13/07/2026
And that's a wrap for our 2025-26 season! Our concert on Saturday night was fantastic. showcasing a wide variety of musical styles (and languages!). It really was a trip around the world! (And we had the sunshine to match some of the warmer places, though sadly we were unable to arrange for snow in honour of our Antarctic piano solo.)
Thank you to everyone who's supported us over the past year. Singers, rehearsal pianists, concert musicians and percussionists, soloists, committee members and anyone else who's helped to arrange venues, parking, ticket sales, refreshments, photo and video capture, press and promotion, and who's assisted in any one of the thousand little jobs that are needed to keep the PCS machine running smoothly.
Particular thanks go, of course, to Sara Benbow, our inimitable Musical Director, who devises our performances, arranges a lot of our music and keeps us smiling even when things don't go quite according to plan. (I'm looking at you, emergency change of Christmas concert venue with less than 24 hours to go!) If you ask any PCS member, they'll all tell you that their favourite night of the week is Tuesday, when we all meet up for a good sing!
And finally – warmest thanks and immense gratitude to all of you who come and watch us perform. We really couldn't do it without you. We switch up a gear when we have an audience to perform to, and it's no coincidence that we do our best work when you're there. Thank you so much for your support.
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So what's next?
Well, although the choir is about to take a well-deserved break, you can continue to listen to our work for the next week thanks to the recordings that we've supplied for Underdog – The Other, Other Brontë, which is being performed by the outstanding Sinodun Players from Tuesday to Saturday this week at the Corn Exchange in Wallingford. More on that tomorrow.
The 2026-27 season will be bringing you all kinds of things: A Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams as our major work of the year, along with our usual Christmas concert and another performance at Reading Station to raise funds for elderly care at the hospital in Reading.
We'll also be holding another open rehearsal in October, just as our Christmas rehearsals get going, so if you'd like to give choral singing a try – come along! We're a friendly team, and we don't audition prospective members. You don't even need to be able to read music, because we can supply rehearsal aids. All we ask is that you bring a can-do attitude and a smile. Cake for the Facebook admin is always appreciated, too. 😂
Plans for our summer season are already well advanced, but I don't know whether I'm allowed to tell you what they are yet! All I will say is – it's going to be a very popular programme, so watch this space!
