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Stretton Choral is a friendly, community-based choral society for the Strettons and surrounding area, non-auditioned and open to everyone regardless of skill or experience, but still aiming to produce the best music we can.  We rehearse and perform in Church Stretton.

Spring 2026

We performed our Spring concert "Songs of Love and Reflection" on Saturday 9 May 2026 at the Silvester Horne Institute, then sang some of the songs again a couple of days later at one of the local residential homes.  The programme included part songs by Sullivan and Stanford and the Liebeslieder Waltzes by Brahms, with piano duet interludes.

Watch this space for our next activities.

 

Partnership with Church Stretton School

We are building links with Church Stretton School, working with the Head of Music there, Andrea Chapman.  In the Autumn 2025 we sponsored a singing competition at the school; the winner, Issy Chapman, as well as receiving a cash prize (as did two runners up) got to join our choir to sing a solo at our Christmas concert - the solo from Howard Goodall's Paslm 23, better known as the theme from The Vicar of Dibley.  We were to be joined in the second half of the concert by the school choir, until flu ripped through them - another time!

Through these activities, we aim to strengthen links between the school and the town, but also to introduce more children to the pleasures of choral singing.

 

 

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Who we are

Stretton Choral, in its present format, was founded in 1977 and currently meets once a week in the United Reformed Church Hall, Church Stretton, between September and May to rehearse for at least two public concerts each year.

A concert in December usually consists mainly of music related to the Christmas season and includes some Christmas carols for the audience to join in.  A spring concert in early May allows for more substantial works in the classical and modern repertoires.

We welcome members both from the Strettons and from the surrounding area.  

Our musical team

Musical Director: Michael Turner

Michael is now in his fifth year leading us.

From Birmingham, Michael Turner studied violin and viola, before settling on percussion as his main instrumental study.  As a singer, he has been a member of the CBSO Chorus, along with a number of other choirs across the Midlands.

Michael has attended conducting courses with John Carewe and George Hurst and studied under Hilary Davan Wetton, with whom he settled on adopting the conducting technique favoured by Sir Adrian Boult.

A music graduate of Leicester University, Michael has conducted several amateur and professional ensembles and choirs including the Birmingham Singers, Proteus Chamber Orchestra, the More Singers, the Telford Orchestra, the Marches Choir and the Phoenix Singers.  He made his professional debut with the Milton Keynes City Orchestra and has also worked with the Manchester Camerata.  Michael has been Music Director of the Bloomsbury Chamber Orchestra since 1996, was Music Director of the Oswestry Sinfonia from 2014 - 2020 and became Musical Director of the Stretton Choral Society in September 2021.  He has been an ensemble conductor for Shropshire Music Service since 2016.

Michael has composed extensively, with works including a Horn Concerto, several orchestral and choral works, instrumental music and pieces for percussion and wind ensemble.

Michael lives in South Shropshire with his wife.  They have three sons. Between them, the Turners play bassoon, guitar, horn, oboe, piano, recorders (of various sizes), viola and violin, and sing (one boy having been a cathedral chorister)..

Accompanist: Gill Styles

Gill was born in West Yorkshire. She studied music at Goldsmiths’ College, London where she focused on piano and voice.

For over thirty years Gill has been a junior school class teacher with responsibility for music.  Throughout her career she has enjoyed accompanying singers and instrumentalists, as well as playing chamber music, performing as a vocal soloist and singing in local choirs.

 

"Stretton Choral" is the everyday operating name of Stretton Choral Society