Romsey Abbey – the largest parish church in Hampshire – hosted the newly-formed Thrings Ensemble for its inaugural Christmas performance on Tuesday 12 December.
Guests of the leading law firm’s choir gathered in St Lawrence’s Chapel for some warming mulled wine, before repairing to the main area of the Norman abbey for a performance of seasonal favourites.
The choir brings together staff from Thrings’ Hampshire office - temporarily residing at International House on the Southampton International Business Park - and comprises of Rachel Brooks, Mary Chant, Sally Pike, Emily Harvey, Carol Ward, Bonnie Ward and Clare Tulloch.
The weeks of rehearsals ahead of the festive evening clearly paid off as the septet sang a Christmas repertoire which included ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ and ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’.
Joining them on the night were clients, friends and family who pitched in with the more traditional of the carols.
Far from choral novices, Mary and Rachel had both put together choirs prior to joining Thrings.
Rachel said: “Workplace choirs are a great way to bring people from the office and from different disciplines together. This is so important when growing an office from scratch, like we are doing here in Hampshire.
“It was an absolute privilege and pleasure to perform somewhere as beautiful and historic as Romsey Abbey. The evening was magical and, if the volume of singing was anything to go by, our guests enjoyed it just as much as we did.”
The firm is moving to its new Romsey office in the New Year and will be holding an event to officially mark the arrival of its private client, agricultural and landed estates practice in the Hampshire region.
