PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Wednesday April 13, 2022
 
Choirs raise £8,000 for local good causes
 
From Cheltenham to Falmouth and all points in-between, the Good Afternoon community choirs give over 800 people each week the opportunity to ‘Sing in the Afternoon!’.
 
Founder of the Choirs is Bath-based music man Grenville Jones. Fourteen years ago, he started his first Good Afternoon Choir in Bath and by the end of this year - 2022, there will be 25 across the West Country. 
 
There are no auditions to belong to a Good Afternoon Choir and the members themselves choose a local organisation to benefit from their fundraising and concerts. The accent is on fun through music making with concerts and social events.
 
Following lockdown, the choirs started singing again in October. They have already raised over £8,000 which will go to benefit organisations across the region.  These include, Peggy Dodd Centre, (Bath GAC); A Life for a Cure, (Bristol GAC); The Space, (Cheddar Valley GAC); Sue Ryder, (Cheltenham GAC); Longfield Hospice, (Cirencester & Stroud GAC); Julia’s House Children’s Hospice, (Devizes GAC); Children’s Hospice South West, (Falmouth GAC & Truro GAC); Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance (Frome GAC & Yeovil GAC); Keynsham & Saltford Dementia Action Alliance and Mencap, (Keynsham GAC); Springboard Opportunity Group (North Somerset GAC); Salisbury Hospice, (Salisbury GAC); Dementia UK, (South Gloucestershire GAC); Freewheelers Blood Bikes & Refugee Aid from Taunton (RAFT), (Taunton GAC); JIGSAW Thornbury, (Thornbury GAC); Southwestern Ambulance Charity & Wells in Bloom, (Wells GAC); Great Western Ambulance, (Yate & Chipping Sodbury GAC).
 
Grenville said;
 
“The members nominate and vote for the local charity or group they choose to support and with a number of concerts on the horizon I am hoping that by the end of this year, we will be able to distribute at least £15,000 to many deserving causes.”
 
Fundraising concerts are always listed on the individual choir sites on
www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 
ENDS
 
Contact Grenville on 07778 282934.
 
Image shows : The Keynsham and South Gloucestershire Good Afternoon Choirs at a concert supporting the local Dementia Alliance group in March.

PRESS RELEASE
 
Monday 4 April 2022
 
Yate & Chipping Sodbury’s popular Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert of the year at St Mary’s Church, Yate, on​ Saturday April 30.
 
The choir is led by Sian Walters with over 50 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the Great Western Air Ambulance, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 12 years ago and there are now 19 across the South West of England with over 800 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.
 
There are no auditions to join and members of the Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the town, they meet every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at St Mary’s Church. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Sian and the choir.
 
Special guests for the concert will be the Apollo Wind Band, a Yate-based band formed in 2014 for beginners and returning players. They play a variety of music genres and are part of the Avon Wind Band Association.
 
Tickets priced £10 are on sale from members of Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir or will be available on the door on the night of the concert.
 
Sian Walters said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and of course this will be the first time that the Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir have performed at a public concert in over two years. We are absolutely delighted to be back singing again!”
 
ENDS
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

​PRESS RELEASE
 
Tuesday 15 March 2022
 
 
The popular Bristol Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert of the year at St Monica Trust’s Oatley House Hall on Friday evening April 8 at 7.30pm
 
The choir is led by John Sandford with over 70 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support A Life For A Cure, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 12 years ago and there are now 19 across the South West of England with over 800 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 St Monica Trust’s Oatley House Hall. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet John and the members of the choir.
 
The special guest for the concert will be world travelled solo violinist Lizz Lipscombe. Her most prestigious moments in previous years include performing and recording with Smokey Robinson, Richard Hawley, Newton Faulkner and Peter Gabriel. Playing live on BBC2 radio with Bob Harris and on TV for ‘Songs of Praise’ and ‘Later . . . with Jools Holland’.
 
Tickets priced £10 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 of course this will be the first time that the Bristol Good Afternoon Choir have performed at a public concert in over two years. We are absolutely delighted to be back singing again!”
 
ENDS
 
Picture shows : Lizz Lispcombe.
 
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

​PRESS RELEASE
 
Tuesday 8 March 2022
 
 
The popular Thornbury Good Afternoon Choir will present their first FREE ADMISSION concert of the year at St Mary’s Church, Thornbury, on Friday evening April 1 at 7.30pm.
 
The choir is led by Brendan Casey with over 70 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support JIGSAW Thornbury, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 12 years ago and there are now 19 across the South West of England with over 800 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.
 
There are no auditions to join and members of the Thornbury Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area, they meet every Thursday afternoon from 1pm-3pm at the Turnberries Community Centre. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Brendan and the members of the choir.
 
