On Sunday afternoon, March 16th, we proudly held our first major concert of the year at Trinity Church, aimed at raising funds for vital local organisations. This time, we selected Chain Lane Community Hub, Emerging Voices, and Trinity Church as our beneficiaries.
The turnout was fantastic, with a full house for our inaugural afternoon concert. We were thrilled to see a large number of young people in attendance as parents were able to bring their children to this performance without the worry of being up late, additionally we offer free entry to under 18’s at our events. The older audience members also shared their enthusiasm for the afternoon timing, expressing how much they enjoyed it.
The choir delivered an impressive and eclectic mix of songs across two full sets, featuring stunning solos that captivated everyone present. The audience fully engaged, clapping and singing along to their favourite tunes, creating a joyous atmosphere throughout the church.
In addition to the concert, we organized a successful raffle, a delightful cake stall, and refreshments, all thanks to our dedicated choir and committee members.
Through ticket sales and these activities, we raised over £1,000, enabling us to generously donate £337 to each of the three groups we supported. All the organisations were absolutely delighted with the contributions, and our choir felt a tremendous sense of pride in making such a meaningful impact.
We’re excited to announce our upcoming events where you can see us perform again!
* Saturday 3rd May St Barnabas Church Weeton, tickets sales will be helping to raise funds for “The Forget Me Not Hospice for children”.
* Sunday 25th May Valley Gardens Harrogate 2pm to 4pm.”
* Sunday 15th June we will perform two sets at the beautiful Newby Hall at 1pm to 1-45 and 2-15pm to 3pm.
* Saturday 28th June 2pm Afternoon concert at United Reformed Church, Knaresborough.
* Saturday 5th July at Roundhay Park Leeds we will be singing at a Sunset Walk in aid of St Gemma’s Hospice Leeds.
* Sunday 13th July we will again perform two sets at Newby Hall 1pm to 1-45 and 2-15pm to 3pm.
For a full list of our performances in 2025 please look at our “New Events” page.
In February we performed as part of the Harrogate Community Choir Festival.
Some of the KnAC highlights in 2024
Manchester Annual Choral Competition
On Sunday 3rd March, 85 members of the choir headed off to Manchester to take part in the prestigious Manchester Amateur Choral Competition (MACC) at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). We had a wonderful day, everybody sang their hearts out. We sang a beautiful set of Whitney Houston songs as a tribute to her work. The whole choir, under the superb direction of Craig Antony Lees, had worked very hard to prepare for the big day.
Now the big news – even though the calibre of the 14 other choirs taking part was amazing with Barbershop, Children’s choirs, Chamber choirs, Acapella choirs and Community choirs we were delighted when they announced the winners at the end that we were called out first to receive the runners up trophy. What a complete surprise; there was much glee from the choir, clapping and shrieking etc. What a wonderful moment for us all in front of such a huge audience. Below are the links to the three songs we sang.
We are planning to enter another choral competition in 2025; The North Wales Choir Festival, held in Llandudno at the end of February.
Steal Away https://youtu.be/Fj5G5r0QUbk
I Wanna Dance with Somebody https://youtu.be/4zFJ1yBqVwQ
Higher Love https://youtu.be/NRj0QtP77Bc
Limerick Sings Festival
Following on from our amazing success at the Manchester Annual Choral Competition in March, 72 Knot Another Choir members took to the road, sea and air to embark on our first overseas adventure. On June 6th, we travelled by coach, ferry, car and aeroplane to The Limerick Sings Festival 2024, a weekend festival with participating choirs coming from County Tipperary, France, Dublin and beyond.
Choir members stayed at Limerick University accommodation and in local hotels. We sang at the beautiful Bunratty Castle and all the choirs taking part sang by the cliffs of Moher on a gorgeous sunny day. We sang our main concert at the beautiful Redemptorist Church which was an absolute joy, we were received with such fervour by a large audience, we were delighted to receive a standing ovation. We were led by our amazing Musical Director, Craig Antony Lees, with the fantastic Declan Davies accompanying on the keyboard.
As well as our performances, we also had great fun attending a workshop with ‘The Swingles’ , who also performed for the attending choirs at the University Concert Hall.
