SPRING CONCERT 2026

Saturday 28th March 2026

7pm, Greenock Town Hall

 

Britten - Saint Nicolas

Vivaldi – Gloria

 

The Choir joined forces with young singers from VOISS (Voices of Inverclyde Senior Schools) and St Mary’s Primary School Choir, Greenock, for our March concert, which programmed Britten’s Saint Nicolas alongside Vivaldi’s Gloria in Greenock Town Hall.

 

We were delighted that Glasgow Chamber Orchestra played with us again. Our soloist for St Nicolas was the Greenock tenor, Euan Macdonald, and the soloists for the Vivaldi were Polly Beck and Elysia Wilson.

 

Hebba Benyaghla, our weekly accompanist, and her colleague Chris Baxter played the piano duet, and Christopher Nickol played the Greenock Town Hall organ.

 

This concert honoured the important legacies of Agnes Park and Alistair Massey, two significant and forward-looking Greenock musicians.

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The concert was an overwhelming success in front of a packed Town Hall and was the culmination of many months of hard work and collaboration with the various groups by Musical Director, Nicholas Wilks.

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Both works were written for young people, albeit centuries apart and in very different circumstances. Written for schools in Sussex to mark the centenary of Lancing College, Britten’s St Nicolas ingeniously combines organ, piano duet, strings, percussion, a gallery choir of young voices, treble soloists, tenor solo and chorus.

 

Vivaldi’s Gloria was written for the Ospedale della Pietà, a convent, orphanage, and music school in 18th century Venice renowned for superlative performances by its teenage pupils.

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After the concert, our conductor, Nicholas Wilks said “It was a wonderful celebration of many things - the legacy of two great composers, the joy of working with young people and the bringing together of many different strands in our community. But perhaps above all it celebrated the sheer thrill of live music-making. The Britten was a real event, and the choir delivered it with a tremendous sense of advocacy and commitment. The audience were blown away, as were the young singers from VOISS and St Mary’s, who had never sung something like this before and who loved every minute".

 

The feedback from other musicians included : “Congratulations Nick and Greenock Philharmonic Choir! Thank you so much for asking us to join you in such a wonderful project! It has been such a special journey and such a wonderful opportunity for all of us.”

 

Also: “I thought the concert was a great success and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of such a splendid event. The Greenock Phil sang very well indeed - I'd say it's one of the best performances I've heard from them.”

 

The concert featured the Town Hall organ, which had been neglected for many years, and we also had a wonderful St Nicolas art display in the foyer from the pupils of St Mary’s Primary School.

 

The choir would like to thank the following people:

 

Voices of Inverclyde Senior Schools

St Mary’s Primary School

Glasgow Chamber Orchestra

Inverclyde Council Music Services

Inverclyde Leisure

Allen Organs

Greenock Philharmonic Choir members and committee

 

We are also grateful to Inverclyde Wind Farm Community Fund.