The special guests for the concert will be The Thornbury Ukeaholics. After attending weekly lessons, the members wanted to continue so retired to the local pub to continue playing. They still meet every week for a lively practice session and the addictive nature of the ukulele led to the name.
 
This is a FREE ADMISSION concert with a retiring collection for JIGSAW Thornbury, doors opening at 7.00pm.
 
Brendan Casey said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and of course this will be the first time that the Thornbury Good Afternoon Choir have performed at a public concert in over two years. We are absolutely delighted to be back singing again!”
 
ENDS
 
Picture shows : The Thornbury Ukeaholics.
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

​PRESS RELEASE
 
Tuesday 8 March 2022
 
 
The popular North Somerset Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert of the year at Nailsea Methodist Church on Saturday evening April 2 at 7.30pm
 
The choir is led by Ruth Jenkins with over 70 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the Springboard Opportunity Group, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 12 years ago and there are now 19 across the South West of England with over 800 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.
 
There are no auditions to join and members of the North Somerset Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area, they meet every Wednesday afternoon from 1pm-3pm at Nailsea Methodist Church. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Ruth and the members of the choir.
 
The special guest for the concert will be world travelled solo violinist Lizz Lipscombe. Her most prestigious moments in previous years include performing and recording with Smokey Robinson, Richard Hawley, Newton Faulkner and Peter Gabriel. Playing live on BBC2 radio with Bob Harris and on TV for ‘Songs of Praise’ and ‘Later . . . with Jools Holland’.
 
Tickets priced £10 are on sale from members of North Somerset Good Afternoon Choir or by calling 01761 472468 – they will also be available on the door on the night of the concert.
 
Ruth Jenkins said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and of course this will be the first time that the North Somerset Good Afternoon Choir have performed at a public concert in over two years. We are absolutely delighted to be back singing again!”
 
ENDS
 
Picture shows : Lizz Lispcombe.
 
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

PRESS RELEASE
 
Tuesday 8 February 2022
 
 
Frome’s popular Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert of the year at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday March 5.
 
The choir is led by Matt Finch with over 70 enthusiastic members who are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance, a charity chosen by the members of the choir.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs were started by Bath-based Grenville Jones 12 years ago and there are now 19 across the South West of England with over 800 members ‘Singing in the Afternoon’.
 
There are no auditions to join and members of the Frome Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the town, they meet every Monday afternoon from 2pm-4pm at Holy Trinity Church. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Matt and the members of the choir.
 
The special guest for the concert will be baritone Brendan Casey who performed in leading musical theatre groups in New Zealand before moving to England. He combines being an in-demand soloist with also leading the Thornbury Good Afternoon Choir every Thursday.
 
Tickets priced £10 are on sale from members of Frome Good Afternoon Choir or by calling 01761 472468 – they will also be available on the door on the night of the concert.
 
Matt Finch said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and of course this will be the first time that the Frome Good Afternoon Choir have performed at a public concert in over two years. We are absolutely delighted to be back singing again!”
 
ENDS
 
Picture shows : We love to sing… the Frome Good Afternoon Choir who meet every Monday from 2pm-4pm at Holy Trinity Church, Frome.
 
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.

Press Release
 
Thursday 8 January 2021
Back singing in the afternoon
 
The two new popular Good Afternoon Choirs in Falmouth and Truro are back singing after the Christmas break.
 
Led by local musician Andy Farris (pictured), they started in September and because of the closure of Falmouth Methodist Church, the Friday session from 1pm3pm has moved this week to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Western Terrace.
 
Truro Good Afternoon Choir takes place every Monday day from 1pm-3pm at Truro Methodist Church. There are no auditions for either choir, with the accent on singing popular songs and making friends through music. Both choirs have chosen to raise money for the Children’s Hospice South West through the year with their concerts and fundraising events.
 
There are 20 Good Afternoon Choirs across the West of England with hundreds of singers. In July the two Cornish groups will welcome hundreds of singers to join them for a weekend of music making.
 
Andy Farris said;
 
“Come along and meet us at either Falmouth or Truro, the first rehearsal is free of charge – see you soon and bring a friend.
 
“Get singing in 2022.”
 
www.goodafternoonchoir.org has all the details.
 
Ends
 
Press Contact is founder Grenville on 0777 828 2934.

PRESS RELEASE
 
Friday December 31 2021
 
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
 
The popularity of choir singing is well known and a project started by Bath-based musician Grenville Jones, based on afternoon singing, is taking off across the West of England.
 
Grenville’s reputation as choir leader extends across the UK and it was back in 2008 that his City of Bath Male Choir reached a World-wide audience through the BBC’s popular Saturday night series ‘Last Choir Standing’.
 
“Together with friends who were also choir leaders we recognized the issues that came, especially with older singers in the winter, with problems of attending rehearsals on cold dark evenings. An obvious solution to me seemed to be Singing in the Afternoon and I started the Bath Good Afternoon Choir in my home City 9 years ago.
 
