The Kelvedon Singers

The Kelvedon Singers is a chamber choir originating from the Essex village of Kelvedon over 50 years ago. Nowadays its members are drawn from a wide area of south Suffolk and north Essex to present concerts or sing services in numerous village churches, frequently in aid of Charity or Church Funds.

Their repertoire is varied, ranging from sacred music of all periods to madrigals, songs from the shows and jazz. The choir has sung in a number of Cathedrals in this country including Ely and Liverpool and in Wimborne Minster. They have toured the South West of France on many occasions, always including a choral Mass in Cahors Cathedral.

The Kelvedon Singers bring a love of choral music and the sheer enjoyment of singing together to all their performances and take enormous pleasure in sharing music with their audiences.

Choristers

Soprano: Barbara Astell ♫ Hilary Barber ♫ Ann Bartleet ♫ Judy Crawford ♫ Linda Hart ♫ Wendy Hildreth ♫ Clare McIntyre ♫ Lid Mitchell

Alto: Dorothy Allen ♬ Sheila Cook ♬ Jennifer Cope ♬ Celia Edey ♬ Cathy Goodall ♬ Sue Knight ♬ Elspeth Leahy ♬ Sarah Phillips ♬ Margaret Stott

Tenor: Les Abbie ♪ Stephen Mohan ♪ Tim Nicholls

Bass: Andrew Allen ♩ David Branch ♩ Nigel Humphreys

Director

Our director is Christopher Phelps. During Chris’s early training in Gloucester as a chorister, organist and pianist he sang in the Three Cathedrals Festival under the baton of Herbert Sumsion. Chris went on to study at the Royal College of Music in London, winning many prizes. He was organist and choirmaster at Armagh Cathedral before moving to Vienna to study with Hans Swarowsky. He also studied in Italy and Salzburg, winning international prizes particularly for conducting. He is a talented transcriber and arranger and several of his works have been recorded. He worked at the Colchester Institute from 1973 to 2006, latterly as Course Tutor for the B.A. Music course. He is Musical Director of the Colchester Symphony Orchestra, and of Hadleigh Choral Society and has directed the Kelvedon Singers for many years.

Accompanist

The choir’s regular accompanist is David Mitchell, a graduate of Durham University, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree (II:1) in Music and a Master's degree in Performance. He is a qualified teacher and has taught piano at Colchester County High School for Girls and Baynard's Primary School, as well as privately. David also accompanies for Hadleigh Choral Society and for operatic societies in Witham and Colchester.