BCS On Tour

As part of our activities we arrange tours to venues further afield, mostly these occur every two years.

These tours not only provide an opportunity to sing in some wonderful new venues, but are also an enjoyable social activity, enabling us to get to know each other better beyond our regular rehearsal and concert meetings. As well as rehearsing and performing in several venues, we also take the opportunity to explore the places we are visiting.

Saumar, France 2025

As well as boosting our mood, the joy of creating music with others fosters high spirits and a greater sense of self-belief, self-esteem and satisfaction. Being part of a group is a fundamental human need that significantly impacts health and happiness. Singing with BCS isn't just about singing, being part of the choir creates strong bonds and a feeling of togetherness which promotes social inclusion and helps to combat loneliness. Which is exactly what our biennial tours do.

At the end of our 2024-25 season we travelled to the beautiful town of Saumur in France and performed in the picturesque medieval walled village of Montreuil Bellay.

BCS members were joined by our friends and colleagues from the Hastings Philharmonic Choir, which is also directed by Marcio da Silva. We were accompanied by Helen Ridout on the organ and the soloists were Lisa Adam Davey and John Twitchen. Marcio was our conductor and he sang the baritone solos.

The chateau in Montreuil Bellay is celebrating its one thousandth anniversary this year and we were asked to be the first and headline evening for a programme of arts events. The concert was held in the very large wood and stone panelled church within the chateau walls; we sang the Puccini Messa di Gloria which must be one of the most cheerful pieces of church music, and then Fauré’s Requiem as a tribute to a French composer. Lisa gave us a glorious account of the Fauré Pie Jesu.

The audience loved it! There were 250 of them, many knew their music and equally many did not but they were all greatly appreciative and gave us a standing ovation at the end. It had been agreed that no concert costs would come to the choir but the entry receipts would go to the church organ restoration fund….and this totalled very nearly 2000 euros! The concert was followed by a glass or two of the chateau’s sparkling wine in their garden. It was a great success!

So that was the music but the choir did more than that. After the champagne reception we all walked across the drawbridge from the castle to the Restaurant La Grange à Dîme which is a medieval themed restaurant where we enjoyed traditional fouées with wine.

We organised a coach tour on the Sunday that took in a guided tour (in English!) of the glorious Royal Abbey at Fontevraud and the splendid sculpture caves and historical gardens at Puygirault. And, individually, the choir visited the chateau in Saumur, the Saturday street market, local restaurants and did some in depth investigation of Loire wines.

We all agreed that it was a splendid weekend in a beautiful part of France with very pleasant people.

Plans are already afoot for our 2027 tour ...

Freiburg, Germany 2023

In July 2023, about 30 BCS members joined by a similar number of Hastings Philharmonic Choir members (HPC) travelled to Freiburg to join seven German choirs to perform Mendelssohn's Elijah in the wonderful Freiburg Concert Hall. It was a tremendous experience. We were warmly welcomed by members of the German choirs who enjoyed showing us the area around Freiburg. We were treated to an amazing spread after our last rehearsal, plenty of food, wine, and of course beer! The concert, mainly sung in German, was very warmly received. A standing ovation from 1600 people.

"Elijah is not one of the greatest choral works. To my mind it does not compare with Gerontius or the Verdi Requiem, for example, but nevertheless it has moments of great choral splendour and arias of great beauty. And, as with all Mendelssohn, it is very singable. So it was an ideal choice for this joint concert. From England came people from Marcio’s two choirs, Billingshurst and Hastings, and we joined with three local Freiburg choirs as well other smaller groups of young singers. The orchestra had got together for the occasion but it was clear that they were professional musicians, with some from the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra which is of international standing.

Our counterparts in Germany do not do things by halves! They had already spent the previous weekend in rehearsal and then, when we arrived, we rehearsed with the orchestra on the Friday evening, the Saturday afternoon and then the Sunday before the concert. And each rehearsal was preceded by a physical warm up which took me back to days in the gym at school! After the rehearsal on the Saturday, the three host choirs had got together to lay on an absolutely sumptuous supper with lots of good food and lots of good German beer and wine.

So rehearsed and replenished, we were ready for the performance on the Sunday evening. It took place in the Freiburg Konzerthaus, a new building in the centre of the city; the concert was a total sell out with an audience of 1400 people!

And it was nothing short of fantastic! The orchestra were superb; the soloists excellent, especially the bass singing Elijah, and a young boy treble who sang The Youth with a sang-froid and a glorious tone that were astonishing. The 400 choristers put heart and soul into the music and produced a rich, rounded and disciplined sound that was perfect for the music. And all four choir music directors, including Marcio, took their turn at conducting. The results were astonishing and the audience loved it so much that, at the end, there was 15 minute standing ovation!

What an experience!" - Simon Moore (BCS member)

Dublin 2017

In June 2017 we travelled to Dublin, and performed in St Ann’s Church, Christchurch Cathedral and Monkstown Church – as well as sampling some of the city’s wonderful sights and attractions.

Vienna 2015

In May 2015 we went to explore the city of Vienna. Our trip included performances outside the Schönbrunn Palace, and in Donaucity Church and St Peter’s Church.