We are a friendly, non-auditioned choir that  generally performs 4 concerts to a high standard each year in Royston and the surrounding villages. Our musical director is Andrew O'Brien and he is assisted by Jonathan Lilley. 

Formed in 1973 we have been celebrating our first 50 years over the last couple of seasons and are now looking forward to our next 50 years of music making in the area. The choir numbers nearly 100 singers.

We engage fine professional soloists for our major concerts and are able to call on an excellent pool of orchestral players. 

Our 2024-25 season kicked off with a concert marking the centenary of Fauré's death. The choir sang his sublime Requiem, as well as the beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine. We were fortunate to be joined by a couple of excellent soloists from St Edmund's college, one of who played the Fantasie for flute by Fauré. Also in the program was Rejoice in the Lamb, by Britten and Parry's Blest pair of sirens.

Our Christmas concert was the usual mixture of Christmas music sung by the choir, combined with well-known carols for everyone to join in - all accompanied by our wonderful accompanist Jonathan Lilley on the organ. This year we also included a few Christmas poems which were very well received. 

In recent years we have performed two of Bach's momentous choral works - the St John Passion and Mass in B minor. This year it was the turn of the St Matthew Passion which we performed to a full house at the beginning of April. David Webb sang the part of the Evangelist with Johnny Herford as Jesus. With a quartet of other fine soloists and some excellent playing from the East Herts Sinfonia it made for a most successful concert. We were also joined by some students from St. Edmunds College & Prep School.

Our final concert this season will be on 5th July. A programme of Purcell - Dido and Æneas and Come ye Sons of Art, this programme actually matches Andrew's first summer with us in 2016. More details are available here and tickets can be purchased online from https://ticketsource.co.uk/royston-choral-society.

We enjoyed excellent audiences in the last couple of seasons with many of our concerts being sold out. We hope to continue that pattern and so early purchase of tickets is advised!

There are some videos of parts of some of our recent concerts available by following this link.

For more information about the society please contact the chair - Huw Jenkins (email: [email protected] or tel: 07855 311192)