Choirs that use Wesley Church High Wycombe
Wycombe Chamber Choir [Thu 19:45-21:45]
Wycombe Chamber Choir was set up in 2018 by its conductor, Tim Venvell.
Its vision was to provide a high-quality choral experience for some of the best singers and musicians in the area, and its membership includes, in particular, a number of local music teachers.
The vision of its founder was to set up a choir run for musicians, by musicians, with an emphasis on a clear, blended sound, in which every voice counts. The choir began with just 16 voices, but has expanded to about 30 members, an optimal number for a chamber choir. However, there is always room for an additional high-quality voice!
The vision for the choir also includes a strong element of community, and many of the members are also good friends.
The community element is also expressed through a desire to make each concert a fund-raising event for local and national charities. The choir runs on a shoestring, and endeavours to ensure that most of its audience takings go straight to charity.
Wycombe Orpheus [Wed 19:30-21:30]
Founded in 1923, the Wycombe Orpheus Male Voice Choir is a vibrant group of enthusiastic singers who meet weekly to rehearse for the various concerts and other events that we perform for the public. In many cases our concerts are in support of local or national Charities for which we have raised considerable sums over the years.
Male Voice repertoire is generally arranged and sung in 4-part harmony, with two tenor and two bass sections of the choir each singing the appropriate musical line. Members join the voice section most suited to their own vocal range as determined when they first join.
What do we sing? There is a strong tradition of Male Voice singing especially in Wales and the industrial towns of England; we enjoy singing many well-known traditional pieces from that background. But to cater for modern tastes we also sing popular songs from musicals, films and the pop world, all arranged to make the best of the harmonised singing. Our concert programmes present something for everyone!
Sheet music is provided to our singers and supported with recordings of each musical line made available through this website. So although reading music is helpful, it is not essential - and our performances are delivered without using sheet music as our rehearsals ensure we are note and word perfect! Challenging at times, but well worth it for the glorious sound we produce.
With some events run jointly with other choirs, we take the opportunity to visit other locations, and in the past have performed in many prestigious venues including the Royal Albert Hall (with London Welsh for their glorious Male Voice Festival performances), the Eden Project Biomes, London's Guildhall and several locations in Cornwall and Wales joining other choirs who have in turn joined us in local joint concerts. Social events also feature with a return to post-pandemic normality welcome!
Wycombe Philharmonic [Fri, 19:30-21:30]
We are a mixed voice choir that rehearses in High Wycombe. We usually put on three concerts a year in the High Wycombe area; one at Easter, one in July and our popular Christmas Concert in December. Our repertoire is wide ranging covering baroque to modern multi-part music. Our Musical Director, David Cooke, always manages to come up with interesting and unusual items.
The Choir has its roots back in 1951 when it was formed as the Wycombe Free Church Choir. Always a substantial mixed choir, it soon developed a reputation for excellence under its then Director, Kenneth Fox. In the 1970's he handed over to Denys Hood who directed the choir for some 30 years. He expanded our repertoire to include folksongs, spirituals and light music as well as classical works. During this time the choir's name changed to the Wycombe Philharmonic Choir. David Cooke has led the choir since 2003 after Denys retired, further expanding our repertoire.
