PRESS RELEASE
 
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
 
The popular Bristol Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert of the year at Westbury on Trym Methodist Church on Saturday evening March 4 at 7.30pm (doors open 7.00pm).
 
The choir is led by John Sandford with over 50 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support Gympanzees, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 13 years ago and there are now 23 across the South West of England with over 900 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.
 
There are no auditions to join and members of the Bristol Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area, they meet every Monday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at Westbury on Trym Methodist Church. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet John and the members of the choir.
 
The special guests for the concert will be the Bristol Military Wives Choir who are just one in a network of over 70 MWCs across the UK and internationally. Military life can be challenging with families moving frequently due to new postings and deployments meaning long periods of separation from loved ones. The Military Wives Choirs is a charity that has been set up to bring women in the military community closer together through singing and to provide valuable support.
 
Tickets priced £8 are on sale from members of Bristol Good Afternoon Choir or by calling 01761 472468 – they will also be available on the door on the night of the concert.
 
John Sandford said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and we are absolutely delighted to be sharing the stage with the Bristol Military Wives Choir!”
 
ENDS
 
Picture shows : Bristol Military Wives Choir.
 
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 

​PRESS RELEASE
 
Thursday, February 9, 2023
 
 
Singing in the Afternoon – NEW Community Choir in Wincanton
 
If you love to sing and have always wondered what it’s like to sing in a CHOIR, now’s the chance to find out! The new NO-AUDITION South Somerset Good Afternoon Choir starts on Monday February 27th with our conductor Ruth Jenkins from 1-3pm at Wincanton War Memorial Hall, Wincanton, BA9 9JF and there’s a warm welcome to go along and find out more.
 
Bath-based music man Grenville Jones started his Good Afternoon Choirs 12 years ago and there are now 23 across the West of England.
 
Ruth Jenkins graduated in Music at Birmingham University, specialising in voice and conducting the University Chamber Choir. After training as a Music Therapist at Roehampton Institute, and conducting the Wimbledon YMCA choir, she worked in the NHS for 7 years in clinics and hospital settings. Ruth conducts our popular North Somerset GAC at Nailsea and looks forward to welcoming you to the South Somerset good afternoon choir at Wincanton War Memorial Hall. 
 
Good Afternoon Choirs sing popular melodies in harmony and each choir raises money for a local charity selected by the members. In 2022 the choirs raised over £22,000 for local charities and organizations across the West of England. 
 
Choir founder is Grenville Jones. He said;
 
“Come along and meet the South Somerset Good Afternoon Choir and Ruth on a Monday afternoon from 1pm at Wincanton War Memorial Hall, Wincanton. There’s no charge for attending the first rehearsal, there are NO auditions - why not bring a friend.”
 
“Choirs are great for meeting new friends and enjoying the best hobby in the world, I’ll see you there!”
 
See www.goodafternoonchoir.org for further information.
 
ENDS
 
Images:

• Ruth Jenkins
• The GAC’s performing in Cornwall recently.

 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Thursday February 9th, 2023
 
Caption - Pictured are the Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir, the champion fundraisers for 2022. They raised £3,000 for the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity with their 2022 concerts.
 
----------------------------------------------------------
​
CHOIR Singing in the AFTERNOON is proving to be a big hit across the West of England, raising thousands of pounds for community groups. Last year (2022) across all the choirs, from Gloucester to Cornwall a magnificent £22,389.90 was raised.
 
Champion fundraisers were Yate & Chipping Sodbury who meet every Wednesday and are led by Sian Walters. The choir members chose the charity they want to support, The Great Western Air Ambulance Charity being selected by the choir.
 
Founder Grenville Jones has a World-Wide reputation as a choir leader and as someone who advocates the health benefits of belonging in a choir. He says; “SINGING should be ON PRESCRIPTION.” 
 
He is also well-known as founder of the Golden-Oldies Sing and Smile charity – now in its 15th year – with its 120 daytime fun sessions in Church Halls and Community Rooms.
 
Grenville also runs two evening choirs including the celebrated City of Bath Male Choir who hit the headlines on the BBC Last Choir Standing Saturday night series, recently returned from a hugely successful visit to Nashville. His Thursday evening mixed-voice choir in Bath, the Welcome Chorus has over 70 singers.
 
