All Categories - THE GOOD AFTERNOON CHOIRS

South Glos GAC concert with Grassy Knoll Ukulele Ensemble

5/15/2025

The very popular South Gloucestershire Good Afternoon Choir will welcome the Grassy Knoll Ukulele Ensemble as their special guests at Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood, on Saturday May 31, at 7.30pm (doors open 7.00pm).

The South Gloucestershire Good Afternoon Choir is led by Matt Finch and they are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the choir’s 2025 chosen charity, Kingswood Community Association, which provides the people of Kingswood and the surrounding area with a place to participate in activities and to meet and share interests.

The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based musician Grenville Jones 16 years ago and there are now 34 across the South West of England, South Wales and London, with over 1,600 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.

There are no auditions to join and your first rehearsal is free – come alone or with a friend! They meet every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at Kingswood Community Centre. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet Matt and the members of the choir, where the emphasis is on singing and having fun.

Special guests for the concert will be the Grassy Knoll Ukulele Ensemble, a ukulele band from South Bristol that proves you can strum your way through life while having a laugh! They are all set to serenade you with catchy melodies and plenty of giggles, reminding you that life is better with a little bit of laughter … plus maybe a slice of cake now and then!

Tickets priced £10 are on sale from gac.ticketlight.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991 – they will also be available on the door on the evening of the concert.

Grenville, the Choir Founder, says:

“This will be another very special concert for our members with a mix of music to suit everyone. It will be a great night of music for Matt and the Choir who very much look forward to welcoming the Grassy Knoll Ukulele Ensemble to Kingswood.”

South Gloucestershire Good Afternoon Choir

Grassy Knoll Ukulele Ensemble

Yate & Chipping Sodbury GAC Summer Concert

5/14/2025

The very popular Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir will welcome Tartan Allsorts as their special guests at the St Mary’s Church, Yate, on Saturday June 28 at 7.30pm (doors open 7.00pm).

The Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir is led by Sian Walters and they are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the choir’s 2025 chosen charity, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.

The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 16 years ago and there are now 34 across the South West of England, South Wales and London, with over 1,600 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.

There are no auditions to join, your first rehearsal is free, and members of the Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area. They meet every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at St Mary’s Church, led by Sian. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet Sian and the members of the choir, where the emphasis is on singing and having fun.

Special guests for the concert will be Tartan Allsorts, a new band that have evolved from the Celtic rock band Rockpipes. They are still true to their love of all things Celtic but like allsorts of music, exploring new genres, and tartans!

Tickets priced £8 are on sale from gac.ticketlight.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991 – they will also be available on the door on the evening of the concert.

Grenville said;

“It is going to be a great evening of music and song and we are absolutely delighted to be welcoming Tartan Allsorts.”

Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir

The Tartan Allsorts

Keynsham GAC & Black Sheep Harmony perform at KMF

5/12/2025

Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir will again be performing as part of Keynsham Music Festival on Friday July 4 at St John’s Church from 7.30pm, with special guests Black Sheep Harmony.

Good Afternoon Choir founder Grenville Jones said;

“This will be a very special concert as part of the Festival. Black Sheep Harmony are a dynamic female A Cappella voice group from Bristol. So why not join us a for a wonderful evening of song.”

There are now 34 Good Afternoon Choirs across the West of England, South Wales and London and leader John Hare conducts the 50 voice Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir. They rehearse every Wednesday from 2pm-4pm at Keynsham Methodist Church Victoria Centre. There are no auditions and new singers are always welcome to go along and discover Singing in the Afternoon.

Tickets for the concert are priced £10 and available in advance from gac.ticketlight.co.uk or on the door on the night.

Doors open at 7pm for what’s bound to be a full church and a great night of music for everyone.

The popular Keynsham community Good Afternoon Choir with leader John Hare

Black Sheep Harmony led by MD Pete Nugent

Devizes GAC concert with guests Guinea Lane

4/16/2025

The very popular Devizes Good Afternoon Choir will welcome Guinea Lane Saxophone Quartet as their special guests at the Corn Exchange, Devizes, on Saturday May 17 at 7.00pm (doors open 6.30pm).