We laughed danced giggled and got to know others from far and wide. Everybody had a wonderful time.
The choir committee, led by Julie and John Bradbury Sharp, worked tirelessly to bring this trip to fruition, Knot Another Choir had been fundraising for the trip for a year and a half, with concerts, raffles and quiz nights to name but a few. In addition, Knaresborough Town Council kindly supported the choir and provided additional funding of £500. All of this meant that every choir member who wanted to go to the festival was able to.
CRAIGS WEDDING CELEBRATIONS August 1st
Craig Antony Lees, our MD, and Gemma Irving, his fiancée, were married at the magnificent Allerton Castle near Knaresborough. Knot Another Choir and Craigs Contemporary Choir from the Conservatoire in Leeds joined forces and were invited to sing for the nuptuals, it was a very moving experience, there were over 100 of us singing.
Written by choir member Natalie. "Over the years I have watched the men in my life go through the highs and lows of life that most of us will experience at different times. A few months ago a friend at choir told me how singing in the choir had saved his life. He said that he now literally lives for his Thursday evenings. He told me just how much being part of the choir had changed his life and it had really improved his mental health. “it’s a ripple effect” he went on to say, “I’ve noticed my outlook on life has really changed and I feel so much more positive.” Men's Mental Health isn’t just a #hashtag or something that is this weeks trend. It affects millions more men than we realise. Being part of a choir like ours (Knot Another Choir), that proudly welcomes all singing abilities and embraces diversity, just fills my heart with joy. Singing has a very powerful effect on both the mind and body. Whether it is singing at a footy or rugby match, belting out a favourite song on karaoke or at an open mic night. On Thursdays choir night you’ll sing with a hundred others in a church hall, singing great songs with gorgeous harmonies, you’ll be led by the best. Singing will always have a positive effect on both your mood and self esteem. So what do you have to lose? We have some spaces left for basses. What’s stopping you taking that first step and sending us an email? You don’t need to be able to read music, as we have everything set up so that you can practice at home using the resources on the choir website. You don’t need to be brimming with confidence or be the next Tom Jones. You just need to turn up and let your voice go. Yes it might sound scary but I promise you, within 10 minutes you will start to feel a change. If there is one piece of advice I would give anyone, but especially men who might be a little more reluctant, it would be to give singing a try, you might find it’s a life changer."
Who are we?
We are a large mixed community choir based in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, we have over 100 members. In 2019 we were delighted to be granted charitable status and also we welcomed Craig Lees as our MD.
How are we funded?
We are funded through membership fees.
When and where do we meet?
We practice on a Thursday night at 19:30 at Trinity Church Hall, off Briggate, Knaresborough.
How do I join?
We normally run two taster sessions at the start of term in September and January. For further information please email us at iwanttojoin@knotanotherchoir.co.uk
Our Musical Director
Craig Antony Lees is a contemporary vocal coach, choral leader and arranger. He is Principal Lecturer on the Popular Music Degree at Leeds College of Music where he founded the LcoM Contemporary Pop Choir in 2014. Craig is the Musical Director behind Leeds Contemporary Singers, a nine piece vocal harmony group that recently rose to fame as the winners of BBC One’s Pitch Battle. (Check them out here)! Craig coaches for Smith’s record label (Nigel Martin-Smith) and has also had the pleasure of working with chart-topping artist Will Young (whilst on Pitch Battle) and internationally acclaimed artist Marc Almond.
Craig runs regular large workshops throughout the UK and abroad. He has delivered projects for leading voice technology manufacturer TC-Helicon and teaches on the Performance Academy Program at ‘Mind The Gap Theatre Company’ (England’s largest learning-disability theatre house). He has presented internationally on the topic of choral pedagogy.
Many thanks to the Two Ridings Community Foundation for their recent sponsorship
Many thanks to Knaresborough Town Council for sponsoring our trip to compete in the Manchester Annual Choral Competition (MACC) at The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) on the 3rd March 2024.
We’re delighted to be representing Knaresborough with 86 of our choir members.
Many thanks to the trustees of The George A Moore Foundation for supporting KnAC.
Knot Another Choir CIO
Registered Charity Number 1182311