“Living for Christ at the heart of the community"

If you wanted musical entertainment on an arresting scale, then Christ Church, Longridge was certainly the place to be on the evening of April 18th for their Annual Concert for Christian aid. A change to the usual ‘Music in the Afternoon’ series of concerts was made in order to welcome their special guests, the Gloucestershire Police Male Voice Choir. The ‘30 strong’ serving and retired police officers, ably trained and directed by George Taylor, did not disappoint the sell-out audience. They offered a varied program of songs from the shows, popular classics and traditional choral arrangements. They started their ‘show’ in a true Cole Porter-style ‘Opening Number’ followed by a bold rendition of ‘With Cat- like Tread’ from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. From Les Miserables to Lennon and McCartney, they continued to demonstrate their carefully prepared ensemble ability. Read more

Christ Church was once again filled ‘With a Voice of Singing’ as the South Pennine Singers opened their ‘Music in the Afternoon for Christian Aid’ concert held on May 11th. This was a welcome return visit for the 18 strong chamber choir from East Lancs, who under the direction of Geoff Balson and co-director Sue Temperley, delighted the appreciative audience with their wide ranging and varied program of choral items in an afternoon of music for all tastes. Following a strong unison alternating with the joyful harmonies of Martin Shaw’s stirring opening anthem, the first half flowed with a variety of polyphonic styles spanning four centuries. These ranged from an expressive rendition of the Spiritual ‘My Lord, What a Morning’ and a well articulated Thomas Morley Madrigal, ‘Now is the Month of Maying’ ; through to Geoff’s skilful arrangement of Read more