The Devizes Good Afternoon Choir is led by Good Afternoon Choir Founder Grenville Jones and they are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the choir’s 2025 chosen charity, Back on Track, a Stroke Rehab Service set up to meet the need for long term rehabilitation and support for young, working age Stroke Survivors and their Carers, living in Wiltshire.

The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville 16 years ago and there are now 35 across the South West of England, South Wales and London, with over 1,600 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.

There are no auditions to join, your first rehearsal is free, and members of the Devizes Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area. They meet every Friday afternoon from 1pm-3pm at St Andrew’s Church, led by Grenville. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet Grenville and the members of the choir, where the emphasis is on singing and having fun.

Special guests for the concert will be the Guinea Lane Saxophone Quartet, who play an idiosyncratic and eclectic mix of music including folk, classical and jazz. The quartet comprise of Rob Bartholomew, Soprano; Barbara Dalton, Alto; Jude Jackson, Tenor and Fiona Stamp, Baritone.

Tickets priced £8 are on sale from gac.ticketlight.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991 – they will also be available on the door on the evening of the concert.

Grenville said;

“It is going to be a great evening of music and song and we are absolutely delighted to be welcoming Guinea Lane to the Corn Exchange.”

Images show Devizes GAC & Guinea Lane Saxophone Quartet

Malmesbury GAC do musicals

4/16/2025

The Malmesbury Good Afternoon Choir will welcome ThreeO as their special guests at Malmesbury United Reformed Church on Saturday May 17 at 3.00pm (doors open 2.30pm) for an afternoon of ‘Malmesbury does the Musicals’.

The Malmesbury Good Afternoon Choir is led by Corrie Darker and they are busy preparing their programme for the Musicals afternoon which will support the choir’s 2025 chosen charity, Wiltshire & Bath Air Ambulance.

The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 16 years ago and there are now 35 across the South West of England, South Wales and London, with over 1,600 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.

There are no auditions to join, your first rehearsal is free, and members of our Malmesbury Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area. They meet every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm in the Old School Room at Malmesbury Town Hall, led by Corrie Darker. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet Corrie and the members of the choir, where the emphasis is on singing and having fun.

The special guests for the concert will be ThreeO, a collaboration between three local musicians, Theo May, Greg May and Paul Mason. Theo and Greg have their roots firmly in folk, but with Paul's background in jazz, they create a fusion that people can't help but tap their feet to. This is a free admission concert with a retiring collection for Wiltshire & Bath Air Ambulance. Grenville said; “It is going to be a great afternoon of Malmesbury does the Musicals, so why not come along for a singalong.”

Join Wells GAC & Wells Scout to Commemorate VE Day

4/16/2025

Come along and Commemorate VE Day with the very popular Wells Good Afternoon Choir on Sunday May 18 at St Thomas’ Church, Wells, 3.00pm (doors open 2.45pm) where they will be singing together with the 5th/7th Wells Scout Group.

The Wells Good Afternoon Choir is led by Ruth Jenkins and they are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support fundraising for the 5th/7th Wells Scout Group hut.

The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 16 years ago and there are now 35 across the South West of England, South Wales and London, with over 1,600 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.

There are no auditions to join, your first rehearsal is free, and members of our Wells Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area. Wells meet every Tuesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm. Everyone is welcome to come along to meet Ruth and the members of the choir where the emphasis is on having fun.

The 5th/7th Wells Scout Group will be joining Wells Good Afternoon Choir to Commemorate VE Day and there will be lots of opportunities for audience participation on the afternoon.

The afternoon is free admission, so why not come along for a fun singalong and to meet your local community Good Afternoon Choir.

Grenville said;

“It is going to be a great afternoon of music and we are absolutely delighted to be welcoming Wells Scout Group, to St Thomas’ Church in Wells.”

