Welcome to the Garleton Singers Website
The Garleton Singers choir is based in East Lothian and was founded in 1970 by Catherine Welsh. In 1995, Stephen Doughty replaced Catherine as Musical Director, and he recently celebrated his thirteenth year guiding us to the musical heights (and, occasionally, depths). Our main venue is the beautifully-restored medieval Church of St Mary in Haddington, but the choir enjoys touring further afield. We gave concerts in Germany in 2004, and in Italy in 2007, and have sung throughout Scotland in collaboration with other choirs and orchestras, including the St Andrews Chorus and Edinburgh Philomusica. We enjoy singing a varied repertoire of major choral works, ranging from Vivaldi to Karl Jenkins, and on the lighter side, carols, operatic choruses and modern popular classics. The Garleton Singers hold three main concerts a year (our Christmas Carol Concert a firm favourite for our Haddington audience), with occasional special performances such as our 2008 Edinburgh Festival concert and our Remembrance Sunday performance of The Armed Man.
2009 Programme
Rehearsals start again in September for the Christmas concert on the 13th December. Anyone wishing to audition to join the choir for the new season, please contact Stephen Doughty via this website.
Latest News
May 2009
The choir gave its May concert in Edinburgh on behalf of the 500 Mile Project, further details of which are given below. Our performance was ... dramatic ... and we were in no way intimidated by the sight of Alexander McCall Smith sat in the front row listening to us turn his poetry into something so challenging. £920 was raised by the charity.Our main concert didn't have Alexander McCall Smith but DID have Tom Cunningham, the composer of Scotland by Night. Sat in the front row. Not at all intimidating. Our rendition of 'Simmer Dim' and 'Trout' nearly brought tears to his eyes. All in all it was a highly enjoyable evening, and great fun to sing.
By the time this is posted most of the choir members will have endured their assessments. Good luck to everyone, and be assured that the gun on top of Stephen's piano is only for effect and not actually loaded.
March 2009
Holding our March concert at Greyfriars Church in Edinburgh gave the Garleton Singers a new venue and audience, and we were thrilled by the turn-out and positive reaction to the evening. We sang two Requiems, one by Karl Jenkins, the other by John Rutter, and the contrast between the two pieces made for an outstanding performance that left everyone feeling uplifted. Special mention must be made of Katie Hamilton and Leslie Walker, who sang the soprano solos, and Malcom Garden, the lead cellist, who all were stunning.Our Christmas Concert was a sell-out success, with music ranging from Bob Chilcott to Rachmaninov ringing through the aisles.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to sing with the St Mary's Choristers, and we hope they enjoyed the experience as much as we did. Our musical director was almost tasteful in his choice of waistcoat, slightly disappointing some regular audience members.
On Sunday the 9th November, the Garleton Singers performed The Armed Man, a mass for peace, by Karl Jenkins.
The choir sang to a packed audience after the excellent publicity generated by our Publicity Officer and our partners, St Mary's Church and Poppyscotland. One audience member has written to say "Your performance of the Armed Man was superb. Awesome and terrible, in the best possible sense, and extremely moving. Well done to all."
Our special thanks go to the members of the orchestra: Katherine Wake, Flute/Piccolo; Dianne Waugh and Gordon Lehany, Trumpets; Malcom Garden, Cello; Agnes Drysdale and Chris Overton, Percussion; Chick Lyall, Piano; and David Goodenough, Organ.
Singing with the Philomusica as part of the 2008 August Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a fantastic experience for all those who took part. A CD of the Gloria, recorded by the kind and most excellent Kenneth Hare, is available for choir and orchestra members from the Library. Contact Sadie Maskery for further details. You can listen to a sample mp3 of it here (right click and "Save Target As..." to download).
