LEVENS Choir's successful 40th birthday celebrations are now behind the ensemble and a new era of choral adventures dawns. So, it's onwards and upwards into the next decade for Ian Jones and his distinguished choristers who are looking forward to building on past successes with a tuneful trip on Sunday, September 25, to sing at Caldbeck Church in the afternoon, followed by an evening performance at St John’s, Workington.

Concerts will also follow at Bolton-le-Sands on December 13 and Kendal St Thomas’s and a show is pencilled in for Lancaster Priory, next April.

The choir's occasional Music in Quiet Places series continues with a visit on February 26 to St James the Less Church at Lower Tatham, near Hornby.

Conductor Ian explains that in recent years the choir has had a "wonderful purple patch" with its choral scholars but four of them have now left to go to university: "We are looking to find others," adds Ian, whose also chorus master for the Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival. "With that in mind we shall be reinforcing our relationship with Queen Elizabeth School, Kirkby Lonsdale, and taking the choir across there to rehearse in September to meet some potential new scholars. Helping these young singers develop their experience of choral singing in an adult choir is one of the most important things we do and we shall finish off our 2016/17 season next July with a joint concert with the school’s excellent jazz band."

The Levens outfit is also staging a workshop on November 1 with the internationally renowned Marian Consort, which will be performing for Kendal Midday Concert Club the following day.

Concludes Ian: "As ever we're looking for good singers to join our ranks; we've vacancies for both tenors and basses."

For further information telephone Ian on 01539-720168.