Quotes from
Oriana members

Vicky, Alto 1

  1. I loved singing Christus Vincit in Karlovy Vary and bursting into tears when the soprano soloist came in, because the whole setting was so beautiful.
  2. I joined the choir, have had two children and lived in Australia, and keep coming back each time because it's such a part of my life now.
  3. You can have had a really bad day at work and feel it all melt away as the rehearsal progresses...
  4. Recent research has shown that stroke patients recover faster when they listen to vocal music each day. i'm sure it helps my brain cells too!


An Alto

I moved to London ten years ago and the first thing I did was join the Oriana. Since then, I've built up a music collection that ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, an address book full of the greatest friends you could hope for, and may fabulous memories from tours to St Petersburg and Reykjavik, to curry nights after a Wednesday rehearsal. The one thing you can say about your time in the Oriana is you'll never get bored.


Lizann Peppard, Alto 2

My most memorable moment was singing the Human Rights Service in St Paul's Cathedral with American singer, Beth Nielsen Chapman. The memory of singing wonderful music in such a beautiful setting with half the congregation in tears will always stay with me.


An Alto 2

The best things about Oriana are being part of the very distinctive Oriana sound - the choir's tone quality is currently great - and the fact that Wednesday nights offer a combination of a very good musical experience and a very pleasant and lively social evening out.


An Alto 2

  1. Tours are amazing - singing in Notre Dame in Paris, the Pushkin Palace in St Petersburg and the main square in Madrid. A very friendly choir.
  2. We sing to a very high standard in great venues. It's a real break from "normal life."
  3. Simon Cowell would love us.


A choir member

The 2006 tour to Iceland was memorable in so many ways, not least because of the uniquely spectacular surroundings. The musical highlight of the trip came at the end of the Sunday service that we sang in the magnificent Hallgrimskirkja, with a joint rendition, with the resident Icelandic choir, of Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium". It was quite unplanned, but a magical moment that crowned a fantastic tour.


A choir member

I auditioned for loads of choir, and went to a couple of rehearsals at others, but Oriana was the friendliest.


A choir member

Oriana: does exactly what it says on the tin!


A Tenor

I met my wife in the choir - so it has changed my life!


David Smith (our accompanist)

Oriana: almost always in tune...


Anonymous

The best oral experience you can have with your clothes on!


A new member

I love the stories about previous tours...some are very revealing!


Andrew Anderson, Tenor 1

My favourite experiences of the choir have to have been the tours. I went on the first tour only 4 months after joining, and felt as if I'd always been part of it - I think I spoke to everyone on the tour. It was a great feeling to be so welcome. Then of course, there's having created the legendary Gin Room! I love a choir that drinks gin in large quantities!

Another great thing about the choir is the sense of teamwork. In everyday life, especially at work, there are constant stresses caused by people not working together. But Oriana really pulls together as a team - partly because we mix well together socially. That sense of teamwork really shows in the performances - it's the best team-building exercise I've ever done.


Jonathan Langford, Bass

Some of the highlights of my time with the Oriana are: