The Eskdale Festival of the Arts National Choir Day
Double Win at the Eskdale Festival
On Saturday 18th April 2026, we took to the stage at the prestigious Eskdale Festival, held at the iconic Whitby Pavilion on the stunning West Cliff in North Yorkshire. With glorious sunshine and breath taking views, it was the perfect setting for an unforgettable day of music. After years of wanting to take part, this was finally our time to debut at the festival — and it couldn’t have gone better.
Two Performances. Two First Places.
We entered two competitive classes and delivered performances packed with energy, emotion, and musical flair:
First Place – Mixed Voices Class
Awarded the beautiful silver “ETS” trophy, presented by Sir John and Lady Harrowing for performing Happy Together and a powerful, moving interpretation of Run (Snow Patrol)
First Place – Recital Class
Winners of The Eskdale Tournament of Song Norman Strafford Memorial Trophy (dating back to 1919), along with a £100 prize. Our showstopping set included Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and a stunning arrangement of Steal Away (Mark DeLisser)
The competition was fierce, with outstanding choirs from far and wide — making the results even more special.
More Than Just Winning
What made the day truly unforgettable was the incredible feedback from adjudicator Philip Dewhurst, recognising not just our performance quality, but the passion and connection we bring to our music. This success is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and spirit of our choir, which continues to go from strength to strength under the leadership of our Musical Director, Craig Lees. We were expertly accompanied on the piano by our talented young accompanist, Stefan Wardle — and we couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved.
A huge thank you to our supporters who joined us on the day — your presence meant a great deal to us.
Mrs. Sunderland Festival 2026
On Saturday 21st February 2026, we proudly stepped onto the stage of the renowned Mrs Sunderland Festival in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, marking our very first appearance at this historic celebration of music and performance. Founded in 1889 by the celebrated mezzo-soprano Mrs Sunderland, the festival has inspired artists for 136 years and stands as a beacon of artistic excellence.
We are absolutely thrilled to share that our debut was met with outstanding success: we won both classes we entered: Community Choir – All ages and Adult/Mixed Age Choir and were honoured with two magnificent trophies: The John Crowther Trophy and The Joseph Hancock Trophy. This unforgettable achievement is a testament to our dedication, passion, and love of music, and it marks an exciting milestone in our journey.
Manchester Annual Choral Competition 2026
In 2026 we returned to MACC and had a wonderful day singing and listening to many other wonderful choirs
Manchester Annual Choral Competition 2024
On Sunday 3rd March 2024, 85 members of the choir headed off to Manchester to take part in the prestigious Manchester Amateur Choral Competition (MACC) at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). We had a wonderful day, everybody sang their hearts out. We sang a beautiful set of Whitney Houston songs as a tribute to her work. The whole choir, under the superb direction of Craig Antony Lees, had worked very hard to prepare for the big day.
Now the big news – even though the calibre of the 14 other choirs taking part was amazing with Barbershop, Children’s choirs, Chamber choirs, Acapella choirs and Community choirs we were delighted when they announced the winners at the end that we were called out first to receive the runners up trophy. What a complete surprise; there was much glee from the choir, clapping and shrieking etc. What a wonderful moment for us all in front of such a huge audience. Below are the links to the three songs we sang.
Wensleydale Festival 2023
In 2023 we entered the Wensleydale Festival and we were delighted to win all but one of the classes we entered and shared the winners trophy with the Dales Pop Choir
