Lidgett Park Christmas Concert with the YEP Brass Ensemble December 2023. For more photos taken by Cadence Whitworth (CLEW Photography) see her Facebook page or click here for a slideshow of a selection

The Wendel Singers is a mixed choir of forty voices formerly based at Barwick-in-Elmete and now at Lidgett Park Methodist Church, Roundhay. We sing a great variety of four-part choral music, mainly short pieces, ranging from renaissance to contemporary, both religious and secular, just for the sheer pleasure of being together making music, performing occasional concerts anywhere in the Leeds/Garforth area.

The choir originated as the Barwick-in-Elmet Townswomen’s Guild Choir. After 1974 it became the Elmete Singers, still a women’s choir, which competed in the Pontefract Music Festival as well as performing concerts. In 1980 it became The Wendel Singers, taking its name from Wendel Hill, the site in Barwick of an iron age hill fort and later a Norman castle. We moved to Lidgett Park when Barwick Methodist Church could no longer provide a piano and sufficient space for us when social distancing was required after covid.

Over the years the choir has had a number of conductors, including Adam Tomlinson (now at Radio York), Forbes Doig, David Fligg and Glenys Heywood. Around 2006 its number had dwindled to single figures, but it gained a new lease of life when Joe Roberts took over as conductor and brought in new members, building our strength to more than 30 singers. After his retirement, his successor, Joe Reeves, has led us to a performance that gained a merit in the Rothwell Music Festival in 2019, and a commendation and First Prize in the 2022 festival.

Conductor: JOE REEVES

Joe first moved to Leeds from London in 2012 to study BA Music at the University of Leeds. He completed a Choral Conducting Scholarship at Leeds Cathedral and worked as a freelance community musician for five years. His work included a music and dance project working with people living with dementia, running community shows as musical director as well as a variety of other music and theatre focused youth groups. He became conductor for The Wendel Singers in 2018 after the retirement of Joe Roberts. Through the pandemic, Joe volunteered at Leeds North and West Foodbank before starting on a new career path in mental health at the end of 2021. 

Accompanist: LYNNE STAVELEY

Lynne has been active in the musical life of Leeds since her schooldays at Roundhay High.

She began teaching piano whilst still at school and sang in her school, church and later university choirs. Since that time she has continued to teach piano and has performed in numerous local concerts. Prior to its reorganisation, Lynne was a member of the Friends’ Committee of the Leeds Piano Competition; she is Chairman of the Christine Brown Trust for Young Musicians and an active member of the Leeds Music Club. 

Adjudications from Rothwell 2023

In March we entered in two categories in the Rothwell Music Festival. One was a non-competitive class in which we provided two pieces for entertainment: Badgers & Hedgehogs and Broadway Blockbusters (medley). The other was a competition for Over-60s Choirs. We sang extracts from Vivaldi's Gloria and Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You. The Rodillian Singers carried away the prize this time, and well deserved it for an excellent performance.

Here are the adjudicator's comments. (Click to enlarge.)

More pictures from the June 11th concert at St Barnabas'

Social evening: January 2023

Winners at the Rothwell Festival 2022. Below: Joe (conductor) and Lynne (pianist); certificate; adjudication.

The adjudication reads:

1. Gosh — well done — this is a v complex arrangement, with some awkward harmony (plus one awkward shift in key). You held it well in tune (in all parts). Back row — do watch as much as the front row do. Text is very accurate — it just needs more energy.
2. Another arrangement with demanding harmony — you respond very well — at times it needs a little more bass in volume + more focus in the altos.
Gen erally — sopranos have some lovely colour, and they tune well — but try to keep vibrato under control — it sometimes took over, and the text became much less clear.
Most of the medley worked well — but you need to sort out the entries at 154/158 and really sort out 198-201. Excellent last page … except Altos — surely A♭ in final chord (not A natural!)

Click here for photos from our concert at Barwick-in-Elmet, 18th October 2019

And here for a recording of us singing 'View Me Lord'

And here for the programme