A 'Suffolkated' singsong by Bakewell choir

Medway Community Centre, Bakewell resounded with songs from Sibelius to Rod Stewart on Saturday night, as the Bakewell & District Community Choir shared its Spring Concert with Da Capo, a choir from Suffolk.

The concert was attended by about 60 people raised about £500 for Helen's Trust, the charity that supports terminally ill people in their own homes, through a raffle and the bar.

The joint concert came about because choir member Viv Gibbings used to live at Chelmondiston, near Ipswich, where she was a member of the local choir.

She kept contact with Jane Gould, musical director of Da Capo, which also includes a number of other musicians, including flute, clarinet, piano, accordion and guitar players.

Jane said after the concert: "What a joyous occasion that was. We so much enjoyed singing with the Bakewell choir, especially when we combined on a few numbers. We are now looking forward to planning a possible return visit to Suffolk by the Bakewell choir."

Leader of the Bakewell choir Lester Simpson, formerly a member of the a cappella folk group Coope, Boyes and Simpson, commented: "I thought the singing was inspirational, and it was great to be linking up with a fellow choir from Suffolk. We sung some of our repertoire, ranging from Glen Miller to traditional May folk songs, and Da Capo performed some of theirs with musical accompaniment, plus we did some joint numbers. Judging from the applause, the audience seemed to be having as good a time as we all did."

Words and photographs courtesy of Roly Smith