Members of the Plymouth Philharmonic Choir are currently rehearsing for an upcoming concert that will bring an evening of powerful choral music to the heart of the city.
The performance, titled An Evening of Choral Music, will take place on Saturday 28 March 2026 at the Minster Church of St Andrew in Plymouth. Under the direction of conductor Paul Foster, the choir will present a programme featuring Mozart’s Requiem alongside a selection of part songs by Gustav Holst.
The concert will showcase the scale and strength of one of the South West’s largest community choirs. Mozart’s Requiem remains one of the most dramatic and widely recognised works in the choral repertoire, and preparing it is a major undertaking for any choir.
Speaking about the programme, Teresa Lakeman said the Holst pieces will bring something unique to the performance.
“The Holst Part Songs have been set to a brand new orchestration especially for the choir by Musical Director Dr Paul Foster,” she said.
Founded in 1970, the Plymouth Philharmonic Choir developed from the earlier Plymouth Choral Society and has since become one of the largest amateur choirs in the region. Today the choir has around 160 members drawn from Plymouth and surrounding communities.
The group welcomes singers from a wide range of backgrounds and brings together people of different ages who share a passion for choral music.
The choir typically presents three major classical concerts each year, often performing with a full symphony orchestra. Over the years their concerts have featured a number of leading professional soloists, including Catherine Hamilton, Sir Thomas Allen, Darren Jeffery and Neil Jenkins.
The choir’s principal concert venue is Plymouth Guildhall, although members also perform in other locations and occasionally take part in tours. In recent years the choir has also performed in Paris, including at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.
Alongside these performances, the choir continues to play an important role in Plymouth’s cultural life, bringing large-scale choral works to audiences in the city.
The upcoming concert at the Minster Church of St Andrew will give audiences the opportunity to hear Mozart’s powerful Requiem performed in one of Plymouth’s most historic and atmospheric
Photographs & Video © Wayne Perry / Plymouth Post