Praise Group

Brightons Parish Church Praise Group began singing together in a pageant called "Daybreak" in 1994.

This project brought together a number of people who wanted to sing together - most of whom had never sung before. We all enjoyed getting to know each other and the music and didn't want to stop, hence we evolved as the choir we have become. At first, Liz Brewer played for us and she and I led the group together. After she moved to England, Don Finlay became our accompanist and this has proved to be a perfect partnership. We sing many different types of song, from show songs to spirituals, although the bulk of our repertoire is sacred. Someone once described our choice of songs as inspirational, which is a lovely thought. Our numbers have increased over the years (at full strength we number 50). Fortunately, church guilds and other organisations invite us to sing and this has become our way of life. We sing in our own church too - in particular at our Christmas concert which is held on the Saturday before Christmas.

In recent years, we have made 4 CDs, the proceeds from which have been donated to various charities such as Strathcarron Hospice, CHAS, Vis de Copil and Amazon Hope. We also sent a considerable donation to South Africa to help with an educational project for children. We have raised well in excess of £16,000 and hope to make 2 new CDs this year which will be on sale from August 2009.

We have been priveleged to sing in some distant places such as Indiana, Durham Cathedral, Dumfries, Northern Ireland and Tain.

We rehearse every Sunday afternoon between August and June from 2.15p.m. until 4.30p.m.