Accompanist Vacancy

Penistone Ladies’ Choir is looking to appoint an accompanist from September 2026.

We are looking for someone who will enjoy being part of our friendly choir family and who will share our enthusiasm for high quality music-making within a welcoming and supportive environment. We offer a competitive hourly rate of pay.

Working alongside our Musical Director, the accompanist will play a key role in rehearsals and accompany the choir in our public performances. Attendance at every rehearsal is not necessarily required, and we are happy to agree a rehearsal pattern that works for both the accompanist and the choir.

If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact our Secretary at secretary@penistoneladieschoir.org.uk, but please note you may not get an immediate reply.

To apply, please send a CV and covering letter to the email address above by 4th September. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to accompany part of a rehearsal in September 2026.

Essential skills and experience:

•             Sensitive, flexible ensemble skills including the ability to follow the musical director’s interpretation

•             Ability to play comfortably across different styles including classical, musical theatre, folk, pop, jazz and sacred music

•             Readiness and confidence to play for public performances and community events

Desirable skills and experience:

•             Experience accompanying a choir or vocal ensemble

•             Experience of rehearsing and preparing for concerts

•             Strong sight-reading ability

Personal Qualities

•             Friendly, approachable and encouraging

•             Reliable and punctual

•             Patient and adaptable

•             Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

•             A collaborative team player

•             A sense of humour and a positive attitude

•             Enthusiastic about community music-making

Join us for our summer concert on 10th July 2026:

Springtime Afternoon of Music

Join us for our spring concert

Join us for a magical afternoon of Christmas music!



Penistone Ladies’ Choir and Millhouse Green Male Voice Choir are delighted to present a magical afternoon of Christmas music at St John’s Church, Penistone on Saturday 6th December 2025 at 2pm.

Enjoy an uplifting mix of festive favourites and beautiful choral pieces, performed by two of the area’s much-loved choirs.

Tickets: £10 on the door (£6 for under-12s) – includes refreshments.

For further information, or to reserve seats, please email secretary@penistoneladieschoir.org.uk

Come and share the joy of the season with us!

Come along to our upcoming Open Evening Monday 16th September 2024- 7:30pm

Thinking of joining a choir? Want to make new friends? Improve your well-being and mental health?

Do come along to our Open Rehearsal Evening on 16th September at St Johns Community Centre, Penistone. You’ll be able to take part in a typical rehearsal, starting at 7.30pm, hear some of our repertoire and join in. We usually have a short break mid-rehearsal at which point you can either choose to stay for the rest of the rehearsal (until 9.30pm) or head home…we will also give you some further information about the choir that you can take home with you to help you decide if it is for you.

Everyone is welcome – no experience necessary & it doesn’t matter whether you read music or not.

We look forward to welcoming you on the night!

Penistone Ladies Choir!

Deputy Accompanist Needed!

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A Warm Welcome to our new Musical Director – Joseph Shaw!

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Joseph Shaw as our new Musical Director.  Joseph, a composer, conductor, guitarist and tutor, studied for 5 years at the Royal Northern College of Music, graduating in 2017, then gaining a Masters Degree in composition and artistic research.

Over the years he has worked as a composer and sung with many choirs, notably in the Sheffield region.  His passion lies in exploring a varied repertoire from the Renaissance Period to the broad variety of music in the present day, also in the culture of choral music and voice as an essential means of expression. 

Keen to inspire others, he comments “I am delighted and excited to begin this new chapter as musical director of Penistone Ladies Choir. I would like to thank them for the appointment and look forward to much music-making together in the future.”

A rather lovely aside is that Joseph is the great-nephew of John David Hirst, who was a previous Musical Director of Penistone Ladies Choir for many years and is still fondly remembered by many current members of the choir.

Joseph started at the beginning of October and is currently working with the choir towards its first post-lockdown concert in conjunction with Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choir on 18th December in St John’s Church, Penistone. 