“The project then took off and there are now 19 Good Afternoon Choirs across the West of England with plans to start more this year (2022).”
 
As the number of choirs have grown they have raised many thousands of pounds for local charities and during the recent Christmas period over 20 locally-based groups were supported by the choirs raising around £3,000.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs take place across the South West on…
 
Mondays - Bristol at Oatley House Hall St Monica Trust (at the new time) 2pm-4pm. Cheltenham at Highbury Congregational Church from 1pm-3pm. Frome at Holy Trinity Church from 2pm-4pm. Truro at Truro Methodist Church (Parlour) from 1pm-3pm.
 
Tuesdays - Cheddar Valley at Shipham Hall from 1pm-3pm. Cirencester & Stroud at Cirencester Baptist Church from 2pm-4pm. Taunton at Temple Methodist Church from 2pm-4pm. Wells at St Thomas Church from 2pm-4pm.
 
Wednedays - Keynsham at St John’s / Keynsham Parish Church from 2pm-4pm. North Somerset at Nailsea Methodist Church from 1pm-3pm. South Gloucestershire at Kingswood Community Centre (Great Hall) from 2pm-4pm. Yate & Chipping Sodbury at St Mary’s Church from 2pm-4pm.
 
Thursdays - Bath at Bath Central URC (Argyle Hall) from 2pm-4pm. Swindon at Freshbrook Church from 1pm-3pm. Thornbury at Turnberries Community Centre from 1pm-3pm.
 
Fridays - Devizes at St Andrew’s Church from 2pm-4pm. Falmouth at Falmouth Methodist Church (Wesley Hall) from 1pm-3pm. Salisbury at Salisbury Baptist Church from 1pm-3pm. Yeovil at The Gateway / Yeovil Community Church from 1pm-3pm.
 
Grenville himself takes four of the choirs in and around Bath and the other Good Afternoon Choirs are all led by local talented musicians. Each choir has an individual page with full information on the website www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 
There are no auditions required to join your local Good Afternoon Choir and the leaders are always keen to point out that the emphasis is on fun, friendship and singing together. Across the 19 choirs there are over 900 singers and fund raising concerts and singing tours are being planned for this year (2022).
 
The choirs start back week commencing January 10 with an open invitation to any potential new members to go along and ‘discover’ your local Good Afternoon Choir.
 
“The members of the choirs choose the local organisation they wish to support with their concerts and fundraising and this year we will raise many thousands of pounds for deserving local causes,” said Grenville.
 
ENDS
 
Image
 

• Christmas concerts supporting local organisations, the Wells Good Afternoon Choir performing at their concert in December.

PRESS RELEASE
 
Wednesday 14 July 2021
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
www.grenvillejones.biz
 
 
Back to singing!
 
As the Government lifts Lockdown from next Monday July 19 the relaxation on indoor groups gives a green light to singing and choirs across the UK.
 
Recognised as one of the leaders in choral singing, Bath-based, Grenville Jones will be restarting and launching a number of new choirs across the West of England in the weeks ahead.
 
Said Grenville;
 
“We certainly have not been idle during these last few months and plans are in place. My popular Good Afternoon Choirs in Devizes, Wells, Keynsham and Bath as well as South Gloucestershire, Frome, Yeovil, Bristol, Thornbury, North Somerset and Yate and Chipping Sodbury were all forced to stop. They will all restart (as detailed below) with the addition of nine new Good Afternoon Choirs for folks in Cheltenham, Swindon, Cirencester and Stroud, Salisbury, Taunton, Cheddar Valley, Truro and Falmouth.
 
“In addition Grenville’s two evening choirs, the celebrated Bath Male Choir and his Bath Welcome Chorusmixed-voice choir of over 100 voices will begin rehearsals again in early September.
 
“It’s been such a hard time for the members of our choirs who have desperately missed the singing and social friendships, but at last, we can look forward to being together again, singing, smiling and planning concerts which will support many local organisations and charities,” adds Grenville.
 
“We introduced Zoom rehearsals as well as popular YouTube sofa singing during 2020/2021, but it’s just wonderful to be back ‘live’ again.”
 
There are no auditions required to join Grenville’s Good Afternoon Choirs. The accent is clearly on enjoyment through music together and making new friends. Over 800 people sang in the choir’s that were forced to close last March.
 
The Good Afternoon Choirs…
 
Wells Good Afternoon Choir will be moving to a new venue at St Thomas Church and starting back on Tuesday August 17 with Grenville leading and accompanist Sheila Ross.
 
Keynsham Good Afternoon Choir will start back on Wednesday August 18 with Grenville at the new venue of St John’s / Keynsham Parish Church with Sandie Middleton as accompanist.
 
