A NIGHT of singing for the whole community is planned for Okehampton as the town’s choral society meets again for the first time in 18 months.

Okehampton Choral Society is holding an Open Night, free of charge, on Monday, September 13 in Fairplace Church so local residents can come together to sing with society members and celebrate the return of social singing!

Chairman of the society Jenny Gibbons can’t wait: ’We are so excited by our planned return to community music-making that we want to invite Okehampton to share with us in a night of sheer singing pleasure,’ she said. ’Anyone who enjoys sharing the experience of singing together, so sorely missed recently, will be warmly welcomed.’

There will be fun pieces to sing, popular pieces and some short extracts from Handel’s Messiah. Tea, coffee and biscuits will also be served.

Jenny said it was not possible to hold sessions of the choral society online over the lockdown period.

’Not all members could access Zoom and in a rural area like this broadband is not that reliable,’ she said. ’It has been very very sad for people and I have had lots of messages from members saying they can’t wait to get back.’

Normal weekly rehearsal sessions will resume again on September 20, on Monday evenings at 7.15pm in Fairplace Church. There are currently around 50 members in the society and new members are always welcome.

’We had a lovely concert lined up in March last year with a soprano who had won a scholarship to the South Coast but unfortunately that all fell by the wayside,’ added Jenny.

’The aim of the Open Night is just to get everyone back singing and having a jolly night because we know singing is good for you. We will provide the pianist and the conductor. We want people to just turn up and be ready to learn something on the night. They don’t need to be able to read music, all we ask is that they enjoy singing.’

The Open Night on Monday, September 13 will begin at 7.15pm.