He started his community Good Afternoon Choirs in his home City of Bath fourteen years ago; choirs that sing in the daytime with no auditions (of course) and the accent on FUN singing, making friends and supporting local organisations with fundraising concerts.
 
In recent years the Good Afternoon Choirs have raised many thousands of pounds for local groups and have just announced that last year – 2022 – a total of £22,389.90 was given to organisations across the West of England - LISTED BELOW.
 
There are now 24 Good Afternoon Choirs from GLOUCESTER to CORNWALL including the recently launched, Churchdown (N.Glos), Highworth/Shrivenham, South Somerset and Warminster/Westbury with more planned later in the year. Grenville takes four of the choirs himself and employs many talented freelance leaders and accompanists across the West.
 
Over 1000 people are enthusiastic Good Afternoon Singers. BIG SINGS, when the choirs all join together, are organised with Bath Abbey and Clifton Cathedral as past venues and Wells Cathedral being the host this coming November.
 
“I am fortunate to have a great team of leaders taking the choirs and all admin support comes from our office in Westfield near Bath. Our choir members are now choosing the local groups they want to help this year,” says Grenville.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs take place on; 
 
Mondays : Bristol, Frome, South Somerset and Truro
Tuesdays : Chippenham/Calne, Churchdown (N.Glos), Cirencester/Stroud, Mid Devon, Taunton and Wells
Wednesdays : Keynsham, Malmesbury, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Yate/Chipping Sodbury
Thursdays : Bath, Newquay, Norton Radstock, North Swindon and Thornbury
Fridays : Devizes, Falmouth and Warminster/Westbury
 
 
Full details on all the choirs/rehearsal times etc are on www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 
The charities supported last year were: A Life for a Cure, Alzheimer’s Support / Music for the Mind Project, Children’s Hospice South West, Dementia UK, Dorothy House, Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance, Freewheelers/Taunton Blood Bikes, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, JIGSAW Thornbury, Julia’s House Children’s Hospice, Keynsham & Saltford Dementia Action Alliance, Longfield Hospice, Peggy Dodd Centre, Prospect Hospice, Refugee Aid from Taunton, Royal British Legion, Salisbury Hospice, Springboard Opportunity Group, South Western Ambulance Charity, St Cuthbert’s School, Sue Ryder, The Space, Ukraine Appeal and Wells in Bloom
 
ENDS
 

​PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Thursday, February 2, 2023
 
Members of the popular Tuesday Wells Good Afternoon Community Choir last Tuesday (January 31) celebrated raising almost £3,000 for their two chosen charities, Southwestern Ambulance Charity and Wells in Bloom, (last year) with their fundraising concerts.
 
Our picture shows Wells Good Afternoon Choir members with the Southwestern Ambulance Charity’s community responder vehicle. The purchase of a new car for the Wells area was a specific need and over £2,400 going towards that purchase.
 
Wells in Bloom also received support totalling £450.
 
The Wells community Good Afternoon Choir has over 60 members who meet every Tuesday at St Thomas’s Church in Wells from 2pm-4pm. Their conductor is Grenville Jones who started the no audition Choir five years ago. Everyone is welcome to go along and meet Grenville and the choir on a Tuesday afternoon.
 
Each year the members choose a new organisation to support and at last Tuesdays rehearsal Wells members have chosen PAPYRUS (Parents’ Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide) to benefit from their 2023 fundraising events.  
 
The charity PAPYRUS was originally founded in 1997 as the Parents’ Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide. Founding members were parents who had lost children to suicide who wanted to make sure no other families went through the same agony and suicide remains the biggest killer of young people under the age of 35 in the UK and every year we lose up to 200 school children to suicide.
 
The charity supports communities on suicide prevention projects, supports a network of volunteers who have lived-experience of suicide and offer suicide prevention training to groups and individuals.   
 
There are now 25 afternoon choirs from Gloucester to Cornwall including Chippenham/Calne and Warminster/Westbury. Over a 1000 people enjoy Singing in the Afternoon! Across the choirs last year over £22,000 was distributed to local organisations.
 
ENDS