The Petworth Chorus:
singing for the joy of song
Who we are
The Petworth Chorus is a non-audition, sectional choir based in Petworth. It meets for singing, learning to sing and socialising.
This does not mean that the Chorus lacks ambition, just that if you are (or could be) an enthusiastic singer, you should come along when our inspired and inspiring Choral Director, Tom Colwell, will do the rest.
Our members vary in age from teens to nineties, hail from approximately a 20 mile radius of Petworth, have varying musical ability and whilst reading music is an advantage, it is not necessary; we learn whilst singing.
The choir is divided into Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses.
What we do
Our ambition is twofold:
To hold enjoyable rehearsals, during school term time, in the Herbert Shiner School in Petworth, every Monday evening 7.15 for 7.30, finishing at 9.15 sharp(ish), with an interval of 15 minutes for a glass of wine and time to catch up with old and new friends.
The chance to perform twice a year at (or near) the summer and winter solstices; in winter the ‘Carols by Candlelight’ concert and readings at St Mary’s Church in Petworth (previously we have always performed in St Peter’s in Wisborough Green but have sadly outgrown it) and a summer celebration, with alfresco picnics; both whilst raising funds for a favourite charity.
Membership costs £60 per term and you can have two free rehearsals before you commit.
Dates
Autumn Term: Mondays, 9th September - 16th December
½ term: 21st October
Spring Term 2025 (TBC): Mondays, 13th January - 31st March
½ term: 17th February
Carols by Candlelight:
Wednesday 18th December 2024 6pm
Who’s who
Tom Colwell BMus (Hons) RNCM
Choral Director & Director of Music
Tom started singing as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral singing on multiple recordings and in many great occasions in the Cathedral. Notable highlights, for him, being the Queen Mothers 90th birthday celebrations and Jim Henson’s memorial service in the presence of Big Bird and all the Muppets! He then went onto Seaford College before completing his studies at the Royal Northern College Music.
Since then, Tom has balanced his performing career with teaching and choral directing.
He has performed with Longborough Festival Opera, Covered the principal roles of Marcello in La Boheme, and Yamadori in Madame Butterfly, with English National Opera. He sang the role of Marcello in Opera Up Close’s Olivier award winning production of La Boheme and has performed with The Opera Project in multiple productions, most recently their production of Sweeney Todd for West Green House opera.
He has performed widely around the UK and abroad and recorded with the award-winning vocal group Voces8, singing on their album ‘Winter’. He has also toured the high seas singing on cruises in South America and around the Aegean.
Tom currently sings with the London based session recording group and professional choir ‘London Voices’. Most recently he has performed with them in live screenings of the film ‘Amadeus’ in Lucerne, he has recorded soundtracks for Netflix films, the soundtrack for the upcoming ‘Dune 2’ film with music by Hans Zimmer and sang on the soundtrack for Marvel’s Spiderman 2 game to be released on Sony’s PS5 console.
Tom teaches singing and is a choir director at Seaford College and St.Edmund’s.
He is a keen runner, loves rugby (Harlequins), jazz and very much enjoys fine food and wine.
Kate Payne
Accompanist
Kate studied piano with Ruth Nye, Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School. She also studied violin with Pamela Spofforth and viola with Bridget Crouch, and was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music. Kate was a member of Pro Corda (National School for Young Chamber Music Players) where she was coached by eminent musicians, including Sir Colin Davis and the Delmé Quartet.
She has performed in venues across the UK including the Barbican, Snape Maltings, and St John’s, Smith Square. Kate has enjoyed an exciting career as a chamber musician and coach, accompanist, and piano teacher. She currently works as a freelance accompanist, and as a piano teacher at local schools, including Seaford College.
Kate is passionate about sharing her knowledge and love of music with others, and is committed to encouraging music for all. She is delighted to be part of the local musical community with the Petworth Chorus.
In addition
The Petworth Chorus is run by volunteers; in addition to Tom and Kate:
Arthur (founder) does admin, sums and serves wine at rehearsals
Pete (founder) does website, techie stuff and comms
Bob is secretary
Jennie and Tracy look after the Chorusters (members)
John looks after the music on the website
Sue extracts and counts subscriptions
What we sing + our performances
Music is selected around the two performances; Tom is in charge, but happy to take suggestions. The original plan was ‘From Mozart to Musicals’, which sums it up pretty well. So far, in addition to English, we have sung in French, Latin, Italian and American.
The links below are for Chorus members to access music.