Hardynge is the ancient name for Harpenden, dating from when it was a farming hamlet growing wheat for the nearby manor of Wheathampstead. The choir's name and logo symbolise these enduring connections.

The Hardynge Choir started in 1966 and continues to provide a challenging outlet for singers wishing to perform mostly the mainstream Choral Society repertoire. The choir currently has 70 to 80 members.  

There are no formal individual auditions for entry or ongoing membership.  We believe that singing should be taken seriously and worked at hard, but above all it should be fun and open to as many people as possible.

Three or four concerts are given each year, usually with professional orchestras and soloists.

Outstanding Sacred Jazz Concert

The Hardynge Choir’s Sacred Jazz Concert was greatly enjoyed by a capacity audience in the High Street Methodist Church on Saturday 2 July 2016.  

The concert opened with Bill Holman’s The Opener, played with great swing by the magnificent Duncan Fraser Big Band.  Then the choir sang three  Prayers for Peace by Alexander L’Estrange, interspersed by Will Bartlett playing two of his own piano improvisations.  Then the Duncan Fraser Big Band played three popular Ellington classics, Such Sweet Thunder, In A Mellow Tone and C Jam Blues.  The first half ended with a performance by the choir of Will Todd’s very tuneful Rejoice.

The second half of the concert was a rousing performance of Ellington’s Sacred Concert in which we were joined by the beautiful soprano, Charlotte-Anne Shipley: she gave a glorious solo performance of the movement T.G.T.T. (Too Good To Title).  The finale of the work, Praise God and Dance, was greeted by tumultuous applause from the audience, who’d clearly had a great evening.