Two Choirs, One Voice - Sunday 26th July 2026

We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our recent concert with New Mill Male Voice Choir at the Picturedrome. It was a fantastic afternoon of music, performed to a full audience, and it was wonderful to see so many people there supporting the event.

The concert marked a special occasion, as it was almost ten years since our two choirs last performed together. Reuniting on stage in such an iconic venue made for a memorable performance, with almost 100 voices coming together under the direction of our Musical Director, Nicola Mills, to create a truly uplifting finale to our concert.

We are also delighted to announce that our concert raffle raised over £700 for our chosen charity of the year, Support Dogs. A heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who purchased raffle tickets and helped us support this incredible cause.

Thank you once again to everyone who attended and contributed to making the concert such a memorable and successful event. We look forward to seeing you at our future performances.

 

Square Peg Cheque Presentation May 2026

Vocal Expressions are delighted to have raised £3180 for the Square Peg Activities Group. Here are a few members presenting a cheque to Richard the founder of Square Peg. The group are really grateful to the choir for this large donation which will enable them to regularly enjoy activities such as chair zumba, yoga and music workshops at their weekly Wednesday meetings at St David’s Hall. Holmbridge. It was great for us to see everyone having such fun at with chair zumba and to meet Twiggy. Richard’s new assistance dog on her first visit to a Square Peg meeting.

VIVA! 28th March 2026

The weather may not have been very spring like, but there was plenty of sunshine and warmth in evidence our Spring concert at the North of England Centre for Music & Arts at Standedge, Marsden. What a lovely venue and splendid appreciative audience. The choir sang really well and the Rossignol String Quartet were sublime. For a couple of hours we were all able to put aside the troubles in the world and just enjoy the music. Thank you everyone who worked hard behind the scenes to make the concert a great success.

As usual choir members and our audience were very generous in supporting our raffle in aid of our 2025/26 charity Square Peg. A further £340 was raised which will go towards activities at their weekly Wednesday get togethers.

Winter workshop 2026 - Scarborough

What a wonderful workshop weekend we had at the Weston Hotel in Scarborough. Everyone worked really hard at learning two lovely new pieces of music, with quite a lot of success thanks to Nicola and Lloyd. But it certainly wasn’t work and no play. It was a chance to get together and get to know each other better, and have lots of fun. What an inventive bunch we are - original poems, songs, monologues, games involving socks, and the Holme Valley’s answer to ‘Riot Women’ kept us all entertained on Saturday night! Even so, there we were again on Sunday morning ready for another day of music making. Thank you to everyone involved.

Christmas Eve - The Barnsley Carol

The Barnsley Carol was written by Arthur Godfrey in 1933 and rediscovered in Barnsley Museum Archives in 2023. This lovely version which the Vocal Expressions sang at our Christmas Concert on 14th December 2025 was arranged for us by our accompanist, Loyd Buck. Our performance is also enhanced by the accompanying bells of the Clifton Bell Ringers, our guests at the concert.

Square Peg Christmas Singing 2025

A good time was had by all when we sang festive songs at the final Square Peg get together before Christmas. The group are VE’s chosen charity to support this year and our fund raising has not only helped them to pay for various activities they all enjoy, but meant that this Christmas they could all receive a Secret Santa gift too, which you can see in the photos.

Run, Rudolph, Run 14th December 2025

What a wonderful concert! The choir sounded great, the Clifton Bell Ringers amazed us all with their skill and beautiful tunes produced by the 144 handbells. The hall looked so pretty and festive, the refreshments were plentiful and tasty, and the audience were fantastic. There was such a lovely, festive atmosphere and music for every taste: traditional carols, classical music, ‘a bit of cheese” and rock and roll.

It was a real team effort to put on such an entertaining afternoon. Thank you to everybody who contributed in some way, and a special thank you to Nicola for her positive encouragement and direction, and Lloyd for his splendid arrangement of ‘The Barnsley Carol, made extra special on the day by an accompaniment from the Clifton Bell Ringers.

Square Pegs - November 2025

The Square Peg group are the local charity Vocal Expressions has chosen to support for 2025. We are delighted to have been able to donate £1000 to them so far, which they have used for a variety of activities that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. Here they are enjoying their recent Halloween decoration making session. They look to be having lot of fun, although I’m not sure about the person being dressed up as a mummy!