The Oriel Singers is a Cheltenham-based chamber choir with around twenty-eight members. We perform largely a capella choral music, to exacting standards, covering many different styles: early and modern, sacred and secular, serious and light-hearted.
The Oriel Singers was founded in 1975 by George Mathers, an architect living in Cheltenham. Initially just a quartet, the original members of the choir met at George’s house in Oriel Terrace, a venue that gave the choir its name.
As numbers grew, Tim Morris was invited to become Musical Director of the group, a post he held for over thirty years. It was while under Tim’s direction that The Oriels won the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition in 2005.
The choir now rehearses weekly in Montpellier, Cheltenham, and under the leadership of our current conductor, Ben Sawyer, who joined us in 2015, we continue to aspire to the highest level of musicianship and performance in an informal and friendly atmosphere.
We are always interested in new opportunities, so if you are planning an event, please get in touch. Over the years we have taken part in music festivals, sung for music societies and raised considerable amounts of money for charity. We also sing regularly at weddings.
If you are a lover of choral music, then do come along to one of our concerts.
It is the combination of imaginative programming, a commitment to performing to the highest standards and the sheer enjoyment of singing together that makes The Oriel Singers a very special group to sing with and to listen to.
