"Choir sings hits from musicals in cool of Farnham church"

A lightly edited version of the following review appeared in The Farnham Herald online on 15 July 2025.

On a hot 12 July, nearly 100 people enjoyed a day’s singing in a deliciously cool St Andrew’s Church, Farnham. “The Waverley Sing” allowed the Waverley Singers to share the joy of choral singing more widely in the local community. Visits from local MP Greg Stafford, and the Mayor of Farnham, Councillor George Murray with Mayoress Jacoba Murray (pictured), were much appreciated. The Choir was also grateful to Farnham Town Council for its financial support.

Under the friendly direction of the choir’s conductor, Richard Pearce, and with dazzling piano playing by its regular accompanist, Jakob Rothoff, the singers got to grips with well-known songs from ‘Porgy and Bess’, ‘West Side Story’, and ‘Grease’, as well as favourite opera choruses by Donizetti, Handel, Puccini, and Purcell. The day concluded with a mini-performance and a large round of applause!

Singers from near and far spoke of their appreciation. Brian, visiting from London, said: “It's a lovely choir, it's very welcoming and friendly, the conductor is amazing, he's very inclusive, he’s encouraging; he's clear. But he makes sure you try and do it correctly, so it is quite a challenge as well. The cakes are magnificent! So many cakes... All in all, an absolutely wonderful and welcoming environment.”

Marina, who sings with the Gospel Collective in Farnham, said: “I came today because I'm in a different choir; I’m in a gospel choir. When I saw they were doing musicals - I like musicals! - I came just to see how other choirs are singing. It's been a good day.”

Sylvia Turner, one of the Choir’s Co-Chairs and an organiser of the event, said: “I think we had a great day…our guests enjoyed themselves. Richard was great, Jakob was great, we had a lovely venue, we had beautiful weather, and it's been a really successful day!”

The review included a short video of participants talking about the day, which is available below.