After a pause from indoor performances due to the pandemic, we were so happy to be back with a ‘winter concert’ at Upper Caldecote Methodist Church, with the Northill Singers, in November 2021. We performed a selection of pieces to entertain and cheer our audience, some new and some we had learned while rehearsing over zoom and only performed as a recording.

Here we are performing a cover of Pharrell Williams’ hit ‘Happy’ arranged by Richard Salt.

It might seem crazy what I am ’bout to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care, baby by the way

Huh (Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

Here come bad news talking this and that (Yeah)
Well give me all you got, don’t hold back (Yeah)
Well I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine (Yeah)
No offence to you don’t waste your time
Here’s why

Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do

Uh, bring me down
Can’t nothing, bring me down
My level’s too high to bring me down
Can’t nothing, bring me down, I said
Bring me down, can’t nothing
Bring me down
My level’s too high to bring me down
Can’t nothing, bring me down, I said

With only a few more days to go, we bring you ‘O Christmas Tree’ with our friends, from our Christmas concert. Hope this brightens your Tuesday as days begin to lengthen once more.

Our recording of James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn from our December online concert.

Another piece from our Christmas 2020 online concert, performed with friends.

The first piece from the online Christmas concert in December 2020 – Hine Mah Tov, with notes from our Director, Simon Berridge. Shared to Facebook.

To get you in the mood for our concert on 12th December 2020, here’s Jingle Bells at Wimpole Hall in 2019.

On Saturday 12th December 2020 we will be holding our joint Christmas Concert with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Northill Choir, CVWE, the St Albans Stake Choir and friends to raise money for charity.

The concert will be viewable as a webinar on Zoom. More details here from our Facebook page.

Our final number (with friends) from our July 2020 Zoom concert.

The song is about having belief in yourself at difficult times. Simon asked choir members to share some photos and short videos of things they had been doing during lockdown. He hopes you enjoy it as he really enjoyed putting it together.

As well as being an excellent singer and director, Simon has added video editing to his repertoire during lockdown!

If you missed it at our July Zoom concert – we present The ‘I Need a Barbershop’ Quartet!

We hope you enjoyed our Zoom concert earlier this evening – we loved sharing our music from lockdown, together but apart. Amazing to see so many people, glad you could come and that we could fit you in!

Here is the clip from our socially distanced rehearsal – watch to the end past the credits for Simon’s blooper!

and discover what our Director was up to in this photo!

Covid-19 means that we can only perform over Zoom this summer, so we’d like to invite you to our online charity concert!

Our programme will be a combination of virtual choir performances that we have put together over the last few months, some solo items and audience participation.

The virtual choir pieces are performed by Moonlighters, LDS choir and a combined voices production that Simon has been working on. Indeed, the concert will be the first time the latter will have been viewed by an audience!

The concert will be 7.30pm-8:30pm on Saturday 18th July but we would encourage you to log in early [from 7.15pm] in order to ensure that you are set up in time. (Our Zoom licence allows us to have 100 devices logged on at any one time.)

All participants will be muted except during audience participation items. We will provide breakout rooms at the end for chat and feedback.

We will be donating all proceeds of the concert to Bedford Daycare Hospice and Cancer Hair Care. They are local charities that have helped members of our choir and their families.
Donations (suggested £5 per linked device) can either be given directly to the charity, posted to us or paid into Rachel’s bank account.

We have decided against any online giving page as they all take a percentage cut of donations!

We hope that you and your friends and family are able to join us to celebrate summer and our determination to keep singing ‘no matter what’.

Click here to view more information on Facebook.

Some of our number took part in this virtual recording, led by our Director, Simon Berridge.

Now the Green Blade Rises by J.M.C Crum arr. Alan Bullard. The choir is made up of members of the Northill Community Choir [Bedfordshire] The Moonlighters [Beds] and members of the St Alban’s stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Continuing with the Spring theme, we present our second ‘remote’ performance: Quilter’s To Daffodils

Please like and share with your friends!

Presenting our first ‘remote’ performance! Morley’s Now Is the Month of Maying. Please like and share with your friends!

The Moonlighters – The Month of Maying from The Moonlighters on Vimeo.

A folk song today, from our Musical Director, Simon Berridge, tenor in The Sixteen.

