At its inception in 2011, Robert Sells brought some musically-minded friends together to sing carols and madrigals in, and around, Denbigh. The Vale of Clwyd Singers draws on professional and trained-amateur voices from North Wales, Chester, Liverpool and the Wirral and has become a firm part of the North West and North Wales music scenes.
Singing mainly a capella, musical programmes encompassing a wide variety of classical, baroque and contemporary works have featured in VOCS’ concerts, including major works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Fauré, Britten, and Vaughan Williams, together with an ever-expanding catalogue of anthems, madrigals, songs, spirituals, folksongs, rounds - sacred and profane and everything in-between! VOCS also performs alongside chamber orchestras, including Handel’s Dixit Dominus in St Asaph Cathedral, latterly in 2022.
Previous engagements include the North Wales International Music Festival, Conwy Festival, MalFest in Cheshire, the Brandenburg Choral Festival in London and Neston Music Festival. As well as programming its own concerts, VOCS performs by request for those hosting fund-raising, corporate, public and private events, with specially selected music to suit each occasion.
On Robert's retirement, Adrian Griffiths was appointed to direct VOCS. He has been a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir for 25 years, frequently as a soloist. He has played the Organ with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and given Organ recitals in many Cathedrals in England and Wales, as well as venues in Germany, Austria, Poland, Spain, and the amazing Auditorio de Tenerife.
For 20 years he was a Lay Clerk at Liverpool Cathedral and frequently rehearsed and conducted the Cathedral Choir and Directed the Upper Voices Evensongs. Adrian was appointed Musical Director of St. Peter’s Singers, Heswall’s Choral Society, in 2007, returned to Port Sunlight Choral Society as Musical Director in 2019 and has been Musical Director of VOCS since November 2022.
