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We certainly raised the roof at our Gala Concert. We were delighted to see such a wonderful audience, many of whom had never heard Caritas Harmony before. The Samaritans and our advertising team did a great job to bring such a good number of people to this concert.
Tom Quinn compered the concert with aplomb. He kept it running smoothly and introduced each item with interesting information and a touch of humour. He even managed to pronounce Mele Kalikimaka – eventually!
The choir opened with Patapan Fantasia, a French carol, then followed with more traditional carols like the Coventry Carol. Another amazing song was Hodie, which built up to a resounding crescendo and had the whole audience delighted with the surprising ending. Caritas Singers sang Cradle Hymn, a much quieter and reflective carol and the Gloucestershire Wassail, complete with pewter tankards!
Da Capo Brass treated us to a version of Angeli Archangeli, where each instrument was positioned in a different part of the church. Then they came together for their second piece, Jingle Bell Rock They then provided the fanfare introduction to O Come all ye Faithful – where the audience almost did raise the roof.
The final two songs of the first half saw the choir turn to face the back of the church, while they donned their lei and tropical sunglasses to sing the Hawaiian Christmas song, Mele Kalikimaka, complete with swaying, Finally, the 12 days after Christmas – a favourite of the choir, but a new one for most of the audience. It went down very well
The second half began with the choir singing in the round – using the balcony and the aisles to give complete surround sound to And the Angels Sang and Do you Hear what I Hear?
Then we heard from Zach Dover, the Director of the local area of South Beds, Luton and Harpenden, to tell us about the Samaritans and the important listening work that they do. He made it clear that they do not judge or offer advice, they offer a listening ear, which is what many people in crisis need.
The audience, choir and Da Capo Brass then joined together to sing It came upon a Midnight Clear, before the choir sang another carol, While Humble Shepherds Watched their Flocks; although the tune may not have been familiar, it was a beautiful arrangement.
The final piece of fun for the audience was joining in the actions to the Holly and the Ivy – easy enough when there is only one part to follow – but when the chorus splits into four, it was great fun to watch!!
After the final carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Caritas Harmony and Da Capo Brass joined to finish the concert with Sleigh Ride – and then of course the encore, Jing-a Ling, with fun solos from Jooles and Bernadette.
Thank you to everyone who made the concert such a success, including St. Mary’s Church, where we feel quite at home.
We are delighted to give the Samaritans £1,750 from our Gala Concert.
Christmas 2025
What a wonderful afternoon of carols and cakes at High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden, all in aid of Harpenden Trust. The church was looking very festive with a beautiful Christmas tree at the side of the choir.
John Fellows was our compere for the afternoon and he did a wonderful job, injecting the right amount of information and humour (although sometimes unintentionally) Trying to say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian would tax anyone! The programme was a mixture of old and new carols as well as some old and new Christmas songs, like Jingle Bells. The congregational carols were sung with gusto and everyone seemed to be in the mood for such a happy start to the Christmas period.
One of the most delightful additions was the addition of a flugelhorn, played by Jeremy Loukes, to give a special sound to Do you hear what I hear? The ending of Sleigh Ride with Jeremy getting his flugelhorn to ‘neigh’ was a great finale.
Then came the cakes and tea and coffee. What a spread the ladies had laid on – far too much really – but it was enjoyed by all and gave everyone an opportunity to speak to their friends and get some feedback. One of the audience told me, “That was the best Christmas concert ever!”
A big thank you goes to Harpenden Trust for their help in marketing the concert, and also to the volunteers who came to help or to listen. Thanks also to Pat Ring who told us all about the Trust’s good works. Let’s hope we have made a good amount for them.
Harpenden Trust was very thankful for our donation of £400
Hurrah – we won again!!
Caritas Harmony won their class today, 16th March, 2025, at Watford Music Festival, singing I Lift my Eyes and The Wedding Ring. What a performance ladies. Prior to that Caritas Singers won their section with Cradle Hymn and Till There was You. A big thank you to Annamaria, who got a special mention for her solo introduction to the Wedding Ring and to Leah for her solo at the end of Till There was You. What a day!
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The choir showing off the cup we won at Bedford Music and Drama Festival. Last night we practised our songs for our upcoming concert with Choirs’R’Us in Barnet as well as our final rehearsals for the next competition on Sunday at the Watford Music Festival
Our hearts sank when we realised that after the heatwave, the Saturday when we were to sing in this lovely garden at Wayside Cottage was forecast torrential rain! Unfortunately, the weather forecasters got it right, and Nigel’s beautiful garden was battered by the the downpour all morning. Thankfully, we had put in place Plan B! – the church hall of St. Nicholas church. This is a lovely modern building which afforded room for our picnickers to sit at tables while listening to the choir, giving it a much more informal feel.
Our compere, Tom Quinn, made sure that the proceedings went smoothly and added his own brand of humour to his commentary. The choir was showcasing some of the numbers we sang in the competitions, as well as new pieces, such as Where the Light Begins. Cassie likes to choreograph some movement into the livelier numbers and the audience loved You Can’t Stop the Beat, which opened the second half of the concert. The church hall was packed and the audience responded wonderfully to all the different genres of songs that we delivered. The choir sang beautifully and the hall had the most amazing acoustics, so it was a real pleasure for us.
