About Cantiana Choir
About...Us
Cantiana was formed in the Summer of 2001 to support worship in the churches of Doddington, Newnham & Wychling. Cantiana's first concert was given in July 2002 at Doddington Village Hall. This was followed by a Christmas concert at Newnham church.
Since then we have performed Summer and Winter concerts, been invited to sing at various venues and continue to sing for weddings and benefice services.
We perform an eclectic variety of music, ranging from gospel, choral anthems and carols to the lighter end of the spectrum, including folk, musical theatre and pop. Our concerts always include solo performances, readings and musical performances from groups such as Chrysalis, providing a varied and enjoyable evening, usually based on a theme based on the music we are singing, however loosely!
Proceeds from our concerts are donated to charity or support Church funds.
About...our Leader
Lis Bayford developed her love of singing when as baby she listened (and often joined in with) the singing lessons given by her mum. She went on to study piano, cello, double bass (because she was tall for her age!) and singing, gaining an honours degree in music at Kingston-upon-Thames and a teaching degree at Cambridge.
After a spell in arts administration, Lis went on to teach in primary schools in London and Swale, leading children’s orchestras and choirs. She has sung as a choir member and soloist with a number of choral societies and chamber choirs in venues ranging from Salisbury, Canterbury and Notre Dame Cathedrals; the Royal Albert Hall, the Purcell Room and St John’s Smith Square; to Emmanuel Church Hall, Walthamstow, Doddington & Newnham village halls, and pubs and street corners too numerous to mention.
The ethos in the founding of Cantiana reflects Lis’ deeply-held belief in the singing soul within each individual. Besides which, she is also delighted to be able to inflict her hugely eclectic musical taste and artistic pretensions on singers and audience alike!
About...our Accompanist
We would not succeed half so well without Lis conducting us through our concerts, and we are fortunate to have Christine Adams as our accompanist. Christine is an accomplished pianist and violinist and we are fortunate to be able to call on her and her prodigiously talented daughters to provide both accompaniment and solo performances during our concerts.