturday was no exception!”

“I’ll always remember the various performances over the years. The Society has a tradition of recruiting first-rate choristers and each and every member always put their heart and soul into event performances. The energy and vibrancy of their concerts are always inspiring – and a tribute to the dedication and hard work of its conductor and musical director, Jozik Kotz.”

Hailsham Choral Society Chair, Milly Clark commented: “We were delighted to welcome the Mayor, Cllr Holbrook, and Mrs Holbrook at our concert. It is always a pleasure to see them enjoying our music-making. We are very grateful for their steadfast support for the choir, not just by attending every concert we put on, but also financially by allocating a very useful grant from the Mayor’s allowance.”

“We look forward to welcoming them at our next concert, where we will be joined by the choir from Hailsham’s twin town, Gournay-en-Bray, on 28th September at Hailsham Parish Church.”

Hailsham Choral Society is a large and progressive subscription choir of over 60 singers based locally and performing at least four main concerts during the year, with programmes featuring anything from Bach to the Beatles, Rossini to Gershwin and Rutter to Rogers and Hart.

Concert performances take place in November, at Christmas, in March/April and in late June/early July, usually taking place in Hailsham or Eastbourne. The Society regularly performs with professional soloists and at least one concert a year includes an orchestra. Their programme is mainly drawn from the classical repertoire, although they also perform lighter music throughout the year, especially Christmas carols and songs from musicals.

The Society is currently looking for new members and holds regular events including music workshops, coffee mornings, and quizzes. At present, they rehearse on Thursday evenings at the Hailsham Civic Community Hall in Vicarage Lane.

Further information about the concert can be found via the Hailsham Choral Society website: www.hailshamchoral.org.