Mark Gibson

We are sad to report that Northampton Bach Choir lost one of its longest standing members in the early hours of Friday 1st May. Mark Gibson - former Chairman and Concert Manager for the choir - passed away peacefully at Northampton General Hospital. Our thoughts are with his wife Pat and all his family.

Mark had been a member of Northampton Bach Choir for close on sixty years and it is hard to do justice to the contribution he made over the years to the growth and success of the choir. He was instrumental in organising the twinning association exchanges with choirs from Poitiers and Marburg. In his role as Concert Manager - a position he held for many years – he worked with many different Music Directors and organised dozens of different concerts. He established good relationships with many soloists and orchestra leaders and helped to develop the reputation of the choir as one of the leading choral societies in the East Midlands.

Mark had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the choir’s history and could always be relied on to recall when we had performed a particular work, who had been the conductor and even who the soloists had been and which players had accompanied the piece. Indeed, he had embarked upon writing a history of the choir dating back to its formation in 1939.

Mark was a stalwart member of the bass section and, having sung most of the choral repertoire over his fifty plus years in the choir, he could probably sing most pieces from memory. The Bach Choir was not his only choir though: he sang regularly with the Midland Festival Chorus and he led his own choir - the Seasonal Singers - which performed regularly at Christmas and Easter at Abington Avenue United Reformed Church until Covid-19 intervened. He was also a keen member of the Northamptonshire & Peterborough Organists’ Association.

Mark will be missed by many. We send our sincere condolences to his wife Pat and his family.

Northampton Bach Choir

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The Northampton Bach Choir is one of the foremost choruses in the region, and the largest choir in the county, numbering some 130 singers.

It owes its formation to Denys Pouncey, a former organist of St Matthew’s Church, giving its first concert there on Palm Sunday 1935. During its time it has nurtured a series of young, enthusiastic, not to say visionary, musical directors, many of whom have gone on to forge careers of national and international significance....

We perform at least 3 concerts a year, plus a Christmas concert, at various venues in Northampton including St Matthew’s church, The Cripps theatre and The Derngate. You can find details of our next concert, and how to buy tickets, under the Concerts menu for this year, or by clicking the banner above. We look forward to welcoming you.

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We are proud to be the largest choir in the region and enjoy the opportunity to perform with professional orchestras and soloists. We start each term with open rehearsals that anyone can attend before committing to joining the choir. Rehearsals are on Mondays and start at 7:30pm.

Our next open rehearsals for new members is planned for after Christmas 2025. To register your interest, please complete this quick Google form. Why not come along and try us out!

Becoming a ‘Friend’ of the Northampton Bach Choir is the perfect way to support the great tradition of live music-making in our county. For as little as £25 per annum, ‘Friends’ receive advance notification of forthcoming performances, and priority booking for our own concerts. The choir’s regular concert venue is St Matthew’s Church on the Kettering Road, Northampton, and only ‘Friends’ of the choir are entitled to allocated seating...