Horsham Chamber Choir

16/03/2026

Tickets for our forthcoming concert, on Saturday week, can be bought at the door or - even better - from our website here: https://www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=events&id=211453

06/02/2026

Horsham Chamber Choir Provide Easter Inspiration

Horsham Chamber Choir present their next concert on Saturday 28th March, entitled Ruin and Resurrection. The audience will be treated to an evening of uplifting choral music that takes it from both earthly and spiritual crumbling ruins to sacred cities, inspired by the Easter season where heartbreak turns to joy and reconciliation.

The programme highlights Horsham Chamber Choir’s versatility and commitment to choral music from across the ages. Beginning with enchanting plainsong from polymath Hildegard of Bingen, pieces will include Brahms’ Geistliches Lied, Lotti’s Crucifixus and Lux Aeterna, a heart-rending arrangement of Elgar’s Ni**od from the Enigma variations. Purcell’s Funeral Music for Queen Mary at the end of the first half is contrasted with the triumphant Coronation Anthem Zadok the Priest by Handel to round off the evening. Other compositions by Alec Roth, John Stainer, Cecilia McDowell and Frank Ticheli will complement the concert, and the choir is delighted to be premiering a delightful piece by one of its own members, Et Incarnatus Est by Mark Browse.

Horsham Chamber Choir’s Director of Music, Penelope Jane Homer, says: “This is a deeply emotional programme, capturing both the agonies of loss and the joy of love. Regardless of your religious persuasion, this music reaches for the heart and cannot fail to move you. It is wonderful to share these pieces with both the choir and audience alike, and I am very excited to be presenting this concert,”
Horsham Chamber Choir is known for its high-quality performances as well as its dedication to bringing lesser known music to wider audiences, alongside much-loved choral favourites. Ruin and Resurrection promises to be an inspirational evening of reflection and musical excellence.

Early bird tickets can be obtained from the Horsham Chamber Choir website at www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk and will also be available at the door at St Mary’s Church on Saturday, 28th March. The concert will begin at 7:30pm.

12/12/2025

This year Horsham Chamber Choir will be performing their Carol Concert in St Mary's Church, Horsham for the first time. This event is usually held in the ballroom of Sedgwick Park House, which is a wonderful venue, but it can only accomodate 80, so tickets have always been restricted. This year, they are not! there will be plenty of room for everyone to come and join in. Mulled wine in the interval, the perfect way to herald Christmas, on the Saturday before Christmas, in the heart of Horsham.

Tickets available on line here: https://www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=book&id=203056 (saving £2.50), or on the door.

15/10/2025

Please come along to our next concert and find out all about time! Tickets can be bought at the door, but it's much better to buy yours in advance from our web page here: https://www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=events&id=203055

01/07/2025

Penelope Jane Homer has been appointed as the Horsham Chamber Choir’s new Director of Music. Penelope is a conductor, mezzo-soprano and teacher based in London. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Music degree in 2003, where she was a choral scholar at St Barnabas Cathedral.

In addition to conducting Horsham Chamber Choir, Penelope is also the Musical Director of Carshalton Choral Society and a ladies barbershop group, Surrey Harmony Chorus.

Her recent conducting engagements include Interim Musical Director of Reigate and Redhill Choral Society, Sheen Gate Choir and Sussex A Ca****la. Penelope has also been Apprentice Musical Director at Enfield Choral Society, Junior Conducing Fellow at Zemel Choir and Musical Director of Barts and the London Musical Society Choir.

As well as conducting, Penelope teaches singing at City Lit and sings alto at St Michael and All Angels Church in Croydon.

30/05/2025

Come along to an evening of classic opera, most of which you will recognise, some perhaps not. But it will be well worth it, especially as it's all for a worthy cause! We will be raising urgently-needed funds for St Catherine's Hospice, Crawley.

You can book your seat via this link: https://www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk/dbpage.php?pg=book&id=184958

17/05/2025

Here is a lovely article about Katy Edgington, one of our choristers and wonderfully talented artist. The article was published in May 2025's edition of All About Horsham here: https://www.aahorsham.co.uk/ The article starts on page 29 and reproduces some of Katy's artwork.

21/02/2025

20/02/2025

A Journey of Sacred Music Through Time

The Horsham Chamber Choir will be led for the first time by Acting Director of Music Jon Openshaw at its concert at Holy Trinity Church in Horsham on Saturday, 29th March.

The programme celebrates some of the best sacred choral music composed over 1,000 years from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Canada. The earliest music in the concert is a plainsong chant written in the tenth century, which is followed by a contrasting composition from the 12th century by Hildegard von Bingen, noted for its melodic beauty and spiritual depth. The most contemporary piece to be performed - "Upon Your Heart" – is from the 1990s by Toronto-based composer Eleanor Daley.

In between the music traverses the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods with compositions such as Sicut Cervus and Exultate Deo by Palestrina, Rejoice in the Lord always by Purcell, Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart, Os Justi and Locus Iste by Bruckner and Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré.

Jon Openshaw comments “Our concert will demonstrate how sacred choral music has developed over the centuries, and we will provide our audience with a range of moods encompassing reflection and devotion as well as joy and sadness.” He adds “Bach is often referred to as the father of classical music, revolutionising what went before with his technical prowess, profound harmonic language and deep religious conviction. Mozart brought a new genius and elegance to sacred music while Bruckner is known for his expansive choral works that reflect both his devout faith and a sense of grandeur and spiritual awe. With additional works by Herbert Howells, Stravinsky, Brahms and others we look forward to giving our audience an evening of truly beautiful music”

Tickets can be obtained from the Horsham Chamber Choir website at www.horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk and will also be available at the door at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday, 29th March. The concert will begin at 7.30pm.

Horsham Chamber Choir is a friendly amateur music choir singing a classical repertoire