Russell is our Chairman and sings with the tenor section of the choir. His music journey began when he was just five years old when he started playing the piano. By the age of eight Russell was singing with a choir, he began playing the organ at fourteen and took up conducting choirs four years later. Russell really has been singing, playing and conducting ever since including playing the organ regularly at St Mary’s Church here in Horncastle and in churches all over the world.

Stephen is our Choral Secretary and for most people the first point of contact with the committee. He started singing as a Cathedral chorister aged eight and since then in choirs and groups of all sorts from folk to full blown choral works. Stephen has sung in many Cathedrals in the UK and Europe and as a member of Lincoln Cathedral foundation he leads Choral Evensong there most weeks. Stephen sings in the bass section of our choir regularly performing solo and ensemble, he has also been known to take up the conductor’s baton!

ROBERT STEADMAN is a composer and conductor. Brought up in Hampshire, he read music at Oxford University, gaining an award for the fugue he composed for his Finals. Over the years, he has written a wide range of music including 3 symphonies, 2 operas (one with a libretto by the author Richard Adams, and one with a libretto passed down to him by John Masefield), 2 musicals, a large amount of both chamber and choral music, and music for a wide range of theatre productions. In recent years, he has composed two new soundtracks for the classic silent movies ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Battleship Potemkin’, both of which have been performed several times with live orchestra. He was Composer-in-Residence with Nottinghamshire Education and The City of London’s Freeman’s School, and has been commissioned to compose music for, amongst others, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, Sinfonia Viva and London Brass Virtuosi. He had two compositions specially commissioned and premiered in the Millennium Dome. You can hear a large amount of his music on streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc. Alongside conducting Horncastle Choral Society, which he has been conducting since 2024, he also conducts Isle Choral Singers and the Isle of Axholme Orchestra. www.facebook.com/robertsteadmancomposer

Chris is our Accompanist but does so much more besides. The committee relies upon his input and vast musical knowledge as does the choir. Chris received his musical training at Trinity College of Music and the University of Reading. He's been the organist at St. Mary's Horncastle for many years and is also generally involved in music in the local community. In his day job, he works as a music editor and typesetter for several UK music publishing houses.

Susan Forman is our Treasurer and joined Horncastle Choral Society almost 11 years ago when her previous choir folded and there were no other such groups to transfer to in Skegness where she lives. She researched choirs in the surrounding area and hit upon Horncastle which she joined and brought along 3 other ladies she had sung with in Skegness. Sadly her passengers have gradually departed due to old age infirmity so now she travels alone. Susan has always loved singing from childhood and sang in church choirs and her school choir but throughout her working life there was very little opportunity to join social groups owing to her very unsocial working hours etc. but once she retired 27 years ago she returned to singing which she says gives her tremendous pleasure and keeps her healthy in both body and mind. Susan says, "HCS is a vibrant happy group of singers with a wonderful talented piano accompanist and Musical Director who leads us brilliantly. We are a very enthusiastic group of people and very much welcome newcomers and we would love to increase our current membership which hovers around 30 now after being around 50 when I joined. We could really benefit from some younger voices joining to bolster our group.”

Liz is our Librarian and makes sure we have all the music copies we need, responsible for sourcing our books and scores and liaising with the county music library. Having moved to Horncastle to teach in the early 1980’s, she became involved with the school choir and orchestra under Martin Cook and was delighted when he started the choral society. Liz says she has enjoyed singing alto in the choir ever since. "The company is good and the variety of music we sing is interesting.”

Sylvia is the society’s Stage Manager and responsible for creating our performance space and setting us up safely and visible to our audiences. As well as her woodworking skills Sylvia sings with the alto section of our choir and has performed solo and ensemble for us. Sylvia says, "I have always sung, from a small girl at Sunday School through School Choirs and musicals. Moving on to college musical productions followed by more of the same when in the RAF. I joined HCS in 1985/6 to sing Handel’s Messiah for the first time and have been with the choir ever since. The joy of singing together brings ‘feel good’ emotions, even when things don’t go as well as one wishes! The camaraderie, friendship and support of this diverse group is invaluable."

Gail is a long-standing committee member and contributes to just about every aspect of our work, whether that be publicity, liaising and organising sponsorship as well as singing. Gail has been a soprano member of the society since the late 1980s; firstly as a chorus member and then taking on solos and ensembles. Recalling her time with the choir Gail says, "We have had some notable MDs during that time, starting with Martin Cook who was inspirational and so encouraging! Still enjoying all sorts of singing. ! I also enjoy the company of the choir members!”

Sue is the society’s Social Media Coordinator who helps us stay in touch with each other - especially trying to include those who prefer to communicate offline. Choir life is really important to Sue and she thinks the world would be a much better place with more singing in it. She has sung with various choirs, including gospel, and with folk backing groups. She currently sings with St Mary’s church choir and in the soprano section with HCS, particularly enjoying taking on the mezzo part in duets. When she’s not doing choir stuff she enjoys cooking, arty pastimes and spending time with her family and pets - usually singing whilst doing all of those things! The family’s Jack Russell Terrier, Chutney, loves to sing too and his dulcet tones can often be heard throughout the house (and down the street) as he enthusiastically joins in with singing practice. Sue recommends HCS as a friendly and fun-filled group where it’s possible to learn, improve and indulge in a variety of wonderful choral music.

Kath is our newest member of the committee and has brought with her a musical background and plenty of enthusiasm. Kath states, "Being a member of Horncastle Choral is a win-win situation for me - it's good to sing and great to be with a bunch of friendly, like-minded people, led by such a fun-loving conductor. Music has always played an important part of my life; apart from singing, I play piano and treble recorder and consider all these activities add a very real richness to one's enjoyment of life.”