PRESS RELEASE
 
Press enquiries to Laurie Jones on 07736 009962.

​Monday, July 10, 2023
 
The popular Churchdown (N.Glos) Good Afternoon Choir will present their first concert at Churchdown Community Centre on Saturday evening July 29 at 7.00pm (doors open 6.30pm).
 
The choir is led by Laurie Jones and over 40 enthusiastic members are busy preparing their programme for the concert which will support Jenson’s Journey, 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 Churchdown Good Afternoon Choir come from in and around the area, they meet every Tuesday afternoon from 12.30pm-2.30pm at Churchdown Community Centre. Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Laurie and the members of the choir.
 
The special guest for the concert is tenor Toby Brewer. Toby began his professional career in his hometown of Bristol at 12 years of age as part of the Choir in "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Bristol Hippodrome with Bill Kenwright's UK Tour Company. Ever since, he has been performing in holiday parks, clubs, pubs, weddings, events and theatre productions.
 
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 night of the concert (cash only).
 
Laurie Jones said;
 
“It is going to be a great night of music and we are absolutely delighted to be sharing the stage with Toby!”
 
ENDS
 

PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934
 
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
 
Cornwall Sings
 
Visitors to Truro Cathedral on Saturday afternoon August 12 will enjoy performances by singers from across the County.
 
There are three Cornwall community Good Afternoon Choirs – Falmouth, Newquay and Truro – all conducted by Truro-based Andy Farris. From 12.15pm-1.15pm and 3.00pm-3.45pm the three Good Afternoon Choirs will combine to form one big choir to celebrate the fact that; ‘Cornwall Sings!’.
 
Also taking part will be the renowned City of Truro Male Choir who will be performing from 1.30pm-2.45pm. They are one of the County’s leading Male Choirs who have performed in the Cathedral on a number of occasions.
 
The continuous free admission concert will start at 12.00pm and end at 4.00pm and an on-going collection will support local Cornwall-based charities, chosen by the Good Afternoon Community Choir members themselves.
 
The Good Afternoon Choir founder, Grenville Jones, lives in Bath and enjoys a world-wide reputation as a choir leader and musician. On Sunday August 20 Grenville has been invited to lead a FUN singing workshop at Kenwyn Church in Truro. This will run from 2.00pm-6.00pm and is being organized by the Church.
 
Grenville said;
 
“If you have always wondered what it is like to sing in a choir then come to Kenwyn Church on August 20 and ‘Find Your Voice!’ We will have a fun time together and after a workshop, lasting around two hours, we will then perform at an informal concert at 4.30pm.”
 
To book your workshop and concert place, priced just £5, please email [email protected] or all 01872 260409.
 
ENDS

​

PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Wednesday, January 19, 2023
 
Singing in the Afternoon
 
If you love to sing and have always wondered what it’s like to join a community CHOIR, now’s the chance to find out! The new NO-AUDITION Highworth with Shrivenham Good Afternoon Choir starts on Wednesday August 30 from 1pm-3pm at Highworth Community Centre 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 24 across the West of England from Gloucestershire to Cornwall, over 1,000 people ‘Sing in the Afternoon’.
 
Leader of the Highworth with Shrivenham Good Afternoon Choir is Swindon-based Jessie Thompson. She is a passionate singing teacher, musical director and accompanist. She has been inspiring and educating singers since 2004, when she finished her bachelor’s degree in music at Royal Holloway, University of London.
 
She currently works with many choirs, amateur dramatics groups and educational charities in Swindon and the surrounding area.
 
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 £20,000 for local charities and organizations across the West of England.
 
Choir founder Grenville Jones said;
 
“Everyone is welcome to come along and meet Jessie on any Wednesday afternoon at Highworth Community Centre from 1pm-3pm. There’s no charge for attending your first rehearsal and there are NO auditions - why not come along with a friend.”
 
“Choirs are great for meeting new people and enjoying the best hobby in the world.”
 
See www.goodafternoonchoir.org for further information.
 
ENDS

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
 
 

​PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Monday, January 30, 2023
 
Members of the Friday Devizes Good Afternoon Choir last Friday (January 27) celebrated raising over £2000 for the Julia’s House Children’s Hospice last year with their fundraising concerts.
 
Our picture shows Claudia Hickin from the Hospice where she thanked the choir for choosing them and their ‘wonderful support which would help to support local families’.
 
The Devizes community Good Afternoon Choir has over 70 members who meet every Friday at St Andrews Church in Long Street from 2pm-4pm. Their conductor is Grenville Jones who started the no audition Devizes Good Afternoon Choir 11 years ago. Everyone is welcome to go along and meet Grenville and the choir on a Friday afternoon.
 
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! 
 
The Devizes members have chosen the Sidmouth Street Alzheimer’s Club to benefit from their 2023 fundraising events.     
 
ENDS
 
 
 

PRESS RELEASE
 
Monday, January 30, 2023
 
Singing in the Afternoon
 
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 Churchdown (N.Glos) Good Afternoon Choir starts on Tuesday February 7 from 1-3pm at Churchdown Community Centre 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 24 across the West of England.
 
Laurie is the youngest son of Grenville. He has 20 years experience working as a professional musician and has gained degrees in both percussion and classical singing studies. He has performed in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues and London’s West End. In 2008 Laurie decided to change his career and go into secondary education as a Music teacher. He is now Director of Music at Westonbirt Senior School. 
 
He has always had a passion for singing and he started to conduct choirs ten years ago working with Youth Choirs in schools and colleges and is the founder of award winning Malmesbury Choir and is Assistant Director for the City of Bath Male Choir.
 
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 £19,000 for local charities and organizations across the West of England.
 
Choir founder is Grenville Jones. He said;
 
“Come along and meet the younger Mr Jones and our Churchdown (N.Glos) Good Afternoon Choir and Laurie on a Tuesday afternoon from 1pm at Churchdown Community Centre. 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.”
 
See www.goodafternoonchoir.org for further information.
 
ENDS
 
Press enquiries to Laurie Jones on 07736 009962.

PRESS RELEASE
Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.
 
Monday, January 23, 2023
 
The new community choir based at Crediton Congregational Church is already attracting many new enthusiastic members. The Mid Devon Good Afternoon Choir is led by local musician Jon Rawles and meets on Tuesdays from 2pm-4pm at Crediton Congregational Church.
 
Jon is well known locally and the head of music and organist at Holy Cross Church. He said:
 
“Our Good Afternoon Choir has no auditions and is perfect for people who are retired and who simply love to sing. We have a great repertoire of popular music and for anyone wanting to try us out, there is no charge for your first rehearsal.
 
“Please come along and meet me and the rest of the folks for a good afternoon singing popular tunes and enjoying the hobby of belonging to a community choir.”
 
The Mid Devon Good Afternoon Choir is one of a number based across the West of England and full details can be found on www.goodafternoonchoir.org
 
See you on Tuesday!
 
ENDS