The Arden Youth Choir

Formal picture of the Arden Choir members

The Arden Youth Choir for girls aged 10 to 18yrs was founded in 2005 by Susan Eames, and has built up a solid reputation, being praised at concerts and competitions for their warm mature tone, fine articulation and sincere delivery. They were dubbed the “Arden Angels” by the Nelson Arion Male Voice Choir and the title has stuck ever since. A guiding principle of the choir is to maintain the strong choral heritage of Lancashire.

2008 has been another busy year for Susan and the girls especially in the run up to Christmas and all the fund raising events for their upcoming tour to Paris In July. They will be singing in and around Paris as well as on Disneyland's stage and in Notre Dame Cathedral.

They were recently selected and invited to sing at the first Manchester Amateur Choral Festival in November where they were competing against adult choirs and placed 3rd behind the BBC Choir of the Year finalists “ Cottontown Chorus ” and male voice choir champions “ Saddleworth MVC ”.

The 'Arden' had an amazing time on the international stage at the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival where they sung a mixture of Gospel, soul, jazz, blues and pop. This was great preparation for when they supported the London Community Gospel Choir in October on their 2008 UK tour.

Each year the choir has a chosen charity and they have already helped raise funds for the NSPCC , RNLI , and Macmillan Nurses . In 2009 they will be supporting “ Cancer Research ”

The choir is available to sing at local weddings and events. Please contact us for more information.

The choir is always on the look out for potential members, if you are interested please fill in the application form on ‘ contact page ’ or call the contact number.
The choir rehearsals take place at Christ Church in Nelson, Lancashire.
The choir rehearsal schedule is designed to be flexible around members' other commitments. We rehearse on a different day each week so that everyone has the chance to attend.
(eg. Week 1 - Monday, wk 2 - Tuesday, wk 3 - Wednesday etc...)
During the school holidays, ½ day rehearsals take place, which allow for more intensive practice.

Susan Eames LRWCMD – Musical Director

Susan studied singing at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she also worked closely with the Welsh National Opera. She has sung with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the BBC National Chorus, as well as many locally based choirs. Now based in Pendle, Lancashire, she is a peripatetic singing teacher, as well as giving private tuition. She is a member of the Association of British Choral Directors and regularly holds vocal workshops, as well as conducting six other choirs!

Picture of the Musical Director Susan Eames

Picture of the Accompanist Barbara Budden

Barbara Budden - Accompanist

Before retiring early and moving to the North, Barbara worked as a rehearsal pianist for the three major London Ballet Companies; Royal Ballet, Sadlers Wells, and The National Ballet. It is only since returning to the county of her birth that Barbara has accompanied singers and choirs.