WHATLINGTON SINGERS
WELCOME TO
WHATLINGTON SINGERS
Home of an aspiring and inspiring choir
Whatlington Singers is a friendly, welcoming Sussex choir originally based in the village of Whatlington but now rehearsing in Battle. Formed in 2018, we currently have over 35 members across the soprano, alto, tenor and bass ranges. We aim to be a democratic choir, and a large part of our repertoire is suggested by members.
​Our choice of pieces covers a wide range of genres and styles. Recent performances have included music from John Rutter, C.V. Stanford, Morten Lauridsen, Sarah Quartel, Dan Forrest, C. Hubert, H. Parry, Jacques Offenbach and Richard Carpenter.
​We sing to challenge ourselves and are keen to develop our singing to be as versatile and accomplished as possible. But above all, Whatlington Singers is about enjoying making music together and sharing a passion for choral singing.
The only thing better than singing is more singing – Ella Fitzgerald
OUR TEAM
LUCINDA SHEPPARD, DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Lucinda joined Whatlington Singers as director of music in September 2023. She is head of music at Battle Abbey School, having previously held a senior position at Vinehall School. She trained in music and conducting in the UK and abroad and is passionate about making music and reaching out to all areas of the community to share that joy.
OUR COMMITTEE – AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS THE STEERING WHEEL
As a charity (registered number 1208052) we have a small group of members who act as trustees, taking responsibility for the choir’s management and steering its direction. There’s often a lot to do behind the scenes, so team effort and the contribution of individual expertise from our members are also much appreciated.
LOUISE WINTER, PRESIDENT
Louise Winter has sung with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Carlo Rizzi.
PERFORMANCE DIARY AND REVIEWS
Whatlington Singers - Celebration of Christmas Music 2023.
Under the baton of their new Director of Music Lucinda Sheppard, Whatlington Singers produced what was, without doubt, their finest performance to date. As a very knowledgeable musician in the audience noted ‘I was absolutely stunned, I just sat as I would at a concert by any professional choir, impressed by the tuning, the confidence of the entries, the clarity of the inner parts’.
The evening began with the fervent longing for Christ in James MacMillan’s magnificent ‘O Radiant Dawn’ and this was expressed by the choir with sincerity and passion, the slowly ascending crescendos were confidently and brilliantly sung.
The programme promised Christmas music both ancient and modern and the much loved 16th
century ‘Coventry Carol’ and ‘E’en so lord quickly come’ composed in the 1950s by Paul Manz were both sung unaccompanied and we heard the choir’s warm sound at its best.
Currently teaching at Battle Abbey School, Travis Baker is one of Australia’s finest organists and the packed church was treated to a performance by him of Robert Schumann’s Study in Ab major. One of his pupils is Alexander Wakeford who also accompanies the choir at rehearsals and who must surely have a notable career in music ahead of him. Sitting at the organ, Alex accompanied two young soloists, Lucca Kelf and Conor Sinclair, singing Harold Darkes’s arrangement of that Christmas favourite ’In the Bleak Midwinter’ with the choir sensitively joining them for some of the verses, it was spellbinding.
Howard Goodall’s arrangement of the upbeat and joyful medieval song of praise ‘Gaudete’ was sung confidently and exuberantly in tongue twisting Latin by the sopranos and altos and they fully deserved the sustained applause that followed, as did the choir’s performance of Mark Burrow’s notoriously difficult syncopated rhythms of Ding! Dong!; his extraordinary arrangement of ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’ was great fun.
Another Christmas bauble was the Choir’s President, Louise Winter, singing ‘The Little Road to Bethlehem’ originally a poem by Margaret Rose and set to music by Michael Head. Louise has just returned from a demanding tour as Mistress Quickly in Opera North’s acclaimed production of Verdi’s Falstaff and her support of the choir is deeply appreciated.
It was a memorable evening of musical contrasts, the programme displayed the choir’s continued development and after only 5 years since its formation the sound is warmer, richer, clearer and more sustained, its future is surely exciting. Bravo!
Brenda Ansom
RECENT PERFORMANCES
JOIN US
We are a welcoming choir with a focus on musical balance, precision and development, and the enjoyment this brings. Our repertoire spans classical and contemporary works, with some songs learned off-copy to deepen musical interpretation and sometimes to convey the musical humour.
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To maintain harmony across all voice parts, we have limited places and seek singers who can read music, confidently hold their own part within four-part harmony and invest some time in learning between sessions – we provide teaching tracks to help with this. New members join for a settling-in period, after which Lucinda conducts a private, informal assessment to understand their vocal range and ability. While we strive to accommodate all experienced singers, there may be rare occasions when together we conclude the choir is not the right fit.
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If you have strong singing experience, are comfortable reading a score and holding a harmony, please get in touch via our contact page – we’d love to hear from you!
We meet every Monday evening from September to July, with breaks for holidays. Rehearsals are from 7-9pm at Battle Abbey.
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​Fees are currently £15 for each month we sing, subject to six-monthly review.