Images show Wells GAC and 5th/7th Wells Scout Group

BQF UK Excellence Awards 2025

3/28/2025

GRENVILLE WINS MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Over 50 National Awards were announced with the final one, the individual public vote, won by Grenville and presented to him by HRH, the Princess Royal.

Last evening (March 27) in a glittering awards ceremony at the packed Bobby Moore Suite, Wembley Stadium, the work of the Bath-based Songs&Smiles Charity Golden-Oldies was recognised with its founder Grenville Jones being awarded the prestigious UK Excellence Awards 2025 Patron’s Award for Individual achievement by the British Quality Foundation Patron, HRH, the Princess Royal.

It was in 2007 when respected choir leader and musician Grenville, who lives in Bath, launched the charity that was based on bringing isolated lonely people together to enjoy fun Sing&Smile organised community singing sessions in Church halls, community rooms and libraries across South West England and Wales (Goldies Cymru).

Over the last 18 years Grenville has also built up a reputation for his leadership of many community choirs, although he is always quick to point out that the Goldies Charity is NOT about choir singing but more specifically about community health and wellbeing sessions for over 3,000 older isolated and vulnerable people. From the original four ‘Goldies’ sessions taken by Grenville in and around the Bath and Bristol areas the work of the Charity, with Sir Cliff Richard as its Patron, has grown to the point today where they organise over 170 sessions across England and in Wales, under the Goldies Cymru banner.

Alongside the charity work, he has led the development of community choirs and, through his separate music business, runs 34 mixed-voice choirs with 1600 enthusiastic singers. Goldies however is entirely different but both Grenville’s choir work and his charity are based on a very simple principle, he says :

“I understand that there were hundreds of votes and I’d like to thank everyone across my Choirs and the Goldies Charity who took time to vote for me.

“Singing is good for your health and wellbeing, it encourages friendship and should most definitely be on prescription.”

Carrie White, Events, Communications & Marketing Lead of The British Quality Foundation (BQF) said;

“Our awards cover a variety of different areas, one of the most significant being our Patron’s Awards for everyday excellence. We have separate, independent panels of judges for all of our Awards and it is interesting to note that the Golden-Oldies Charity was nominated as a finalist in the Patron’s Award Organisations. In addition Grenville Jones was nominated for the Patron’s Award Individuals for his leadership and dedication for taking forward not only the work of the charity but his encouragement and development of community singing across so many areas of the UK.”

Grenville’s work has been recognised on many occasions and has enjoyed the support of numerous Trusts and philanthropic groups, Local Authorities and supportive Trusts, the National Lottery and many others.

Dr Alwyn Humphreys, MBE and Goldies Cymru Trustee said:

“When Covid shut down all of the Goldies in-person daytime sessions it was typical of the determination of Grenville to find a new way to reach out to isolated people. We did this with the innovative introduction of sessions which were made available to people in their homes through YouTube and professionally produced and distributed sessions. Sofa singing was born!”

The charity has also led the way with its intergenerational Primary School events, supported by the National Lottery through its Heritage Lottery Fund. Three years ago an intergenerational project from Goldies, based on the commemoration of Armistice Day and World War II, won the prestigious Education Category of the National Lottery Awards 2018. Grenville received the award from Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins at a televised event in London.

“With the continued support of our brilliant session leaders and many sponsors and supporters we are adding more Goldies Sing&Smile sessions. We know that we are making a huge difference to the lives of so many older vulnerable people.

“You really cannot be gloomy or sad if you are singing at a Goldies session,” added Grenville

ENDS

3 Cornish GACs perform Songs from the Shows

3/27/2025

Three Cornish Good Afternoon Community Choirs – Falmouth, Newquay and Truro Good Afternoon Choirs – are joining together to perform Songs from the Shows at a concert at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Falmouth on Friday April 11th at 7.30pm. The choirs and their Leader, Andy Farris, will be welcoming soloists Kirsten Mulcahy and Cheryl Rosevear to join them for a very special evening of Musical Theatre.