Of course, by the time the concert started, the rain had subsided, so we were able to keep all the doors open to let in some of the very muggy air. The choir was pleased to get outdoors in the interval, but were very sad not to be able to sing at Wayside Cottage. Speaking to Nigel afterwards, he was obviously very disappointed that no-one was able to enjoy the concert in the original surroundings, but he said, “Next year!”
Many thanks to all the people who arranged everything for Saturday and to all those of you who came to Barton. Let’s hope we have made a good amount for Keech Hospicecare.
On 22 September, we handed over a cheque for £750 for Keech. A great amount. Thank you everyone. See you next year in the garden.
Last of the Summer Wine!!!
Four of the choir members celebrating the final concert of the summer season at St. Mary’s Church, Hitchin, on Saturday 26th July, 2025. It is always a pleasure to sing in this beautiful church and it was especially good to have such a large and appreciative audience.
Bob Press was our compere for this concert and he always lends his own brand of humour to the proceedings, especially when commenting on our choreography – just as well we had practised!! We had some very lovely comments from the audience. One said that this concert was her favourite out of all Hitchin Festival events.
We listened to Barbara telling us about the charity, Feed Up, Warm Up and she linked its ethos to that of the choir – citing Charity and Friendship. Feed Up, Warm Up is a small local charity which provides help to homeless people and anyone else in need who attends their walk-in centres and she was especially grateful for our picking them to support this year. The final amount has not been announced yet, but I’m sure it will be a significant help to this worthwhile charity.
On 29 September, we gave Barbara a cheque for £1,200 as proceeds from this concert. There was also an astounding retiring collection of £200. Coming into the colder weather, Barbara told us of the many ways in which our money will be used, not only for hot meals but for sleeping bags etc., for those who are sleeping rough.
Thank you to all the people who attended the concert. Please come to our Christmas concert, in St. Mary’s Church in Dunstable and you will have another treat in store.
Concert with Choirs R Us 22nd March 2025
What a delightful evening we had last night in Barnet, singing with the host choir, Choirs R Us. This is the first time we have ventured into Barnet and we all really enjoyed the experience, which was very different from our usual events.
The concert was made up of four sets of songs, with no interval – a long sit for the audience, but as most of them were supporters of Choirs R Us, they knew what to expect! We opened the concert with Sing a Song of Sixpence and two more songs from the main choir, before finishing with Cradle Hymn and Till there was You from Caritas Singers. Well done to Leah for the beautiful solo.
Then the logistical nightmare – getting us off the stage and 90+ members of Choirs R Us on to it!! What a marvellous sound they made. They sang to backing tracks, singing a mixture of popular songs from the 50s to the present day. The highlight of the second half was joint number, As Long as I have Music – a number well known to Caritas Harmony, so we sang the verses and the other choir joined in the chorus. What a wall of sound, with well over 100 voices.
The song in our repertoire which went down very well with the audience was The Wedding Ring. Hats off to our wonderful Annamaria for her beautiful solo which opens the song. The other song singled out for praise was Feed the Birds – one of our favourites. My favourite from Choirs R Us was From Now On from The Greatest Showman. Well done to Paul, who sang the solo – his first time!! They finished the concert with No More Tears, which started softly and ended up on a high! Well done to all the soloists who sang in the other songs.
Thank you to Choirs R Us for inviting us. We are delighted that we helped you raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease.
Victory!!!
At Watford Music Festival on 16th March, 2025, Caritas Singers won this cup and Caritas Harmony, in the photo above, won their class too. What a day for Caritas Harmony. Well done, ladies and many thanks to Cassie and Sue!
Our Gala Concert raised £4,500 for the Alzheimer’s Society. We presented a cheque to the representative, Soraya, on 3rd February. Soraya told us that every £1000 donated helps ten families to deal with Dementia. We are so happy to have helped 45 families with our Christmas Gala Concert
We spent the first part of our rehearsal giving the cheque to the Alzheimer’s Society.
After the presentation we had a very rewarding rehearsal, working on the songs for our first competition in a few weeks. Well done ladies!!
Some of the new ladies who have joined the choir since January. They are all working very hard!!
Cassandra White
BA (Hons) MMus MMP Guildhall Artist
Musical Director
Cassandra studied as a soprano at the Purcell School under the Government Aided Music and Ballet Scheme, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and then as a postgraduate with Professor Susan McCulloch at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
She joins Caritas Harmony as Musical Director in September 2023, along with Highgate School, and enjoys a busy career as a conductor, performer and educator.
Sue started to play for Caritas Harmony in 2017. Originally from Yorkshire, she studied the piano and viola at the Royal College of Music, London.
Guest Accompanist, Vivien Powles, holds an LTCL Performer’s diploma and a Postgraduate Certificate in Accompaniment from Trinity college of Music.
If you like singing and think you might like to join the choir, why not come along to one of our rehearsals at Stopsley Baptist Church, St Thomas’ Road, Luton LU2 7XP and see if Caritas Harmony is for you. We meet on a Monday evening at 7.30pm.
We rehearse with music but always perform without it.
For more information regarding joining the choir please contact Tina Graham 07830 346968
You can also contact us at CaritasHarmony@outlook.com
During 2025 we raised money for Motor Neuron Disease, Keech Hospicecare,, Feed Up, Warm Up, Harpenden Trust and the Samaritans.
