Public appearances
As a concert choir Bolsterstone is in constant demand, particularly throughout South Yorkshire. There is always a major annual concert in Sheffield, which is now held at Sheffield Cathedral. The Choir regularly performs at other venues in Sheffield, such as the Cutlers' Hall or the Crucible Theatre. Local societies and charities use the choir on a regular basis and the tradition of a carol concert in Bolsterstone Parish Church has lasted for decades.
The choir have performed in almost every conceivable venue. It has sung in wooden huts, cavernous tents, tiny churches, a bus depot and a gold mine: as well as in Elsinore Castle (Denmark), the Royal Albert Hall, Sheffield, Lincoln and Gloucester cathedrals and innumerable airports. Indeed the Choir gained a great deal of publicity when (twice) it flew round Britain in a day with Britannia Airways in order to raise money for "Children in Need". Over £75,000 was raised by the Choir for the appeal.
The Choir performs in public about 20 times every year. There is a flurry of activity every Christmas when there can be ten concerts in three weeks. Not all the Choir's performances are open to the general public because we regularly perform for private functions. There are, though, a substantial number open to the public and a list is provided on this Web site of forthcoming concerts.
If you would like tickets for any of these events, then please e-mail the Concert Secretary.
If you would like the choir to perform for you either in the Sheffield region or beyond at either a public concert or a private one, then please contact the Choir Secretary.
Touring forms a major plank in the choir's concert structure, and tours have taken place every two to three years. The choir visited Denmark in 1990 and several visits have been made to Sheffield's twin city of Bochum in Germany. A major tour of South Africa was undertaken in 1993, with the choir taking second place in the South African International Eisteddfod. A feature of its touring record is that several return visits have been made by the Bochum Choir from Germany and in 1996 the choir was happy to be hosts to the Welsh Male Voice Choir of South Africa and the Copenhagen Police Choir 1996.
Overseas competitions have been an important stimulus to development. The visit to South Africa was followed by participation in the International Music Festival in Malta in 1996 where the Choir was the highest placed single voice choir in the competition.
In 1998, the Choir faced one of its sternest tests at Riva del Garde in Italy where some of the best choirs in Europe were competing.