Background of the Society
In 2010 we celebrated 150 years .... 1860 - 2010
On the 17th and 18th of December 1859, a performance of Messiah was given in the Boys National School in Gainsborough. The following week The Lincolnshire Chronicle and Northampton, Rutland and Nottingham Advertiser reported:-
"So very successfully has the effort of native talent proved that we may look forward confidently to see a reappearance, especially as we understand the practising and instructing are to be regularly continued."
Thus it appears that it was Messiah, arguably the most popular of all oratorios and certainly the most frequently performed by amateur choirs, that was instrumental in the formation of Gainsborough Choral Society.
Our 150th season celebrations started with a birthday meal at The Weston Rooms on 2nd November 2010, followed by our first concert of the season on 13th November - Handel's Messiah naturally! This gala event was well attended and benefitted from financial support from Gainsborough Town Council.
Despite the atrocious weather in early December, we were relieved to be able to go ahead with our Carols for All concert on 11th December, a decision we had to make at the eleventh hour. We also gratefully acknowledge a grant from Lincolnshire Co-operative Society which, along with bequests from Grace Hesp and Donald McLintock, enabled us to purchase staging blocks to make a new and safer Conductor's rostrum.
Our third and final concert on 26th March was definitely one of two halves - Haydn's Nelson Mass being followed after the interval by Rutter's entertaining Reluctant Dragon, the latter summing up the overwhelming sense of the season - one of FUN!
On June 18th, eleven members of the Society travelled to Abbey Road Studios to take part in a recording session of Karl Jenkins' new work The Peacemakers.
Yes, we did "the crossing" and it was a privilege to take part in the recording under the baton of Karl Jenkins himself. Watch out for the EMI CD in due course!
Our final event for the 150th season was a coach trip to Buxton to see
The Pirates of Penzance, part of the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
Glorious sunshine meant that we were able to wander through the Pavillion Gardens as well as taking every opportunity to visit the coffee shop and café!
Gainsborough
Gainsborough is a town of 20,000 people in the north-west of Lincolnshire.
The town is situated on the banks of the River Trent which forms the border between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. Formerly, major employers included Track Marshall and Rose Packaging and, currently, the town has many diverse small employers. The town has two outstanding architectural highlights - an Elizabethan "Old Hall" and the Parish Church.
Gainsborough has a wealth of artistic and cultural activities including a theatre club and amateur operatic society. It is also home to a major performing venue - The Trinity Arts Centre.
Gainsborough Choral Society was founded in 1860 and is one of England's longest-established Societies. In 1991 we commissioned Dr. Colin Hand to write a choral work for us and The Gainsborough Psalms were performed later that year and were subsequently published. The Choral Society has a close association with local schools and performances regularly include concerts involving the pupils of Queen Elizabeth's High School. Our performances are at All Saints' Parish Church in November, December and March each year.
