On Saturday 11th September, we delivered two performances of madrigals and modern ballads during a Heritage Open Day Event at Coningsby Hospital, Hereford. We were also able to enjoy some time and a picnic in the Rose Garden and ruins of the Priory. The stone Preaching Cross set within the garden is one of the last surviving examples of such a cross.

The site was once occupied by a house of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. Sir Thomas Coningsby of Hampton Court, Hereford, founded the almshouse in 1614 as a refuge for soldiers and mariners. We were able to explore the museum in the old dining hall, which explains the links between the Crusades, the Knights Templar and The Hospitaller Knights, and see the Chapel, which is still used as a place of worship today by the Order of St. John. We learned about the foundation of the Coningsby Red Coat Hospital and how Nell Gwynne is credited with having persuaded Charles II to found the Chelsea Hospital after the fashion of Coningsby.

On Friday May 1st, 2009, The Penyard Singers travelled to Condé-sur-Noireau, Normandy to present a concert as part of the celebrations to mark the Thirtieth Anniversary of the signing of the Twinning Charter between Ross-on-Wye and Condé.  Two coaches left Ross at 3am on Friday morning to spend the weekend staying with French families (who regularly host Ross families) however, this year 33 choir members and supporters were also found places in family homes and all were made most welcome.

The concert was performed on the stage of the town’s cinema on the Sunday evening and the repertoire included:

Charpentier – Te Deum
Fauré – Pavane (choral version)
Fauré – Cantique de Jean Racine
Berlioz – L’adieu des bergers (from L’Enfance du Christ)
Saint-Saëns – Calme des nuits
Saint-Saëns – Les fleurs et les arbres
Bizet – Habanera from Carmen
Bizet – March of the Toreadors from Carmen
Some lighter part songs
Frère Jacques/The wheels on the Bus (audience participation required!)
Finishing with Ma Normandie and Auld Lang Syne.

The concert was a partial repeat of the fundraising concert that The Penyard Singers had performed one week earlier at John Kyrle High School, Ross in aid of Hope for Tomorrow (raising money for a mobile chemotherapy unit).  The 200-strong audience in Condé was somewhat bigger than the choir is normally used to but they were most appreciative and the choir enjoyed the concert, and indeed the whole weekend, enormously.