The Moonlighters have begun a weekly online meetup during covid-19 isolation. Stay safe, all!

Today, Saturday 14th December 2019, many of our number entertained visitors to Wimpole Hall. Always a brisk engagement in the open air of the stables, but a pleasure to sing and then take a look round the house with all the beautiful Christmas trees.

On 23rd November, 2019, at Upper Caldecote Methodist Church

Tonight we quickly filled the Upper Caldecote Methodist Church for our Summer Concert with the Northill Community Singers.

Yesterday (22nd May 2019) half the Moonlighters together with some members of Northill Community Choir took part in the Wellbeing for Life activity at The Higgins Bedford Organised by Tibbs Dementia and the Museum.

This involved presenting different activities for those with dementia and those interested in helping to prevent it. Simon Berridge lead the community singing experience at the end – when we engaged most of the audience to join in with Only You and The Doo Ron Ron as well as some rounds.

It was a really positive experience and the sunshine in the courtyard where we sang helped to raise spirits. The tea and cake were good too!

Following our performance at the Bedford Christmas Tree Festival we were approached to support Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Sevice’s annual Christingle Christmas Celebration at Woburn Parish Church on Thursday 20th December.

The service gives everyone in the Service, except those who cannot be released from operational duty, the opportunity to come together, with friends, families and the communities we serve to celebrate Christmas.

Chief Fire Officer Paul M Fuller CBE QFSM MStJ DL

The Reverend Stephen Nuth hosted and conducted the service this year with the Bishop of Bedford Richard Atkinson.

Together with the Stotfold Salvation Army Band we led congregation carols and also performed two pieces during the service.

• Congregation: Once in Royal David’s City
• Congregation: O Little Town of Bethlehem
• Moonlighters: Gaudete (Simon Berridge, Solo verses)
• Moonlighters: The Earl of Salisbury Carol
• Congregation: Good King Wenceslas
• Congregation: Away in a Manger
• Stotfold Salvation Army Band: A selection of Christmas music
• Congregation: Silent Night
• Congregation: Hark the Herald Angels sing

A collection was taken in aid of The Fire Fighters Charity and Woburn Parish Church.

Photos can be seen from the event here in the album on our Facebook Page.

We returned to Upper Caldecotte with the Northill Community Choir for a joint Christmas Concert this year. Whereas previous concerts have been earlier in the month, this year we performed on 15th December. All concert proceeds were split between charities.

• Northill: Dream a Little Dream
• Northill: Swing Low Sweet Chariot
• Northill: Good Night Sweetheart
• Polaca by Weber, Oboe & Piano
• Moonlighters: If Ye Love Me – Thomas Tallis
• Moonlighters: Don’t Worry About Me – Frances arr. Charles Evans
• Amy Stewart: One Hand, One Heart – L Bernstein
• Ding Dong Merrily on High (audience)
• Together: A Babe is Born – A Bullard
• Together: Love Shone Down
• Suite in A Minor, Air a L’Italien & Rejouissance’, Flute & Piano
• Together: Away in a Manger
• Together: Silent Night – H. Gruber
• Northill: Silent Holy – Harriet Bushman
• Amy Stewart: Sunrise Sunset
• Trio in G – Platti
• Moonlighters: Earl of Salisbury Carol (Sweet Was the Song)
• Moonlighters: Orpheus in the Underground
• Twelve Days of Christmas (audience)
• Together: We Wish you a Merry Christmas
• Together: Mele Kalikimaka

This year the weather was kind and we were able to perform at the Bedford Christmas Tree Festival at St Paul’s Church on Sunday 9th December. Unfortunately we were without our MD, Simon Berridge who was busy performing with The Sixteen. Thanks goes to Charles for playing the piano and to Liz R for leading.

Our programme was:

• O Christmas Tree
• Love Shone Down
• Away in a Manger
• Ding Dong
• In the Bleak Midwinter
• Earl of Salisbury Carol
• A Babe is Born
• Jingle Bells
• Mary’s Lullaby
• O Christmas Tree (reprise)

Some fantastic photos were kindly taken by Ian Whiting of the Bedford Camera Club and can be seen on our Gallery page.

