Dawn To Dusk: a choral concert

New director, same close harmony, at a Stourton hall

Cantamus enters its first full season without founder Richard Emms, who led the Shipston-on-Stour chamber choir for 28 years before retiring last December. Matthew Smallwood takes the baton for this afternoon programme, one of his first since stepping into the role.

Expect a wide sweep: William Byrd and Hubert Parry sit alongside James MacMillan's "O Radiant Dawn" and Ola Gjeilo's "Autumn", before the choir lightens the mood with Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" and a deliberately silly arrangement of Percy Grainger's "Country Gardens". Readings are woven between the sets, a format Cantamus has used for years to break up the singing.

The choir last used this rural hall near Cherington for its "Shades of Autumn" concert in November 2025, and the tea, cake and raffle that came with it are back for this one.

A Saturday afternoon of unaccompanied singing that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Saturday 26 September 2026 · The Hall, Stourton, near Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire CV36 5HG · Starts 3pm