Music Makers Choir of Harpenden is a well-respected, amateur local musical society established in 1964. We currently have 33 adult members and our ethos is to enjoy making music. We are based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, a commuter town, with a direct rail connection through Central London to St Pancras/Kings Cross and near to junction 9 of the M1. With the help of excellent professional Musical Directors over the past 56 years, we have developed into a popular large chamber choir with a considerable following at our concerts.
We are a friendly SATB chamber choir, without an audition process, but a simple voice test by the Musical Director [to check that new members’ voices will blend in with the choir’s overall sound]. Our members are of differing levels of musical ability and experience. Our musical tastes cover many genres and styles: from the old to the new (Lauridsen, Whitacre, Chilcott, Rutter), part songs to oratorios, sacred and secular. We perform alone and with other choirs, unaccompanied or with professional soloists, orchestras and actors. Audiences comment on how they like the eclectic nature of our programmes which differentiates us from other local choirs. A number of new members have made the move from audience to choir member. We rehearse on Wednesday evenings 8.00pm – 9.45pm with a regular professional accompanist in the Harpenden High Street Methodist Church, AL5 2RU. We have breaks from rehearsals for the main holidays including a long break over the summer. The Choir is a Registered Charity (1120211), and is managed by an experienced, competent and active committee of Trustees.
Olivia Tait, our current Musical Director, has been instrumental in helping us to sustain our work since the end of Lockdown, enabling us to maintain our high standards and keeping the choir motivated through a particularly challenging time. Olivia leaves us after our final concert of the year in December, and we are keen to recruit by the end of November to ensure a smooth transition into the new year. This is an exciting opportunity for a talented musician and conductor, to build on Olivia's excellent work, and to see the choir through its next phase of development.
