November saw a return for our ‘cabaret in the crypt night’ which seems to have taken on a status as legendary as our ‘cheese and wine’ rehearsals.

Whilst a church crypt is not everyone’s ideal venue when it comes to cabaret, our choir seems to have embraced it as a second home and it’s only fitting really, given that our very first choir rehearsals took place there, all the way back in 2011.

Choir renditions of ‘Moon River’, ‘Over the rainbow’, ‘Movin on up’, ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ sounded fabulous. And in-between the choir items, we had some fantastic solo performances. The ‘John/Dom/Lucy’ trio excelled themselves, as did Winston and Sheila in the first half. The ‘Monday Quintet’, named just a few minutes before they took to the stage, performed some foot-tapping folk music. Louisa and Gargie sang beautifully moving songs and John and Dominic returned to the stage to end the second half. The choir finished things off with encores of ‘Fix you’ and ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’.

Do come and join us for more crypt goings on next year!

Thursday 10th of October is World Mental Health Day and we’re delighted to be taking part in a concert at Theatre Peckham to help promote knowledge and understanding around mental health issues in our local community.

We’re teaming up with the Mind & Soul choir, who are based at the Maudsley Hospital and we’ll be taking part in a joint workshop on the day. In the evening we’ll be singing together and performing a premier of a song by Aga!

It will be a really special occasion so please do bring along friends and family. Tickets are available to buy online here.

Usually, the choir learns music throughout a term and performs it a few months later at the end of said term. But we like challenges. And what better to stretch ourselves than learn some new music – with lots of new choir members – and perform it all just three rehearsals later?

In the surroundings of the gothic architecture of St Giles’ Church, we kicked off the church summer series of concerts with a sublimely diverse range of music from composers such as Billy Joel and Mozart. Matt and Ashley performed solos and it was a fantastic evening with celebratory pints and pizza at the end.

The choir is on half term on the 28th of May but we are back to normal from Tuesday 4th of June. Needless to say, we’ll still have plenty to work on and you can look forward to playing your part to help Camberwell come alive with the sounds of summer.

On November 11th, 1918, the First World War came to an end. Like many communities, Camberwell changed dramatically during the war and there are many fascinating stories about how local people adapted to a new way of life.

The consequences of war literally hit home one night in October, 1917. A 660lb bomb was dropped on the junction of Calmington Road and Albany Road from a German zeppelin airship, killing 10 people and injuring a further 23.

A 101 years later, we were delighted to sing at the installation of new artwork, commemorating the event. ‘Silent Raid’ by artist Sally Hogarth is so thought provoking – it’s made up of little houses where the originals once stood, now in an empty part of Burgess Park. The houses vary in height and colour depending on the age of each victim and proximity to the blast. It reminded many of us how fragile life is and how easily it was taken away that night, without any warning, whilst people were sleeping in their own homes in Camberwell.

Whilst a century separates us from the events of World War I, we’re looking forward to performing at ‘Music and Stories for a century past’, a concert with readings and accounts about the lives of ordinary people in Camberwell during the war. It’s going to be a great way to find out more about our local history – visit the Facebook Event page for more details about this unique event.