The concert is in aid of local charities chosen by the 3 choirs, including Truro Hospital & Community Radio.

There are currently 35 Good Afternoon Choirs in the South West and beyond with more launching later this year. The Cornish choirs rehearse on the following days:

Monday 1.00-3.00pm - Truro Good Afternoon Choir – Truro Methodist Church

Thursday 1.00-3.00pm – Newquay Good Afternoon Choir – St Michael’s Church Hall

Friday 1.00-3.00pm – Falmouth Good Afternoon Choir – Emmanuel Baptist Church

If you’re interested in finding out more about Singing in the Afternoon then please visit our website: www.goodafternoonchoir.org

Tickets are priced £8 (under 16s Free) on the door from 7.00pm or available from gac.ticketlight.co.uk or by calling 0844 888 9991.

ENDS

Image shows Falmouth, Newquay and Truro Good Afternoon Choir members singing at Truro Cathedral

Keynsham Music Festival concert

3/24/2025

Save the date… for one of the popular concerts at this year’s Keynsham Music Festival on Friday July 4 at St John’s Church from 7.30pm. It will feature the Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir and special guests, Black Sheep Harmony.

Good Afternoon Choir founder Grenville Jones said;

“This will be a very special concert as part of the Festival. Black Sheep Harmony are a dynamic female A Cappella voice group from Bristol. So why not join us a for a wonderful evening of song.”

There are now 35 Good Afternoon Choirs across the West of England, South Wales and London and leader John Hare conducts the 50 voice Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir. They rehearse every Wednesday from 2pm-4pm at Keynsham Methodist Church Victoria Centre. There are no auditions and new singers are always welcome to go along and discover Singing in the Afternoon.

Tickets for the concert will be priced £10 and available in the coming weeks from gac.ticketlight.co.uk, from choir members or on the door.

Doors open at 7pm for what’s bound to be a full church and a great night of music for everyone.

ENDS

Image shows: Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir conducted by John Hare

Wells GAC raise money for Wells Scout Group

3/24/2025

A concert at St Thomas’ Church, Wells, on Saturday March 22 raised almost £700 supporting the work of 5th/7th Wells Scout Group.

The Wells community Good Afternoon Choir meets every Tuesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at St Thomas’ Church and each year the choir members vote for a new charity to support. In previous years they have raised many thousands of pounds for different organisations and charities and this year’s choice is the work of 5th/7th Wells Scout Group.

A packed church heard the Good Afternoon Choir singing many of their popular numbers conducted by their musical director Ruth Jenkins. There were also items from the attending members of the Scout Group and the special guest was Wells Mayor Cllr Jasmine Browne.

Some of the items included sea shanties and when the audience, plus the choirs, sang the popular shanty Sloop John B, the first verse was sung as a solo by non-other than the Mayor!

The concert was attended by Grenville Jones, the founder of Good Afternoon Choirs, who said:

“Over the last 15 years I have attended many fundraising concerts across our Good Afternoon Choirs and this was the first time that the local Mayor sung a solo. She was brilliant!”

Members of the Choir supported a raffle which raised nearly £700, and additional fundraising by the choir for 5th/7th Wells Scout Group will continue throughout 2025.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Wells Good Afternoon community Choir. They meet every Tuesday at St Thomas’ Church from 2pm-4pm with well-known local musician Ruth Jenkins as their conductor. There is no charge to attend your first rehearsal and the choir numbers over 60 enthusiastic members.

ENDS

Our picture shows the Wells Good Afternoon Choir with conductor Ruth Jenkins singing at St Thomas’ Church, Wells, on Saturday March 22.

Our picture shows Good Afternoon Choir leader Ruth Jenkins with the Mayor of Wells Cllr Jasmine Browne who attended the concert on Saturday March 22 supporting 5th/7th Wells Scout Group.