Belvedere Singers


Belvedere Singers

A friendly choir in the beautiful seaside town of Swanage

The Choir

Logo

Belvedere Singers are a Swanage based choir which was formed in 1989 as an offshoot of the Swanage Choral & Operatic Society; the choir was named after the Swanage house where the first meetings of the choir and rehearsals took place. In January 2015 the choir became a registered charity no 1160197, the objects of the charity being to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the trustees see fit, including the presentation of concerts and recitals.

We are a mixed group of amateur singers who meet weekly to rehearse and then perform concerts in the Swanage area. We are a non-auditioning choir and members vary widely in ability from competent musicians and performers, to those who have joined the choir because they simply enjoy singing. As well as learning from our Music Director, we support each other to improve our understanding of music and singing, and we have a lot of fun in the process.

Membership of the choir for the 2024 – 2025 season is by termly subscription – £75 for the Autumn term, £55 for the Spring term and £50 for the Summer term. Funds are also raised through a number of other activities, including easyfundraising online, recycling ink cartridges, table top sales and donations.

We meet on Tuesday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Rehearsals are at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 160 Victoria Avenue, Swanage BH19 1AZ. There is parking on site. Rehearsals start in September and continue until mid June. There are also short breaks of two weeks each at Christmas and Easter. New members are always most welcome.

Our two main concerts are in December and May and are held at St Mary’s Church in Swanage. A retiring collection is made in support of a local charity. We are well known for performing a wide and varied range of music including operatic choruses, religious items, folk songs and popular songs from stage and screen.



People

Clive Watkiss

Clive Watkiss

Music Director

Clive began his musical training as a chorister at Waltham Abbey in Essex. He went on to study piano, cello and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music and, subsequently, took advanced conducting studies with Harry Newstone (Sacramento Symphony Orchestra) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has worked as musical director with a number of different organisations including Progress Theatre Reading, the Berkshire Shakespeare Players, Southampton Solent University, Park Opera Bracknell and various other orchestral and choral ensembles. Clive is also a composer; his music has been performed in a number of cathedrals in the UK and at St Georges Chapel, Windsor, the choir of which recorded his setting of ‘Dormi Jesu’ on their album Christmas Joy Volume Four. Most recently, in August 2017, his setting of ‘Ubi Caritas,’ commissioned by Judy Martin - musical director of the vocal group Voces Sacrae, was given its first performance by that ensemble in St Jean-de-Cole in the Dordogne. Clive presently teaches music at St Swithun’s School in Winchester.

Isabelle Butler

Angus Murray-Brown

Accompanist

Angus Murray-Brown has a wide experience of performing and teaching. He has performed as a soloist and an accompanist in many venues in UK and Europe, including The Royal Festival Hall and The Queen Elizabeth Hall. He has taught the piano to all ages, from beginners to diploma level.

Hazel Kennett

Hazel Kennett

Accompanist

Hazel won a scholarship at the age of 12 to the Royal Academy of Music Saturday morning school and subsequently attended full time from the age of eighteen, to be taught piano by Freddie Jackson. She became a peripatetic piano teacher when she left college and she also coached private pupils, in between having three children. After moving to Dorset in 2007, Hazel successfully built up her private piano teaching of both children and adults. Hazel has sung with both the Purbeck Arts Choir and Belvedere Singers, and is currently the accompanist for Harmony Rocks Choir, based in Harmans Cross.