Assistant Musical Director Clare Shackleton conducts Wistaston Singers (1)

Wistaston Singers performed a fundraising Gala Concert at St Andrew’s Methodist Church on Wrenbury Road in Aston, Nantwich, writes Jonathan White.

The concert, watched by more than 100 people, also featured ukulele group Ukes Alive and a soloist singer.

Phil Houghton was musical director and assistant musical director was Clare Shackleton, who introduced each song and the soloist, Matthew Skidmore. Chris Dennell was accompanist for the evening.

During the concert Wistaston Singers choir sang ‘Why We Sing’ (Gilpin), ‘Unchained Melody’ (North), ‘My Fair Lady’ (Loewe), ‘As Long As I Have Music’ (Besig), ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’/’Long Way to Tipperary’ (Powell/Williams), ‘With Cat Like Tread’ (Sullivan), ‘Love Changes Everything’ (Lloyd Webber), ‘Hallelujah’ (North), ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ (Mozart), ‘A Clare Benediction’ (Rutter), ‘Flying Free’ (Besig), ‘Les Miserables’ (Schönberg), ‘You Raise Me Up’ (Graham).

Soloist Matthew Skidmore performed ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ (Goodall) and ‘When I Grow Up’ (Kelly).

The audience joined in during the Ukes Alive performance which included ‘If I had a hammer’ (Seeger and Hays), ‘This Little Light of Mine’ (unknown origin), ‘Try a little kindness’ (Sapaugh and Austin),, ‘This land is your land’ (Guthrie), ‘10,000 Reasons’ (Myrin and Redman), and ‘Take me home, Country Roads’ (Danoff, Nivert and Denver).

Proceeds from the concert will be shared between St Andrew’s/Ukes Alive and Wistaston Singers.

Wistaston Singers Musical Director Phil Houghton said: “We were delighted to sing at St Andrew’s and thank them for their hospitality. It was an evening that was enjoyed by all and we thank everyone for their support.”

Musical Director Phil Houghton addresses the audience (1)
Musical Director Phil Houghton addresses the audience

The church was built in 1866 as a Wesleyan Methodist Church.

In 1985 it was decided to combine Dodd’s Green Church with Aston Methodist Church, and to completely refurbish the Aston building.

It was re-opened in April 1987 under its new name of St Andrew’s Methodist Church.

The Wistaston Singers were originally formed from former members of the choir of St Mary’s Parish Church Wistaston in May 2000 and now number more than 50 members singing four part harmony.

The choir perform an eclectic mix of music including choral church anthems, musical theatre, John Rutter and pop, effectively encompassing music from the 15th to 21st century.

They perform up to seven concerts a year, at various venues.

The choir is also available to perform at weddings in the area.

The choir rehearses weekly in the main hall at Gainsborough School, Crewe, on a Wednesday evening from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. New members are always welcome.

Wistaston Singers next concert is a Summer Concert on Saturday July 15 (3pm start) at St Stephen’s Church on Gainsborough Road in Crewe.

Tickets are £7 (adults) or £3 (under 16’s), which includes strawberry tea themed refreshments.

For further information search ‘Wistaston Singers’ on Facebook here

St Andrew’s Methodist Church - exterior (1)
St Andrew’s Methodist Church

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