The Norwich Phoenix Male Voice Choir is an enthusiastic group of men led by our talented Musical Director Sarah Grimes, meeting regularly on the outskirts of the City to enjoy practising four-part choral harmony in the tradition of the well-known male voice choirs, and rehearsing for our concert performances.
We provide an opportunity to local men to learn to sing in a group with other like-minded men in a satisfying pastime without the need to audition for membership or to read music beforehand. We also offer an opportunity to local audiences to enjoy concerts of men singing in chorus in the male voice tradition. Our concerts feature mens' choral standards, well-known ballads, the Great Songbooks, show songs, all-time favourites, and the sacred and secular, and often include solos and ensembles from within our own membership. Our concert roof is regularly raised!
A warm welcome awaits interested men on our Open Rehearsal dates (the best time in a singing season to consider joining us!) and for everyone attending our forthcoming concerts!
Our History
The Phoenix Male Voice Choir was established at a public meeting in Norwich in February 2010 and gave its inaugural concert in July that year, so our 10th Birthday and Anniversary Year was in 2020, although our planned celebrations were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, our origins are found in the year before our formation....
When the Norfolk Millennium Male Voice Choir disbanded in 2009, several of its past members decided to continue singing together in a new all-men group, so they took it upon themselves to set up a new choir! Our founding Musical Director, Sarah Sheldrake - now Sarah Grimes - was recruited and the search for new Chorister Members, an Accompanist and for venues where the choir might rehearse, began. After the initial meeting, the rehearsal base (the function room at the Methodist Church in Mile Cross, north of Norwich City Centre), the name of the new choir (... the Phoenix which rose from the ashes of the previous choir ...), its uniform (an accessible all-black, no blazer, with a long green tie [our waistcoat is a very recent addition!]), and its ethos (welcoming to all men as choristers without audition) were determined, a first Management Committee was elected and, being delighted that an accomplished local musician had accepted the important role of Accompanist, the rehearsals began in earnest.
Since our Inaugural Concert in July 2010, Norwich's Phoenix Male Voice Choir has gone from strength to strength with a hard-working Musical Team and Committee, and the enthusiasm of its Chorister Membership. As we present our annual programme of concerts in Norwich and beyond, we look forward to singing for you and hope to see you soon!
With an open policy for choir membership and where everyone can participate in all our concerts as a benefit of membership, any man with a love for music and an enthusiasm to learn our concert pieces is warmly invited to join our singing ranks.
Singing members enjoy the camaraderie of regularly meeting up for rehearsals and taking part in concerts, and benefit from the sense of well-being that derives from singing with others in a group. We are pleased to give any and every man an opportunity to join a choir of like-minded men whether they are in the process of discovering a love for singing, or have held such a love for many years.
So, wherever you are in your musical journey, we look forward to welcoming you to one of our Open Rehearsals, held at the beginning of each of our singing seasons, where you can see if we are the choir for you!
If you are an existing member of another choir (so know the ropes) and are looking for an additional outlet for your musical talent, please say 'hello' and we can try to include you in the current season.
Our Mission
We are a community-based choir of singing members which does not audition for membership and we do not require members to be able to sight-read music. With an open policy for choir membership which is available to every man with a love for music and an enthusiasm to learn our concert pieces, our singing members enjoy the camaraderie of regularly meeting up for rehearsals, taking part in concerts, and the benefit from a sense of well-being that derives from singing with others in a group. Our mission is to give any and every man an opportunity to join a choir of like-minded men whether they are in the process of discovering a love for singing, or have held such a love for many years.
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