ACROSS the region our highly valued choral societies are tuning up for a fabulous festive flurry of Christmas music.

Whether its a piece by John Rutter, Haydn, Bach or a traditional carol, the magnificent sound of a choir in full flight is something to be savoured.

Ian Jones is one of the leading figures in the choral circles of Cumbria and north Lancashire.

Conductor of both Levens and Eversley choirs and chairman and musical director of Cumbria Festival Chorus - which has taken over from Cumbria Choral Initiative and the choral concert side of the Mary Wakefield Festival - he believes that the region's rich vein of choral societies is down to its long history of choral singing championed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by such eminent figures as Mary Wakefield and undoubtedly sustained for more than a century by the biennial festival which she founded.

He adds: "Over the years many great names have appeared in Kendal in connection with choral singing - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Charles Groves and, more recently, Paul Spicer and David Lawrence. New choirs have appeared to add to the long-established choirs such as Eversley - itself closely associated with Mary Wakefield - the two fine Kendal choirs and village choirs such as Staveley, Arnside and Ambleside. These choirs are open to all and have achieved great success through the sheer joy of singing. Other, more specialist, choirs like Levens or Pro Nobis give opportunities for more ambitious singers to tackle more demanding repertoire."

Regarding future projects, Ian explains that the Westmorland Music Trust is pushing forward initiatives with local choirs. "The aim is to produce coordinated programmes to ensure that the growing audiences are presented with varied and interesting programmes which will feed their interest in choral music - much of which has been aroused by the Gareth Malone effect."

And so to those hitting the high notes during the run up to Christmas...

LEVENS Choir returns to Holy Trinity Church at Bolton-le-Sands, on Tuesday, December 13 (7.30pm) for a real celebration of Advent, a performance featuring three very contrasting settings of Magnificat - the Song of Mary. John Rutter's extended setting, one of his very best and liveliest compositions, concludes the choir's programme and will feature as soloists three of the choir's young choral scholars.

Before that the popular choristers perform the mesmeric setting of the song by the Estonian composer Arvo Part and the early setting by renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli. Accompanying these pieces will be the jazzy Tomorrow will be My Dancing Day by John Gardner and the four Christmas motets by Francis Poulenc.

THE Ghyll Singers of Ulverston with MD Deborah Milledge share the Kendal Town Hall stage with Kendal Concert Band on Friday (December 9, 7.30pm) for the band's Christmas Spectacular.

The band has supported the local branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association for many years now and hopes to beat all previous fundraising efforts with this concert full of festive cheer.

The programme ranges from the peaceful Shepherd's Pipe Carol, to foot tapping tunes and a special narration of The Night Before Christmas with musical accompaniment. KCB is directed by Becki Clifford-Perkins.

AMBLESIDE and District Choral Society rise splendidly to the occasion on Saturday, December 10 (7.30pm) at St Mary’s Church, Ambleside, with a programme featuring Haydn's St Nicholas Mass, Holst's Christmas Day, Hymn to the Virgin by Britten and plenty more fabulous Christmas music. Jolyon Dodgson conducts with soloists, soprano, Myrna Tennant; mezzo, Amy Shaw, tenor, Henry Howard and baritone, Keir MacGregor. Organist is Andrew Plowman.

FANS of John Rutter are in for a treat on Saturday (December 10, 7.30pm) when Lancaster and District Choral Society stages its Winter Concert at Lancaster Priory.

As well as three carols by the popular composer and traditional carols for the audience to join in with, the programme includes Rutter’s joyful Magnificat.

Soprano soloist is top Lakeland talent Emily Robinson with gifted organist, Ian Pattinson under the expertise of conductor John Perrin and Chamber Orchestra.

PRO Nobis Singers stage their Christmas concert at St Mark's Church, Natland, on Sunday (December 11, 7.30pm). The main work for musical director Clive Walkley and his highly regarded singers will be part two of JS Bach's Christmas Oratorio starring soloists Roseanna Skikun (past winner of the prestigious Keldwyth Award), Alan Noble and Joanathan Millican. As well as Christmas readings and carols, the programme also features two new carols - one composed by Pro Nobis tenor, Bob Duffield, the another from the pen of Clive.

KENDAL Choral Society also returns to the concert platform on Sunday (December 11, 7.30pm) at Kendal Parish Church. Staged as part of the church's Christmas Tree Festival, The Glories of Christmas includes marvellous seasonal music such as parts one and three of Bach's Christmas Oratorio - complete with wonderful trumpets and percussion - and carols including a beautiful lullaby by modern composer Daniel Elder, plus a new carol Sleep, my Jesu written by Jamie Hall, which supports Macmillan Cancer Care. Soloists are Philip O' Connor and Stuart Orme, from Manchester Cathedral, and two of the region's most respected singers, Anastasia Micklethwaite and Margaret Pattinson. Duncan Lloyd conducts with Julian Cann leading the orchestra.

ALSO warming up for a feast of choral class is Staveley Choral Society. Under the direction of Wendy Randall, the choir's Christmas in the Garden concert is on Monday, December 12 (7.30pm) at Staveley Village Hall, and

includes The Cherry Tree Carol, a 15th Century English allegorical ballad, based on the apocryphal story of Mary passing through a cherry orchard before the birth of Jesus; The Secret Flower, a 16th Century German carol, reversed in English by Eleanor Farjeon; Staveley Primary School performing the traditional Wassail Song; classics such as In the Bleak Midwinter, a dramatised reading of Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant (again from the primary schoolchildren) and much more.

ULVERSTON Choral Society will also be in festive mode at St Marys Parish Church, at Ulverston, on Friday, December 16 (7.30pm), with a programme of yuletide treats as A Christmas Cantata by Geoffrey Bush, the Berlioz Shepherds Farewell, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carol and Three Carols by Michael D Williams.

Following esteemed conductor Heather Paynes retirement last year, the popular society is now under the illustrious baton of Jolyon Dodgson.

FOR this year's Christmas choral cracker, Arnside Choral Society takes on one of the most dramatic pieces in the choral canon - Handel's Messiah.

Performing the whole mighty oratorio on Saturday, December 17 (6pm) at St James' Church, the Arnside concert also marks the 10th anniversary of Ian Allan taking over as ACS's musical director.

Apparently, under Ian's reign choir membership is the highest it's ever been, at 73. The choir and four soloists perform alongside an eight piece orchestra.