Penistone Ladies Choir Seeks New Musical Director

We are a friendly, award-winning 35-strong ladies community choir, based in Penistone, South Yorkshire, and are looking to appoint a new Musical Director from September 2021.  We are well-established, having been founded 35 years ago back in 1986.  We rehearse in Penistone on Monday evenings 7.45 – 9.45 and typically enjoy 8-10 performances a year, with a mix of fundraising and community concerts, weddings, festivals, competitions and the occasional tour elsewhere in the UK or abroad.  We have a varied repertoire comprising folk, classical, religious, spiritual and show songs. 

We are looking for a talented, motivational, professionally trained MD who can lead and inspire the choir, further developing their vocal technique.  We require a candidate who has:

  • An understanding of choral singing and vocal coaching techniques and an ability to develop those techniques within the choir
  • A broad approach to choral repertoire
  • Good communication and people skills, working with both the choir, the accompanist and the committee.
  • The ability to lead a choir with differing levels of technical ability (e.g. sightreading)
  • The ability to commit sufficient time to Penistone Ladies Choir such that the programme of concerts and festivals can be supported.

Remuneration to be in line with recommended rates which are regularly reviewed and initially based on experience.

Interested applicants should send a CV, availability to start and a covering letter of application to plchoir@btinternet.com by the closing date of 16th August 2021.  We hope to then invite a shortlist of candidates to direct a trial rehearsal as soon as possible. 

If you would like further information or to discuss the position further, please call our Chair Denise Pozorski on 07954 137627

Support our choir when you buy on SmileAmazon

Penistone Ladies Choir have just signed up as one of the charities that will receive funds from Amazon when people shop via SmileAmazon.  Every time you buy goods via SmileAmazon, they will make a donation to the choir of 0.5% of your purchase price.  It won’t cost you any more, but will help raise valuable funds for the choir.  Smile Amazon has the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products on a quarterly basis, to the charitable organization of your choice.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1144282-0

With so many purchases being made online at the moment, it’s a great opportunity to help us raise funds.  There are almost 1 million charities signed up, so please do choose us if you’re not already supporting a charity – you can always change your choice again later. 

Remember, if you want Amazon to donate to Penistone Ladies’ Choir, you need to start each shopping session at the URL smile.amazon.co.uk, not just Amazon….

Many thanks all!

Bits and Pieces

So what’s our latest news…?  We are in a quieter period of no concerts or competitions but having a lot of fun learning new music, some with mind-and body-testing actions!  Our first concert of the year is not until April at Penistone Paramount, alongside Hade Edge Band – the fifth time we will have performed together.  So we are also perfecting the pieces we will sing there.  The diary is also filling up with further concerts for later in the year, so keep watching the events page.

We have just had our Annual General Meeting and are happy to say that as a choir we are in good shape.  We decided to use the occasion to present a cheque for the funds that we raised at our Christmas Charity concert to our chosen charity.  We always try to support a children’s charity at Christmas and this year we selected the Yorkshire Children’s Trust.  Simon Widdop, founder of the charity came along to receive the cheque then stayed to listen to a little of our rehearsal.  Lots of laughter ensued, as we were practicing actions for a song…and it was very moving to hear his personal reasons for founding the charity, which benefits local children.

Just over half of the choir are going to Prague in May, so those going spend the last fifteen minutes of our rehearsals on the pieces we will sing there, including 4 new songs that we are learning and will sing with the other choirs attending the Spring Choral Meeting, one in Czech! It is not a competition but a chance to meet other choirs from different countries, sing together and make new friends and visit the sights in the beautiful Old Town of Prague.  We will have two 30-minute performances, in churches in the old town and will also take part in a friendship concert with all the other choirs.  Watch out for live posts from Prague!

About 10 members of the choir are also singing in another “come-together” choir, called Coro Amici, set up by our Music Director Jane.  We are rehearsing for 3 months, then performing Handel’s Messiah in Dewsbury Town Hall at Easter time. 

So as ever, lots going on with Penistone Ladies Choir.  And new members always welcome…