Past performances
Each of our concerts is based around a theme, chosen by our Music Director and reflecting not just the ethos of our choir but world and local events and concerns. As you will see, our repertoire is international so we sing in a range of languages as well as music both ancient and modern.
Our concerts are also interwoven with the spoken word, a range of of poems and readings, chosen and read by choir members to enrich our chosen theme.
We perform at venues across the region with regular performances at the Moniaive Folk Festival in May each year.
Winter 2025: Bright Stars Arising
A selection of carols of peace and hope around the world. We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition, Slovenia, America, Germany, Croatia, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, the Bahamas and other traditional carols from the UK. We performed in Thornhill and Dunscore before Christmas and in Keir and Moniaive for our traditional twelfth night concerts.
Videos from the concert will be added soon!
Spring 2025: Long Live the Weeds and the Wilderness Yet
Our Spring concert theme was "Songs of renewal and hope". The theme was taken Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem 'Inversnaid'. The poem cries out for nature to be 'rewilded' and captures the essence of Dumfries and Galloway's wild and rugged landscape.
We performed at Moffat, Moniaive and Beeswing
Winter 2024: And to the Earth be Peace
Our winter theme for 2024 was "Songs of hope in the depths of winter. We sang carols and songs from around the world at our usual venues pf Thornhill, Dunscore, Keir and Moniaive, welcoming in Christmas and Twelfth Night with a selection of readings by choir members.
Winter 2023: Little Gifts of Light
Our theme for these concerts was "Songs magical and medieval for Twelfth Night". We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition along with English and Welsh pieces from the 13th, 16th, and 20th century, and songs from Germany, France, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia
We performed In Thornhill, Loch Arthur (Beeswing), Dunscore, Keir, Dumfries and Moniaive.
Spring 2023: Rise up Singing
Our theme this Spring was "Songs for justice and hope from down the ages and around the world". We sang songs from the UK from the 19th and 20th century including some Chartist songs from the National Chartist Hymn Book. We also sang songs from America, 16th century France, 20th century South Africa, songs from the Scottish Gaelic tradition, a Roma Gypsy song and a song about Jane Haining from Dunscore, who returned to war torn Hungary to care for her pupils and later died in Auschwitz.
Winter 2022: Travellers Far From Home
Our theme for winter 2022 was "Festive songs to bring hope, love and kindness to the coming year". This was to acknowledge the traditional Christmas story as well as the many people around the round who are often displaced from their homes due to man made and natural disasters. Our aim was to incite a spirit of kindness and love to all people.
We sang songs from the West Gallery tradition, carols from the UK, Slovenia, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Ukraine, and the Georgia Sea Islands to audiences in Moniaive, Dunscore, Loch Arthur and Thornhill
Spring 2022: Singing to the Trees
In Spring 2022, we were invited to be part of Dumfries and Galloway's Arts Festival - 10 days of performing arts across the region. Our concerts were a combination of indoor and outdoor locations, combining singing with walks in nature in Dunscore, Moniaive, Kirkland and Dumfries. There is something special about singing not only about nature but immersed in it with our audiences.
Winter 2021: Winter Wassail
In the winter of 2021, while we were able to rehearse indoors, we were still not performing in indoor locations. As such we followed the wassailing tradition of gathering outdoors to bring communities together and to bring "good health" for the coming year. On a very cold and snowy winters day, we 'toured' outdoor locations in Dunscore, Wallaceton, Kirkland and Moniaive singing to those who braved the elements!
Singing through COVID
We were not permitted to rehearse or perform indoors during COVID. However, that did not stop us singing! We met each week online as a choir and sang both old and new songs together on Zoom. This was a new experience for all of us and brought about a much needed sense of togetherness, kept our voices tuned and provided some comedic value through the addition of various pets, backgrounds and the variable use of the mute button!
Winter 2019: The Conversation of Sheep
For this concert we were joined by the much loved, local Penpont poet, Hugh McMillan. Sheep feature heavily in the carols of Christmas and Midwinter. There are more than 100 versions of While Shepherd Watched Their Flocks by Night, with each version capturing the essence of the farming community they hailed from. Sheep dominate the landscapes in Moniaive and many farming communities. They tie us to the seasons with their rituals from lambing to market. Hugh's book of poetry, for and about sheep felt, to our Music Director, Kate, a match made in heaven!
Punctuated by poetry from Hugh, we sang shape old and contemporary shape note pieces, music from Palestine, the Cuacasus Republic of Georgia, the Georgia Sea Islands, America and the UK.
Spring 2019: Long Live the Weeds and the Wilderness Yet
This was the first of two concerts with this themes, the most recent in Spring 2025 (see above). During our rehearsal period we have seen protests bringing London to a standstill and worldwide, people speaking out and demanding that we listen. Song has always been at the forefront of new movements and has given voice to those who demand change. Our concert reflected on sad times for animals on our planet, but also with more positive messages of hope for our environment. We were also joined in this performance by The Galloway Agreement, a wonderful local collaboration featuring musicians on the clarsach, nyckelharpa, fiddle and double bass
We performed songs from the shape note tradition, the UK, Croatia, America, and South Africa.
Winter 2018: Watch Night Service
The setting is Christmas Eve. A single room, a wooden meeting house in South Carolina or a third century church in the mountains of Georgia, or even a pub on the outskirts of Sheffield. The songs heard tell the story of Christmas from the sighting of the first star through to Mary's journey to Bethlehem. And of course, shpherds and their sheep! This concert recreated that magical ceremony with songs from England, America, the Caucasus Republic of Georgia, Russia, Germany and the Georgia Sea Islands.
Spring 2018: In Freenship's Name
The theme for this concert was "Songs that Celebrate Unity in Harmony". The concert offered songs from around the globe in an effort to lift our audience's spirits and bring unity through harmony to our small part of a troubled world. Songs were from the UK, Bosnia, Srebia, America, South Africa and Korea
You can listen to a excerpt from one of our songs Motha a Wela, a traditional folk song from South Africa
Spring 2017: Eden Festival
