Who we are

The Caedmon Choir is a Community Choir which was formed in 1987. We meet on Tuesday evenings during term-time and occasionally during school holidays. For many years we rehearsed in the Caedmon Hall in Gateshead Central Library, from which we took our name, but since January 2005 we have rehearsed in The Sage Gateshead.

Since September 1997 our sessions have been associated with Folkworks’ ‘Caedmon Folk’ programme of term-time Tuesday evening folk workshops. These have been held in the Sage Gateshead since its opening in December 2004 but previously took place in the Caedmon Hall in Gateshead Central Library. Within that structure however we operate as an independent group with different fees, starting and finishing times and term dates from the rest of the Caedmon Folk activities.

We have around seventy members from a wide age range, with widely varying occupations and interests. We do not hold auditions and it is not necessary to be able to read music as we learn many of our songs by ear.

We sing unaccompanied, and our repertoire includes traditional and contemporary songs both local and from other parts of Britain, as well as songs from other countries and cultures, and in a wide range of styles. A number of our songs express a concern for people and the planet.

Since November 2007 Eleanor Mooney has been our Musical Director. She succeeded Sharon Durant, our leader since 2001, who sadly had to leave us because of pressure of other work.

Image: Ian Ground