We were pleased to return to Milton Ernest Hall to entertain residents and visitors to their annual Christmas Fair on the afternoon of Saturday 8th December.

Our programme was:

• O Christmas Tree
• Love Shone Down
• Away in a Manager
• Ding Dong Merrily on High
• In the Bleak Midwinter
• Earl of Salisbury Carol
• Winter Wonderland
• Christmas Round
• I saw Three Ships
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• Joy to the World
• A Babe is Born
• Jingle Bells
• Mary’s Lullaby
• Orpheus in the Underground
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas

On 5th December, Kate, Liz C, Sally and Janet T represented The Moonlighters to help lead and support charity carolling in Bromham in aid of the Elisabeth Curtis Centre. The Centre is part of Riding for the Disabled. Together with a quartet from the Bedford Town Band, volunteers from the Centre and local residents from the Parkland estate, a merry band serenaded carols up and down the local roads while a collection took place from door to door.

“Thank you very much to members of The Moonlighters for joining with the brass band, Parkside residents and the Elisabeth Curtis Centre for carol singing. The Moonlighters added to the carol singing, certainly by increasing the volume and also keeping the rest of us vaguely in tune! As far as the Elisabeth Curtis Centre is concerned, it was a very successful evening as we collected almost £400 on the night with the total amount still rising!”

Pearl Farr, Secretary and Trustee, Elisabeth Curtis Centre

We were delighted to join other choirs to perform at Wimpole Hall as part of their Georgian Christmas celebrations this year. On Saturday 2nd December we performed to visitors in the stable block area, which although windy, provided a pleasing acoustic.

View our Facebook Event here

We are looking forward to a very busy Christmas season! Here is where you can catch us over December:

• Saturday 2nd December – Wimpole Hall – 1pm
• Wednesday 5th December – Charity Carols at Bromham from the Elisabeth Curtis Centre – 7:30pm
• Saturday 8th December – Carols at Milton Ernest Hall Christmas Fair – 2pm
• Sunday 9th December – Bedford Christmas Tree Festival – 1:30pm
• Saturday 15th December – Joint Christmas Concert with the Northill Community Choir at Upper Caldecotte – 7:30pm
• Thursday 20th December – Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Christingle Christmas Celebrations at Woburn – 7:30pm

More details for these engagements can be found on our Facebook page. 

Northill Community Choir:

• Wade in the Water
• Scarborough Fair
• El Cafe

Solo: The Lord Bless You and Keep You
Instrumental: Loeillet Sonata Flute, Violin, Continuo

Moonlighters:

• Dindirin
• Our Love is Here to Stay

Instrumental: Solo on Violin

Northill:

• How can I keep from Singing
• I’ve Got You Under my Skin
• The Lady is a Tramp

Solo: Fairest Isle performed by Sue Nash
Instrumental: The Swan on Cello
Instrumental: Flute Solo

Moonlighters:

• Killing Me Softly
• The Long Day Closes
• The Flintstones

Northill:

• Dona Nobis
• Italian Salad
• El Condor Passa

We are pleased to continue our friendship with the Northill Community Choir and perform a joint summer concert on Saturday 14th July 2018 at All Saints Church, Upper Caldecotte.

There will be a variety of things to please your ears, choral and instrumental. A mix of songs from both choirs and some soloists too. Plenty of laughter along the way. All finished with lovely cake.

Tickets £5 on the door, proceeds to local charities.

View the event on Facebook

On the 10th December 2017 we were due to perform at Langslade House in Bedford for the residents, but the weather prevented us getting there on the day. We were very glad to rearrange to sing a spring programme to the residents on April 29th 2018.

• Let’s Do It
• Blue Moon
• Java Jive
• Halfway Down
• Vespers
• Dindirin
• Flintstones
• Bare Necessities
• Only You
• Under the Boardwalk
• Goodnight Sweetheart

Thank you so much to all who came to our Christmas Concert in Biggleswade on 20th December. It was lovely to see so many of you there to share in our seasonal celebrations, especially to other local singers who joined the audience.

