Horsley Choral Society
....a Leith Hill Festival Choir
....a Leith Hill Festival Choir
2011 brought with it a new Musical Director for HCS, Valerie Beynon. Val is no stranger to the choir having both sung as a member of the choir and also on occasion kindly stepped in to conduct when previous conductor David Wordsworth was abroad.
Val was born and brought up in Sheffield and from an early age enjoyed music, dancing, singing and piano. As a child, she attended weekly concerts by the Halle Orchestra under the baton of Sir John Barbirolli and later at school in North Wales, furthered her musical studies, playing 3rd violin in the school orchestra and leading the choir. After attending Dartington College of Arts she studied at Rolle College, Exmouth following a course for musical education in schools. She continued her singing studies and achieved her ARCM in singing teaching.
Returning to Sheffield to begin her teaching career, she joined the Bach choir, often travelling to Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford to give concerts. In 1970 she moved to Oxshott with her parents, taking a teaching post at Danes Hill School, where she moved from Director of Music to Head of Pastoral Care and still conducts the Chamber Choir at the school.
Increasingly involved in village life, Val formed the Oxshott Junior Singers, a village choir for children and also took on the WI choir. Her own choral singing with the Leatherhead Choral Society and her involvement in the Leith Hill Musical Festival led her to re-found the Oxshott Choral Society in 1975, which immediately took part in the Festival in Division 2. With Horsley Choral Society singing in the top division (Div. 3) of the Festival, Val will now be even busier competing on two of the three LHMF days, in addition to her role as Assistant Secretary (Music) to the Leith Hill Musical Festival.
Although now living in Cobham, Val retains a very active life in Oxshott and is Director of Music at St Andrew's Church. Horsley Choral Society look forward to her forging strong links with their village and in turn plan to forge a link with Val’s Oxshott choir.