Prestbury Choral Society

Prestbury Choral Society was formed 60 years ago and currently has about 40 members. We usually perform three concerts a year; Spring, Summer, and Christmas. Our repertoire covers favourite choral works though we do perform less well-known and more modern pieces. We would describe ourselves as enthusiastic amateurs, but take our music seriously, engaging top quality soloists and local professional musicians to provide accompaniment.

Musical Director

Gary Hulme

Gary Hulme was born in Manchester in 1961, and received his Musical Education privately, culminating in studies with Leslie Clifton and Ronald Frost. He holds the diplomas of Associate of The Royal College of Organists (ARCO), and Licentiate of Trinity College of Music London (LTCL) in Organ Performance. Appointed to his first organ post at the age of 13, he is currently Organist & Choirmaster at Prestwich Parish Church.

Following early retirement from School Music Teaching, Gary now pursues a freelance career as an Organist and Accompanist. He has given recitals all over the North West of England, and is a regular contributor to the recital series’ at Bolton Parish Church, and St. Ann’s Church, Manchester. As an Organ Accompanist, he has regularly performed with Todmorden Choral Society for a number of years, and recently, both Urmston and Prestbury Choral Societies have made use of his expertise in this area.

An experienced Choral Trainer and Conductor, Gary has for many years worked with both church and secular choirs. At The Oldham Hulme Grammar Schools, he maintained a choir of over 100 voices, including pupils, staff, parents and friends to give acclaimed performances of large scale choral works. He is very pleased to have been asked to take the Prestbury Choral Society into its next phase.

Accompanist

Rachel Fright

Rachel enjoys accompanying choirs, a passion which started when she played for the Royal Northern College of Music Symphony Chorus and Chamber Choir in preparation for their performance of Penderecki’s Seventh Symphony at the Bridgewater Hall in June 2015. She is in demand as a choral accompanist and currently works for Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, Congleton Choral Society, Prestbury Choral Society and the Rodolfus Choral Courses. Rachel has also worked for several other organisations, including a residential course with the Hallé Youth Training Choir, a tour with Kinder Choirs of the High Peak and choral singing days with the Association of British Choral Directors. In 2023, Rachel was a prizewinner in the Stella Jockel Memorial Prize for choral composition.

Rachel performs regularly across the UK and has been featured on BBC Radio 3. She has a particular interest in accompanying singers. She works for the RNCM School of Vocal Studies and Opera as a collaborative pianist and teaches at Yorkshire Young Musicians. She is also passionate about musical outreach, and works regularly for Live Music Now, the Leeds Lieder Festival and SoundUp Arts to bring music to the community. Recent work has included repetiteur work to bring Julia Perry's music to life as a part of vocal tutor Michael Harper's Arts and Humanities Research Council Project, a French song project with Jackdaws Music Education Trust, a children's opera with Clonter Opera Theatre and concerts at Oxford Lieder Festival and Leeds Lieder Festival. Rachel is also on the working group for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity for Live Music Now.

Rachel studied with scholarships to Pembroke College, Oxford and the Royal Northern College of Music, where she was a Junior Fellow in Accompaniment and won many prizes for her collaborative work. Following her performance as a Leeds Lieder Young Artist 2018, Rachel was awarded the Hester Dickson Prize to study at Oxenfoord International Summer School with Malcolm Martineau. Following graduation, Rachel pursued some private study with Julius Drake.