Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus will be ringing the bells for homelessness charity Crisis on Saturday 14 December at 2pm and 5.30pm, when they present Paul Fincham’s new carol Ring the Bells. The carol was commissioned by the London Philharmonic Chorus last year, and composer Paul has agreed to donate the royalties as part of the London choir’s Crisis appeal.
‘We are pleased to be learning a new carol that’s doing a bit more than just sounding jolly and festive – though it certainly does that!’ said Chorus Chair Paul Henstridge. ‘We’re sure our Sheffield City Hall audience will love the carol – including our Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, who are coming to the 2pm session.’
The Chorus will be joined at the two Christmas concerts by the world-famous Black Dyke Band, who always enjoy their visits to Sheffield but especially at Christmas, when mince pies and sherry abound back stage. The concert programme features carols old and new, including some of the ever-popular Sheffield carols, which have been performed in pubs around the city for many years. They also feature on Awake Arise, the Christmas CD recorded by the Chorus and Black Dyke Band in 2015, which will be on sale in the foyer on the day of the concert, priced £10.
Over 100 choirs around the country have joined the Ring the Bells project, and all the performances are listed on the LPC website. The London Philharmonic Chorus recording of the carol is available to stream on Spotify and to download from Apple Music. There’s also a short video about the project on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.