About ADCS
In February 1985, a group of musicians in Axminster celebrated the 300th anniversary of George Frederick Handel’s birth with a “Come and Sing” performance of his Messiah. It was a first for the South West and for several weeks before the event a nucleus of about thirty singers rehearsed so that there would be at least a few people familiar with the work. A local connection produced four international soloists who all waived their performance fees,
among them the choir’s late president, Roger Stalman, a bass of great renown. The Minster Church was full to capacity. People came from far and wide to both sing and listen. The singers paid £1 and the audience £2. How times change! Following this success the original group formed the Axminster and District Choral Society (ADCS).
The beginning
Initially
In 2012
Judy Martin & Peter Parshall took over as Music Director and Accompanist
Judy Martin and Peter Parshall took over as Music Director and Accompanist in 2012 and almost immediately devised a thrilling Jubilee concert for Queen Elizabeth II in May 2012.
This sell out event set the tone for the future, with many memorable evenings to come.
2012
In November 2018, marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the choir performed the deeply moving Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams. Equally remarkable was the choir’s performance of CPE Bach’s St Matthew Passion, written for Easter 1789 and then not performed in Europe until our concert in April 2023.
Access to the scores was only possible thanks to Peter Lea-Cox, a notable Bach scholar and fortunately also our Accompanist.
100th anniversary of the end of World War 1
2025 marked the choir’s 40th anniversary with a programme that both revisited its roots and featured British composers. The year began with a performance in March of Haydn’s Creation, a work the choir has sung in every one of its four decades. The summer concert included Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast and Elgar’s Songs from the Bavarian Highlands.
The autumn concert continued the British theme with two composers who celebrated significant birthdays during the year. Bob Chilcott’s Requiem was followed by Sir John Rutter’s Psalmfest, with the added bonus of a setting of Psalm 98 specially written for the occasion by the choir’s President Andrew Millington. We finished the anniversary year by revisiting the inaugural Come and Sing Messiah, this time in Seaton.
We have one simple aim for the future – to continue offering quality performances of the world’s greatest music to audiences in East Devon.
