About Arun Choral Society

Arun Choral Society was founded in 1912 and has over 111 years of history making beautiful music in and around Arundel. The choir is a registered charity made up of over 120 singers from the age of 18 upwards. Singers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but we all share the enjoyment of choral singing.

A typical year for the choir includes major performances in spring and autumn, plus two Christmas concerts in December, where some 200 local school children join the Society for one of the concerts. In addition, we often perform a summer concert of lighter music (such as songs from the shows) or a charity concert every year. The majority of the Society’s concerts in recent years have been performed in the stunning setting of Arundel Cathedral with the support and co-operation of the Cathedral Administrator.

Works performed in recent years include Bach’s Magnificat; Vivaldi’s Gloria; Beethoven’s Mass in C; the Requiems of Brahms, Fauré, Verdi, Duruflé, Vivaldi, Mozart, Nail, Chilcott and Rutter; Bach’s Mass in B Minor, St John Passion and St Matthew Passion; Haydn’s Marie Thérèse Mass, Creation Mass and The Creation; Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, The Kingdom, The Music Makers and Spirit of England; Mendelssohn’s Hymn of Praise, St Paul and Elijah; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem; and Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Dixit Dominus.

Click the video below to watch Arun Choral Society’s performance of O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen as part of our Christmas 2022 concert in Arundel Cathedral.

Arun Choral Society performs O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen

We are always looking for new members. If you have a love of singing, why not come along to one of our Monday rehearsals for a trial session? Find out more about joining Arun Choral Society

And if you are a regular concert-goer, you may like to consider the many advantages of becoming a Patron of the Society. You’ll also be supporting our work for which we would be extremely grateful. Find out more about becoming a Patron

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Dr Joe Paxton

Musical Director

Dr Joe Paxton is a dynamic conductor based in Brighton and is in demand across Sussex with a wide variety of ensembles. He passed his Viva in September 2021 and he has now graduated with a PhD in Music from the University of Sussex.

Joe holds an MMus in Musicology from the University of Southampton and BA(Hons) in Music Performance from Coventry University. Joe studied conducting under Guy Woolfenden OBE, formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company and piano under the tutelage of Dr Julian Hellaby. Joe currently teaches as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Chichester.

Joe has been Musical Director of Arun Choral Society since September 2017. Recent concerts have included: Mozart Mass in C Minor, Handel Messiah, Zelenka Miserere, Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Fauré Requiem and a poignant performance of Elgar’s Spirit of England and Vaughan-Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Joe is Chorus Director of Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus. Performances with this choir have taken him to Munich, the Cardiff Millennium Centre, Royal Northern College of Music and the London Palladium, as well as prestigious venues across Brighton. Joe is Co-Musical Director of the Brighton Early Music Festival Community Choir where he has directed a community performance of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the illustrious baroque quartet, Red Priest.

David Moore

Accompanist

David hails from Sussex and was educated at Warden Park School and Ardingly College. He read music at Oxford as organ scholar of Corpus Christi College and has also held organ scholarships at Sherborne Abbey and Truro Cathedral. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. 

Now living back in Sussex in the Horsham area, David teaches at The London Oratory School and Coloma Convent Girls’ School and is Organist at St Mary’s Beddington, having previously been Assistant Director of Music and Director of the Junior Choir at Hampstead Parish Church from 2008 to 2019. 

In addition to being accompanist to Arun Choral Society, David is also accompanist to the West Sussex Philharmonic Choir.

President and Vice President of the Society

President of Arun Choral Society

The Duchess of Norfolk

Vice President of Arun Choral Society

Dr James Walsh

Patrons of the Society

Mr M I Baines • Mrs H Baxter • Mr L Bird • Mrs R Burgess • Mr D Charlton • Mr R Checkley • Mrs D Dalton • Mrs L Gunter • Mrs S Holland • Mrs P Jackson • Mr D Kirkwood • Mr M Lewton • Mrs L Matthews • Mrs L Moore • Dr R Duncan Moran • Mr P Morriss • Mr G Northcott • Mrs D Patch • Mrs C Penfold • Mr F Pountney • Mrs B Robinson • Mrs J Ruffer • Mr & Mrs M Sefi • Dr Charles & Carolyn Shaw • Mrs M Somerset • Mr M Stenning • Mrs M-D Wallace • Dr James Walsh

Find out more about becoming a Patron of Arun Choral Society

Officers of the Society

Arun Choral Society is affiliated to Making Music, the UK’s number one organisation for voluntary music. Making Music encourages all kinds of music groups and individuals to be part of a vibrant multicultural community throughout the United Kingdom.