About Us
Buckden Singers is a four part community choir based in the tiny and remote Yorkshire Dales village of Buckden, in Upper Wharfedale. The choir now has approximately 40 members, drawn from the villages of Upper Wharfedale and Bishopdale including Buckden itself as well as Cray, Starbotton, Kettlewell, Grassington & Cracoe.
The choir was founded on 18th January 2007, when a group of a dozen friends formed a singing group, meeting in a villager’s sitting room. At that time the idea was just to get together and sing, and no one had any idea how quickly the choir would grow, or any expectation that within a few months we would be performing to a packed village hall and performing on TV.
After just a few rehearsals the numbers had grown to the extent that they had to be moved to a larger location. Buckden Singers became part of Buckden Village Institute - which runs the village hall, and this became the Singers new home.
The first performances took place in October 2007, and took the form of two Village Shows with Buckden Singers performing a series of musical numbers......
.......while other villagers performed a series of "turns".
At Christmas that year, the first Christmas Shows took place, and have now become an annual event in the village. In 2008 a pattern was established which has persisted ever since with summer concerts at St Michael & All Angels, Hubberholme........ .......and St Margaret Clitherow, Threshfield, with Christmas concerts in the village hall. The choir also sings at the annual Carol Concert on the first Sunday after Christmas at Hubberholme Church. In 2009, the choir was featured in the BBC TV Programme "In Search of England's Green & Pleasant Land" with Selina Scott. The choir was filmed for the second series of the popular ITV programme "The Dales", with Ade Edmondson. The series was broadcast on Monday evenings in on ITV1 during Spring 2012.
Since then the choir has grown in numbers, confidence, strength and reputation.