Arts and Music

Steeple Aston Church Bellringers

The aim of the Steeple Aston Church Bellringers is to ring the Church bells on Sundays and for other services such as weddings. They meet in Steeple Aston Church tower for practice every Tuesday at 7.30pm and also on Sundays half an hour before the service.

The Bellringers are a very sociable group and welcome visitors. They also have many social events through the year.

Anyone over the age of 10 is welcome to join the group. The only proviso is that you must be able to climb the stairs.

Membership is free for the first year, then £6.50 per year. If you are interested in joining, either give Graham a call to discuss ringing or just turn up on a practice night and have a try.

Steeple Aston Handbell Ringers

The main purpose of the Handbell Ringers is to play Christmas carols door-to-door round Steeple and Middle Aston in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. They choose a different charity to collect for every year.

They meet to practise on Sunday evenings at 7.30pm in a member's house. Meetings start in September if they have been asked to entertain for a given function, but in late October if they are just practising carols.

The handbells are the property of the parish church and it is traditional that handbell ringers are church bell ringers as well. Anyone over the age of 10 is welcome to join the group. You don't necessarily have to be able to read music as they play by numbers.

Membership is free. If you are interested in joining the Handbell Ringers, contact Sally or Graham.

Contact: Sally Cooper, Handbell Captain
Tel: 01869 347173
Graham Clifton, Church Tower Captain
Tel: 01869 347273

Steeple Aston Players

Steeple Aston Players are an active group of people who share an interest in live theatre. Their most recent production was a very successful Aladdin in 2008.

Their productions are normally staged on three nights (including highly successful Dinner Nights) at the Village Hall. They have a good team of enthusiasts who show their skills both on and back stage!

When they are staging a production rehearsals are twice weekly in the village hall.

New members are very welcome. The group is open to all ages and the cost of membership is £5 a year. If you are thinking of joining the Players, you should contact Yoni.

Contact: Yoni Kinory , Secretary

Steeple Aston Choral Society

Steeple Aston Choral Society is a group of about 20 men and women who enjoy singing traditional choral works such as Vivaldi’s Gloria, choral anthems and more modern secular pieces. They meet every Monday evening in Steeple Aston Village Hall and welcome all singers without auditions.

The last few years have seen the choir making several changes with the appointment of a new director, Denis Long of Steeple Aston, who has taken up the baton in January 2011. Denis has been involved in conducting and choral singing for many years and was, until very recently, one on the choir’s basses. The choir is looking forward to working with him for many years to come.

The Choral Society concerts are typically performed in the Village Hall or sometimes in the Church. The Christmas concert is usually an oratorio, mass or other sacred music with Christmas Carols and audience participation. The choir also joins with people from the village to form an ad-hoc Church Choir to take part in the parish church Christmas carol service. The spring and summer concerts are generally a light hearted affair, comprising four part songs both sacred and secular, readings and some solo instrumental music performed by guest musicians.

The choir meets for rehearsals in the Village Hall every Monday evening from 8:00pm to 9:30pm. Membership is open to all adult singers. It is not necessary to read music but it would be helpful as would a general knowledge of music, only the ability to sing in tune is essential. They usually sing in four parts (soprano, alto, tenor and bass).

If you are interested in coming to rehearsal to give us a try, either contact Jenny (details below) or you can just turn up to any rehearsal and sing your socks off. Membership costs £20 per term or £2 per rehearsal.