The new Swindon Good Afternoon Choir will launch on Thursday August 26 with John Sandford and an open rehearsal at Freshbrook Church.
 
The new Salisbury Good Afternoon Choir will launch with an open rehearsal at Salisbury United Reformed Church on Friday August 27 with Andy Brockway as conductor.
 
The new Taunton Good Afternoon Choir will launch on Tuesday August 31 at Temple Methodist Church with talented local musician Chris Grabham.
 
North Somerset Good Afternoon Choir returns to Nailsea Methodist Church on Wednesday September 1 with, a new leader, Ruth Jenkins and accompanist Celia Holland.
 
South Gloucestershire Good Afternoon Choir starts back with leader Matt Finch on Wednesday September 1 at Kingswood Community Centre’s Great Hall.
 
Bath Good Afternoon Choir with Grenville will be starting back on Thursday September 2 at Bath Central United Reformed Church / Argyle Hall with accompanist Sandie Middleton.
 
Thornbury Good Afternoon Choir will start back on Thursday September 2 at Thornbury United Reformed Church with a new leader, the multi talented Brendan Casey.
 
Yeovil Good Afternoon Choir starts back on Friday September 3 with new conductor Chris Grabham at The Gateway, Yeovil Community Church.
 
Cornwall – two new Good Afternoon Choirs will start in Truro and Falmouth. The Truro Good Afternoon Choir will be taken by Andy Farris with the first open rehearsal ‘come and meet us’ on Monday September 6 at Truro Methodist Church. The Falmouth Good Afternoon Choir will also be taken by Andy starting on Friday September 3 with an open rehearsal at Falmouth Methodist Church.
 
Bristol Good Afternoon Choir will start back on Monday September 6 with John Sandford as the new leader at the new venue of St Monica Trust’s Oatley House Hall.
 
Frome Good Afternoon Choir starts back with its popular leader and conductor Matt Finch on Monday September 6 at Holy Trinity Church.
 
The new Cheddar Valley Good Afternoon Choir will launch with an open rehearsal on Tuesday September 7 at Shipham Hall with Kate Lynch and accompanist Robert Anderson.
 
Yate & Chipping Sodbury Good Afternoon Choir starts back on Wednesday September 8 at St Mary’s Church with Sian Walters and Carolyn Dutton as accompanist.
 
Devizes Good Afternoon Choir will start back again with Grenville on Friday September 10 at St Andrew’s Church and accompanist Tim Charity.
 
The new Cheltenham Good Afternoon Choir will launch with an open rehearsal on Monday September 13 at Emmanuel Church with Sandra Burne and accompanist Mark Harmer.
 
The new Cirencester & Stroud Good Afternoon Choir will launch with an open rehearsal on Tuesday October 5 at Cirencester Baptist Church with John Sandford.
 
ENDS
 
www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 

​PRESS RELEASE
 
Tuesday 2 June 2020
 
Sing out from your SOFA!
 
 Enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934
 
Starting TOMORROW from 1.00pm on YouTube and every Wednesday (from June 3) the new GoodAfternoonChoir/online tunes up with weekly one hour internet choir rehearsals taken alternatively by the choir founder, Bath’s Mr Music, Grenville Jones, Bristol based Ben England and Matt Finch who lives in Bath. 
 
Grenville, Ben and Matt lead many of the weekly choirs across the region that had to stop in March due to the Coronavirus. 
 
Prior to lockdown there were Good Afternoon Choirs on Mondays in Bristol and Frome. Tuesdays in Wells, Wednesdays in Yate/Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, Keynsham and North Somerset. Thursdays in Bath and Thornbury and Fridays in Devizes and Yeovil.
 
The members come from all walks of life, many with little or no previous singing experience. However, as Grenville points out, there are no auditions to be a Good Afternoon member as the accent is on fun and making new friends. 
 
The choirs have a strong fundraising ethos and last year alone they raised over £22,000 which was divided between local charities, with recipients chosen by each individual group.
 
The new GoodAfternoonChoir/online will sing the songs that choir members know from their weekly repertoire as well as new pieces specially arranged for them to sing from their sofas! 
 
Others who access the internet can also join with the distinct possibility of creating the largest choir in the World!
 
Rehearsals will be posted on YouTube each week and singers will be able to interact with the choir, choosing pieces they would like to sing and passing messages to the members of their individual choirs that they are missing.
 
Says Grenville;
 
“Since we had to stop rehearsals we have had so many emails from members, many who live alone to tell us how much they miss their singing friends. Our new choir is for them.“
 
Learn more on  www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 
Grenville is also the conductor of the celebrated Bath Male Choir, the mixed-voice Bath Chorus and the popular Bath Welcome Community Choir.
 
He is also founder of the award-winning Golden-Oldies Charity.
 
ENDS
 
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.