Children and Guisborough Choral Society in Christmas concert

This year, however, they were joined by children from the Highcliffe Primary School choir. The programme contained many of the favourite Christmas carols such as The Holly and the Ivy and O Little Town of Bethlehem. The Highcliffe School Choir performed several tunes on their own such as Child in a Manger Born and In the Bleak Midwinter.

However, several songs were performed jointly, expertly directed by the conductor, Rebecca Johnson, much to the delight of the audience, which included many parents and relatives of the children. These included Carol of the Bells and Walking in the Air. The audience were not left out either, invited to join in with popular carols, including Away in a Manger and O Come All Ye Faithful.

The choir demonstrated their choral skills at the finish with a performance of Christus Natus Est by Cecilia McDowall. The programme ended with everybody joining in the final theme, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Mince pies, tea, and coffee, were provided at the interval by the Choral Society and Friends of the Murambinda Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe, co-founded in 1998 by a local doctor, who now works as a GP in East Cleveland, to support the hospital in difficult times.

The programme was accompanied by Steve Maxson on both piano and organ. In their solo numbers, the children were directed by one of their teachers, Robert Nash, who is also singer with the Choral Society. The society’s next concert will include Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and other works on Saturday, April 27, at Stockton Baptist Church.