A GROUP of singers is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Shelagh Thomlinson, from Gunnerside, near Reeth, set up the Swale Singers with half a dozen members singing around her piano.
From then it has grown to a 40-strong group performing in local concerts and festivals.
Ms Thomlinson said: “Light songs and madrigals were the start, but as the numbers of singers increased, so did the length and complexity of the music, especially when in 1995 the Swale Singers were invited to perform in the Swaledale Festival."
The current musical director is Hugh Bowman from Askrigg, who is also co-director of Richmondshire Orchestra.
His connections with Edinburgh's Pentland Singers have resulted in the Swale Singers being invited to celebrate the anniversary in a joint concert in Edinburgh's St Mary's Cathedral on Saturday, March 29.
The two choirs will sing separate pieces before coming together to sing Mozart's Requiem and the Pentland Singers are to be invited to Swaledale in a future year.
Rehearsals are on Sunday afternoons, and new recruits are very welcome. For further information contact Andrew Horn on andrew.horn127@btinternet.com or 01748-886457.
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