Excelsis 2025

Summertime Concert at St Christopher’s Haslemere

Following the success of our Celestial Saxophone concert we are continuing with the relaxed approach to concert going with a celebration of Summertime. Enjoy a Pimms from the bar and be delighted by our accessible eclectic array of choral works to suit all tastes. Purchase your tickets here 

Celestial Saxophone 

A different approach to a concert evening at St Christopher’s Church Haslemere was very well received – our guests at the Celestial Sax concert were treated to an array of delicious canapés created by our events team and a welcome glass of fizz whilst Robert Lewis and Sam Corkin played jazz standards.

Excelsis then performed an eclectic mix of glorious choral pieces with acclaimed saxophonist Sam Corkin. The choir were delighted to perform the premiere of Clive Osgood’s ‘Feelings Come and Feelings Go’ as well as piecthe exciting renaissance polyphony of Monteverdi’s ‘Cantate Domino’ to the soothing calm of Gjeilo’s ‘Evening Prayer’ and Eric Whitacre’s famous ‘Lux Aurumque’

Excelsis’ Quiz Night was a sell out! 90 people crammed into the splendid Grayshott Village Hall for a gently probing quiz, a delicious chilli supper and a spot of musical entertainment. As our major annual fund raiser the event was a great success and we are most grateful to everyone who came and gave their generous support for the choir and its future projects.

Excelsis’ first concert of the year Celestial Sax will be on 29th March 2025 at St Christopher’s Church Haslemere. Book your tickets here

A drinks and nibbles reception at 6.00pm with live jazz wil be followed by a glorious mix of choral music enhanced by the improvisatory skills of Saxophonist Sam Corkin. The repertoire will include some pieces from the highly regarded album ‘Officium‘ released by the Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek in 1994 as well as pieces by Eric Whitacre and Ola Gjeilo.

The concert will also include the first performance of a new composition by acclaimed composer Clive Osgood. Excelsis; CD of Clive’s Magnificat was released last year. Clive has been featured in this month’s Musical Opinion . The new piece is Feelings Come and Feelings Go which text is by Martin Luther. The setting features a reworking of a Bach Chorale and a saxophone solo. Full details of the concert including ticket information will be published shortly.

Excelsis 2024 Season – It’s a wrap!

Excelsis performed their Christmas Joy! concert at the beautful Church of the Sacred Heart and St Peter the Apostle, Waterlooville on 8th December 2024 at 15.30. They sang a gorgeous selection of Christmas music both sacred and secular, contemporary and traditional to a packed church. The concert was followed by a sumptuous tea! The choir wasjoined by treble Freddie Simpson and some clips of the concert can be heard here

Karl Jenkins’ 80th Birthday at Grayshott

On 28th September Excelsis performed with Sir Karl Jenkins and the London Mozart Players at Grayshott Concert’s celebration of Sir Karl’s 80th birthday and on the ccasino of his retiremnet as Grayshott Concert’s Patron of many years. The concert included a complete performance of of Sir Karl’s Stabat Mater, under the baton of our Musical Director Robert Lewis. With soloists Kathryn Rudge, Baidar Albasri and treble Freddie Simpson and the extraordinary skills of the percussion section this was a memorable evening for all involved.

Come and Sing Workshop

Many keen choral singers and fans of the work of Sir Karl Jenkins’ Stabat Mater attended our Come and Sing event on 7th September 2024. We were delighted that so many people came along to enjoy a superb workshop led by Music Director Robert Lewis and accompanied by Clive Osgood. The very welcoming team at St Alban’s Church Hindhead helped us host this memorable event. Many attendees had taken time to learn the piece beforehand and so note learning was kept to a minimum. This allowed our Director to help the large choir interpret the music with precision and musical sensitivity.

Choir members had provided an abundantly stocked table of home made cakes and cookies for all singers during a well earned tea break.

The informal performance attemded by friends and families was very moving. Mention should be made of Excelsis’ alto soloist Charlie Tetley whose rendition of the ‘Lament‘ accompanied byt Robert Lewis on the flute was especially notable.

Excelsis will return to the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Peter the Apostle for a Christmas extravaganza entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas tickets for which will be available in October.

2024 Season Highlights

It has been an exciting and busy year for Excelsis starting with the second Spring Soiree –  a sell out for a second year running – followed by a superb trip to the stunningly beautiful Rochester Cathedral to sing two evensongs and a Communion Service.

The season centrepiece concert  – Harmonies across Centuries – was performed at St Christopher’s Church Haslemere and featured Matthew Coleridge’s gorgeous Requiem We were absolutely delighted that the composer Matthew Coleridge was able to join us for this performance. The concert also featured Bach’s Cantata 150, Mozart’s Missa Brevis K194 and Durante’s Magnificat before the interval and some pieces by Clive Osgood including the  et Misericordia from his Magnificat – the choir’s recording of which – accompanied by the London Mozart Players  and featuring Soprano soloist Amy Carson was released in May. The choir also sang Clive Osgood’s The Peace of God which features on their CD of Sacred Choral Music.

The choir has rounded off its season with their Summer Concert entitled ‘A Sunny Afternoon’ at the Church of the Scared Heart of Jesus and St Peter the Apostle. After a very rainy morning the afternoon of the concert indeed became sunny and the audience was delighted with the varied programme ranging from Mozart to ‘Only You’ by Vince Clarke. However the highlight for many (not least the choir members) was hearing Robert Lewis – their Music Director – sing a duet with former Chorister of the Year Finalist Freddie Simpson. They sang The Prayer which brought the audience to its feet. Do keep an eye on our Instagram and facebook pages for all our news.

 

 

Clive Osgood and Matthew Coleridge before the concert.

 

About the Choir

Excelsis Chamber Choir is a group of about 25 singers, many with a background of musical training, under the baton of Music Director Robert Lewis. The choir performs a wide variety of music to a very high standard, and performed the opening concert of the Grayshott Concerts’ 2017 season with the London Mozart Players, conducted by Robert Lewis.

In 2014 Excelsis performed the world premiere of Karl Jenkins’ latest work, The Healer – A Cantata for St Luke, with the Marylebone Camerata. The Healer was commissioned by Grayshott Concerts to celebrate the organisation’s 10th anniversary. Following the success of The Healer project, the choir was invited by Sir Karl to sing in a performance of The Armed Man with the Welsh choir, Cor Caedydd, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff. Both performances were broadcast on national radio, The Healer on Classic FM and The Armed Man on BBC Radio 3. 2015 also saw our debut concert with the London Mozart Players. We also had the honour of becoming the Choir-in-Residence for Grayshott Concerts in recognition of the many performances that the choir has done over the years for the audiences of Grayshott Concerts.

In 2017, the Choir’s tenth anniversary year, Excelsis recorded a new CD ‘Sacred Choral Music’, containing a selection of acclaimed local composer Clive Osgood’s settings of well known texts. Accompanied by the London Mozart Players and featuring soprano Rebecca Moon, the CD has been very well received by the music press.

In 2022 Excelsis was re-united with the London Mozart Players to perform Steve Banks’ Blue Pearl – A One World Oratorio at St Giles Cripplegate in London and will reprise Karl Jenkins’ The Healer for Grayshott Concerts.