Here is what we performed:

• Oh Christmas Tree
• The Evening Primrose
• The Little Road to Bethlehem
• Oh Come All Ye Faithful (audience)
• Away in a Manger
• In the Bleak Midwinter
• Star Carol
• Reading: Christmas Thank Yous
• Mary’s Lullaby
• Love Shone Down
• The Goslings
• Ding Dong Merrily on High (audience)
• Jingle Bells
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

We were also pleased to perform the limited edition 2017 Christmas Card piece by Charles Evans, a local composer and member of the Moonlighters.

We were very pleased to partner with the Northill Community Choir again on Saturday 2nd December 2017 and perform a Christmas Concert at Upper Caldecotte.

We performed The Evening Primrose, O Christmas Tree, Away in a Manger and The Goslings. We also joined in with some of the Northill numbers.

We are pleased to invite you to join us for our Christmas Concert and Social on Wednesday 20th December 2017 7:30pm at the Footprints Room, Trinity Methodist Church, Shortmead Street, Biggleswade. There will be songs, carols, light refreshments, chat and friendship. 

View event on Facebook

We have a very busy Christmas season planned. Here is where you can catch us:

• Saturday 2nd December – Joint Concert with Northill Community Choir – Upper Caldecotte 7:30pm
• Saturday 9th December – Milton Ernest Hall Fete – 2:30pm
• Sunday 10th December – Bedford Christmas Tree Festival – 1:30pm
• Sunday 10th December – Langslade House – 3pm
• Wednesday 20th December – Christmas Carols and Social in Biggleswade – 7:30pm

EDIT: Sadly our engagements on 10th December were cancelled due to inclement weather. We hope to rearrange and perform at the Christmas Tree festival and Langslade House in 2018.

On Saturday 23rd September 2017 – we were pleased to perform on the open air stage at St Andrew’s Church Country Fayre in Biggleswade.

The Moonlighters sang:

• Java Jive
• Only You
• Blue Moon
• Under the Boardwalk
• Cakes and Ale
• Once Twice Thrice
• I’ve got Rhythm

In March 2017 Simon Berridge agreed to fit our choir into his busy schedule.

Simon is a tenor with The Sixteen who began his music studies at Trinity College, Cambridge where he was also awarded a choral scholarship, and subsequently continued his vocal studies at the Royal College of Music with Edward Brooks.

He is a highly experienced concert singer and has performed as a soloist with renowned ensembles, recording numerous records. We are very fortunate to appoint him at Musical Director.

7th May St Paul’s Church Bedford – A Musical Interlude

This was a marvelous opportunity for us to join with St Paul’s Church Choir and Kongsberg Kantori, a visiting Norwegian group.  Although much of the programme consisted of Bach, we sang three spirituals in the middle of the evening, Didn’t it Rain, Ev’ry time I feel the Spirit and Steal Away.  At the end we all took part in Immortal Bach, a variation by Knut Nystedt involving an amazing creation of sound.

8th May St Andrews Church in Biggleswade – Spring concert combined with Harmony Youth Choir. 

The Moonlighters sang a variety of songs including three spirituals and two of Charles Evans’ arrangements of Winnie the Pooh poems, Halfway Down and Vespers.  We also sang his version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and a challenging but fun arrangement of Flanders and Swan’s Ill Wind (the song about the French horn!)

3rd July Dunton Church Fair

24th September – St Paul’s Church Michaelmas Market

11th November Cutler Hammer Kempston – Canine Partners Entertainment

The audience was largely made up of humans rather than dogs who were appreciative of our offerings despite the fact that we had to perform without a musical director.  Several other groups were taking part which meant that we were entertained too.  A community choir, a barbershop quartet a ukulele band and us!  The golden oldies came out that night such as Chattanooga Choo Choo, Under the Boardwalk, It Don’t mean a Thing and Java Jive.

3rd December Milton Ernest Hall Christmas Fair

Since there were only five ladies able to perform, we found a different selection of non-Christmas and Christmas songs and carols.  These included Jamaica Farewell, Do you hear what I hear? and The Little Road to Bethlehem.  As always, we received a warm welcome from the residents and staff.

16th December St Andrew’s Rooms, Biggleswade.  A Christmas entertainment for the Sandy Masonic Lodge.

We rounded off the year with our third visit to the Sandy Lodge.  We sang fairly traditional carols as requested but included Twelve Days After Christmas and But Once a Year, another of Charles’ compositions.

