CHESTER'S Lord Mayor, Cllr Sheila Little, was the principal guest at a gala concert staged recently by one of the city's top choirs.

The concert, held at Chester Town Hall, featured Chester Male Voice Choir under the musical direction of conductor Joe Mann, with their principal accompanist Helen Jackson at the piano. The choir was joined for the Autumn Festival by its special guest, popular Chester based busker, violinist Philip Chidell.

A total of £350 was raised during the evening for local charity ShareShop which provides help and support to homeless and families in crisis across Chester, Cheshire and North Wales as well as providing support to refugees around the world.

Chester and District Standard: Blair Wilson, Chairman of Chester Male Voice Choir with The Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr. Sheila Little.Blair Wilson, Chairman of Chester Male Voice Choir with The Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr. Sheila Little. (Image: Paul Crofts)

Performing in front of a large and appreciative audience, the Chester Male Voice Choir sang a number of popular pieces including "Anthem" from Chess The Musical, "Some Enchanted Evening" from Rodgers and Hammerstein favourite South Pacific, "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Misérables, "Gaston" from Beauty and The Beast and Irish folk song Danny Boy. The choir also performed some old favourites from its repertoire including "Benedictus" by Ruthin based composer Robat Arwyn, "World in Union", "Hallelujah" and the ever popular "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific.

The choir paid tribute to its long-serving Musical Director Rodney T. Jones who passed away earlier in the year, with a moving performance of his arrangement of "Veni, Jesu, Amor Mi".

Special guest, Philip Chidell performed a selection of popular and light classical pieces including "Romance" from The Gadfly by Shostakovich, better known as the theme from TV series Reilly Ace of Spies, "The Prayer", "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel, "Meditation" from Thais by Jule Massenet and Puccini's "Nessun Dorma". Philip also joined forces with the choir to perform "Guardian Angel" (Anfonaf Angel) by Robat Arwyn and Frank Wildhorn's "Tell My Father" from the film The Civil War.

The Choir are set to appear at St Alban's Church in Tattenhall on Sunday, October 22, and will perform at the Trees of Light service at the Countess of Chester Hospital on Friday, December 1 and the annual Santa Dash in the city centre on Sunday, December 3. The choir will stage its special Christmas Concert at St Columba's RC Church on Friday, December 15 with guest harpist Dylan Cernyw.

Further information about the Choir, including upcoming events and how to join can be found at: www.chestermalevoice.com.