We are a mixed choir of some 90 singers, which draws its members from all over Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. Philomusica was founded in autumn 1966 and gave its first concert in February, 1967. In April 2007 we gave a performance of Vaughan Williams’s mighty Sea Symphony as part of our 900^th concert! Our fortieth anniversary celebrations began in earnest on 25 November 2006, when we gave a gala performance of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius in Tewkesbury Abbey. Our guest soloist was our President, the distinguished tenor, John Mitchinson and we were joined also by the orchestra of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and the Chamber Choir of Dean Close School, Cheltenham. The performance, before a substantial and appreciative audience, was a fitting tribute to our President – and to Elgar, whose music has been central to our repertoire over the years.

We give at least 12 concerts a year but if this sounds daunting, it isn’t: members attend as many concerts as they wish (though in practice, once the Philomusica “bug” takes hold people tend to want to sing often).

 The repertoire is wide and varied but over the years has included most of the great choral masterpieces, with English music being a particular strength. We have regularly given concerts in some of the great churches of the region such as the cathedrals of Gloucester and Worcester. Currently the usual venues for our major concerts are the wonderful abbey churches in Pershore and Tewkesbury. However, something that sets Philomusica apart is the number of concerts that we give in some of the lovely smaller parish churches. In many of these churches live musical events are not so frequent so the audiences there enjoy our concerts even more.

 We are not confined to “home territory”, however. In the last few years we have made very successful visits to Holland, to Gloucester’s twin city, Metz in eastern France and to the USA, while in April 2006 we visited Belgium, giving highly successful concerts in Bruges and Aalst. Our next overseas venture will be in April 2009, when we visit Rouen in France, taking with us a programme of English and French music, which we shall perform in two concerts.

Our other plans for 2009 include a performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana and a programme that will combine Mozart’s great Requiem with a new work, Eternal Light. A Requiem, written as recently as 2008 by Howard Goodall.

 Philomusica is particularly noted for its soloists. Distinguished guests appear with us from time to time but usually all the soloists are drawn from our own team, all of whom are also members of the choir. This means that we are uniquely positioned to give excellent opportunities to soloists, both established and those just starting their careers. However, it’s a particular strength of Philomusica that when our soloists are “off duty” they sing in the chorus: no wonder the strength and depth of the choir’s tone is a regular cause for comment.

 This site has been designed to give visitors an insight into the various aspects of our society. We hope it will be of interest to all lovers of choral music but it can only give you an overview. There are two unbeatable ways of finding out what Philomusica is really like. One is by coming to one (or more!) of our concerts. Alternatively, if you are a singer, why not join the choir either as a member of the chorus or as a soloist? In particular we invite you to get to know Philomusica during our fortieth anniversary season, either by joining us as a singer or by attending some of our concerts.

 Thank you for visiting the site: we hope you like what you see. If you do, then come and experience Philomusica for yourself soon. - John Quinn  Chairman