As last year, we returned to sing for the Ladybirds group in Gamlingay, Milton Ernest Nursing Home and the Sandye Masonic Lodge.  It was lovely to be invited back by all three groups and to share their Christmas celebrations.  We did not share a warm-up location with the fire engine in Gamlingay this year but were warmly welcomed.  Many more friends and family joined in with residents at Milton Ernest and the Masons participated energetically once again.

Music Through the Ages. This took place at Upper Caldecote Church, starting at 3pm.  Proceeds were for the Sue Ryder home in Moggerhanger.  Our music ranged from madrigals about nymphs and shepherdesses to songs from films such as Blue Moon and The Bare Necessities.  We also introduced the Flanders and Swan song about a French horn and a selection of Winnie the Pooh favourites.  The East Beds Youth Choir included music from the Beatles, the Lion King and Beyoncé!  The church proved to be a lovely venue and many friends and family swelled the ranks of the audience.

This venue provided us with a different but very enthusiastic audience.  This was despite the fact that the lift was not working so that the piano and most of the residents were separated by a whole floor and an extremely long corridor!  However we were able to perform a variety of songs including Fair Phyllis, Dashing Away with the Smoothing Iron, Let’s Do It and Only You.

We provided after dinner Christmas entertainment for this ‘White Table’ event.  Our hosts were very hospitable and came prepared to join in with some of the selected carols.  This was a lovely way to bring our 2014 singing to a close.

We sang Christmas songs and carols at various points during this event for residents, friends and family.  It was great to make use of the lovely hall and staircase as well as singing in the lounge.  Those staff, residents and visitors who could gather round did so, as well as visiting the stalls in the dining room and Father Christmas!  Our songs included Quem Pastores, Ding Dong Merrily on High and a setting of Away in the Manger by our tenor, Charles Evans.  It went down very well.

We entertained this group of ladies with a mixture of our usual repertoire and traditional carols.  Our audience was very enthusiastic and shared their lovely light refreshments with us before we left and they started to play various games.  Before the performance we rehearsed songs like Under the Boardwalk, Goodnight Sweetheart and In the Bleak Midwinter in the shadow of the fire engine in the next room!

Our third appearance at the Sandy Festival saw us rounding off the event, held in the afternoon at St. Swithun’s Church.  Philip Norman organises this event each year along with a similar  festival in London.  There were eight other groups/choirs performing their chosen pieces with amazingly little overlap!  We chose a Rogers and Hart favourite, ‘Blue Moon’ while Just A Cappella from Hemel Hempstead gave a rendition of the jazzy version.  St. Mary’s Singers from Potton also included ‘The Long Day Closes’, one of Arthur Sullivan’s emotional reveries which we love singing too.  It was a very successful event overall and a treat for those visiting and getting a free concert thrown in.

To our usual venues, Luton Airport and various tents, we have now added a concert in a pub!  We have sung outside a pub before but this time we were in The Orange Tree in Baldock.  This free festival took place all over Baldock for three days and it now includes a variety of music, not just rock.  We provided a selection of early twentieth century popular songs, some Victorian music and some other songs from the mid twentieth century.  This was the first time that we sang Goodnight Sweetheart, written originally for the American quartet known as The Spaniels, but also included in the 1987  film Three Men and a Baby.

This was a combined concert with Harmony Youth Choir at St Andrew’s Church in Biggleswade.  The event brought in over £700, to be split between the church’s clock renovation fund and St John’s Hospice in Moggerhanger

The Moonlighters provided a varied programme including English Victorian songs, 1960s popular music such as The Bare Necessities and Under the Boardwalk, spirituals and 1930s hits by Rogers and Hart and Cole Porter.  The atmosphere ranged from Sullivan’s soulful The Long Day Closes to Porter’s rather risqué Let’s Do It.

Two songs were sung by the choirs together – Seal Lullaby and The Rhythm of Life.

The Moonlighters took part in a performance for ‘Lighting up Luton for Christmas’, in the centre of the shopping area on December 7th 2013.  We sang a mixture of our usual repertoire and Christmas carols.

Please ‘like us’ on Facebook, and receive updates from the choir as well as event invitations to hear us sing.

We hope to see you at a concert soon!