21/07/2026
On a warm July evening, the Ramsey 1940’s Camp welcomed an audience, some who’d enjoyed a pre-concert picnic, to our concert – “Summer Sounds”. We sang a collection of songs including a medley from Les Misérables, a beautiful piece - “God Help the Outcasts” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, two folk songs, “Only You” by the Flying Pickets & a crazy finale called “Italian Salad” where funny moustaches appeared & our Musical Director Simon Berridge took hamming up his tenor part to a whole new dimension.
It was a relaxed atmosphere, thankfully flexibility on our dress code due to the heat. Our Musical Director, Simon, leading the way in shorts & a jazzy shirt, our talented pianist, Lizzie Peacock, with pink flamingos on her dress & the choir in a variety of shorts, summer shirts & flowery dresses.
Thanks to Upwood Ukuleles who performed two sets, including “Sailing to Philadelphia” by Mark Knopfler, George Formby’s “With My Little Ukelele in My Hand”, a special rendition of Tom Jones’s “Delilah” with an amazing Kazoo Choir plucked from the audience. We also had a very funny vegetable themed Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my Way”.
Our other special guest was Janine Mitchell, a classically trained soprano with ten years of professional experience. She wowed us with her beautiful voice, her songs included “Fields of Gold”, “I will always love you”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Eva Cassidy & a stunning rendition of Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”.
This was our last concert under Simon’s direction, who joined us as MD in early 2022. We’ve enjoyed our journey with him, singing favourite choral classics such as – Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem with an orchestra (a real highlight), Mozart’s Coronation Mass, pieces by Chilcott, Rutter, Schubert, & Haydn, we had a come & sing workshop for Handel’s Messiah & our Special Relationship Concert – a mix of American & British composers. We’ve also enjoyed more light-hearted pieces in our concerts with songs from Abba, Eva Cassidy, Frank Sinatra, songs from many musicals & so much more. Our Christmas concerts with the usual carol favourites, but I’m sure Simon conducted Partridge in a Pear Tree faster every year. Thank you, Simon, for leading us, for your encouragement & guidance but we’ll especially miss your funny stories. We wish you every success on wherever the next stage of your life takes you.
We’re off now on our summer break. Thanks to everyone who came & supported us during our 2025/2026 season. We’ll be back rehearsing on Thursday 10th September & if you fancy joining us, we rehearse every Thursday, during term time only, between 7.30 – 9.00 pm, at Ramsey Junior School. It’s a three-week trial, with no obligation to join which gives you a bit of time to get to know us, & we are a very friendly bunch. For more information, please check out our website, ramseychoralsociety.org.uk.
Everyone at Ramsey Choral Society wishes everyone a happy summer. We’ll return in September for our new term to start rehearsing for our annual Christmas Concert which will take place at St Thomas a Becket Church – Saturday 5th December 2026.
