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Otley Choral Society
Sharing the love of singing since 1943

Join Us

We are warmly inviting new members to join the Otley Choral Society and experience the joy of singing choral music for the next 2024-25 season.

We are a four-part choir with around eighty members, drawn from Otley and the surrounding area. We combine with the Ilkley Choral Society for performing in concerts under our excellent conductor Alex Kyle.

Rehearsals take place on Tuesday evenings between 7pm and 9pm at Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Farnley Lane, Otley LS21 2BB. There is ample parking available and level access can be arranged if this is necessary.

Find out more

Otley Choral Society in rehearsal space with copies of Ethel Smyth's Mass in D

Meet the Team

Musical Director

Alexander Kyle

Alex was appointed as Musical Director of Otley Choral Society and their sister choral society in Ilkley since January 2024 and is a conductor, singer and singing teacher based in Leeds. From 2013-22 he was a Choral Director for Diocese of Leeds Music, in which post he conducted Bradford Catholic Youth Choir in prestigious venues such as the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, and on national BBC television (BBC 1) and Radio (Radio 3 and 4). Alex is in demand as a solo singer and workshop leader, and has run music workshops for York Early Music Festival and Harrogate International Youth Festival among others.

Alex has recently been awarded a Masters degree with Distinction in Solo Voice Ensemble Singing from the University of York, where he studied with Robert Hollingworth (Director, I Fagiolini) and Alex Ashworth (Teacher, Royal Academy of Music; Singer, Monteverdi Choir). He currently directs Vocalis Chamber Choir and has a long association with the Fisher Singers, whose spring concerts with orchestra he has guest conducted since 2017.

Robin hails from Watford, in Hertfordshire. He began playing the piano at the age of eight. Six years later, he took up the clarinet, achieving a pass with distinction in the Associated Board Grade 8 exam within twenty months of beginning his studies.

His formal musical training began at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, later moving on to the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 1976 with an A.R.C.M. diploma and a G.R.S.M. degree. This was followed by a year at the Institute of Education at London University to qualify as a teacher.