About

About Us

The Robins Singers is a mixed-voice choir in the town of Bramhall, Stockport. Made up of around fifty men and women from the local area, the choir has entertained and inspired the local community for more than half a century, with a blend of traditional hymns, choral favourites and crowd-pleasing musical theatre classics.

The choir appears regularly in concerts around the Stockport area, and has affiliations with a multitude of other choirs and singing groups from Derbyshire, Cheshire and as far afield as Cornwall.

Now in its sixth decade, The Robins Singers has a new Director of Music, Dennis Kay, whose vast experience with choirs spanning all genres is helping the Bramhall choir to blossom and grow, while ensuring The Robins Singers retains its status as a pillar of the local community.

A History of The Robins Singers

The Robins Singers (formerly The Rollerson Singers) was founded in 1964 by Brian Rollerson, Head of Mathematics at Wilmslow Grammar School, and Choirmaster and Organist at the Bramhall Reformed United Reformed Church – where we we still rehearse today. The choir consisted mostly of relatives and friends of the two places with which Brian was most closely associated – the church, and the local school.

The Rollerson Singers provided entertainment to the local community for more than thirty years under Brian’s instruction, until he sadly passed away in 2000. The choir continued under the direction of Joan Walker – a skilled conductor, with a unique talent to search out quality new compositions and arrangements for what was now The Robins Singers – named after the permanent rehearsal venue on Robins Lane. 

Meet The Musical Team

  • Christopher Ellis – Accompanist and Assistant Director

    Christopher Ellis – Accompanist and Assistant Director

    Christopher Ellis joined The Robins Singers as an accompanist while Joan was leading the choir. A former student of Chetham’s School of Music, he was awarded a diploma for jhis performance of Profokiev at the International London Piano Competition, and in 1999 he recorded Rachmaninovs 4th Concerto with Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra under Vassily Siniasky. In 2006 he was finalist at the Recotres International des Jeunes Pianistes and also at the 2007 Musica Aeterna Piano Competition in Belgium. Christopher works with a variety of choirs across the north west, and continues to dazzle audiences as a concert pianist and soloist.

     

  • Dennis Kay – Director of Music

    Dennis Kay – Director of Music

    Dennis has directed choirs spanning every genre for many years – that’s not much that Dennis hasn’t seen and done with choral groups! He has travelled the UK and Europe, director choirs in various competitions and choral festivals, gaining a reputation for his ability to turn the ordinary into something spectacular. Dennis’ unique approach to choral coaching has seen him honoured with the Best Musical Director Award at the Prague International Music Festive in 2003. Members of Dennis’ choirs have gone onto West End success, and his many different singing groups have received widespread acclaim from the great and good of the music world. Dennis was appointed Director of Music for The Robins Singers in 2014. He’s thrilled to be working with the choir, and is committed to helping the choir evolve, while still paying homage to the wonderful musical heritage it has developed over the last fifty years.