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 mainstream choral works alongside inventive programming and the commissioning of new repertoire. The choir currently has 55 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.

 

During Lockdown

This year has been very challenging for Hardynge Choir, and many other choirs around the world, owing to the lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of COVID19.  However the choir has kept together, thanks to an interesting newsletter each week, and rehearsals via Zoom.

In November 2020 Matthew Woodward gave a wonderful piano recital online to choir members. In December a virtual concert recording of our performance of Hymn for St Cecilia by Herbert Howells (words by Ursula Vaughan Williams) was played to passengers at Luton Airport, as part of their Christmas Entertainment Programme to support Macmillan Cancer.

In anticipation of the lifting of lockdown restrictions we started rehearsing on Zoom for our September concert, “The Earthly Rose”, and even had a few rehearsals together at the end of the summer term.