About us
The Choir
Parenthesis came into being as Central Berkshire Parents’ Choir in 1992. We are now an informal group of over 50 singers, who enjoy a wide range of music styles from jazz to oratorio.
We welcome singers of all levels of experience, and we do not require an audition. Some of our members are really good musicians, others have not sung since their school days.
Not everyone can sight read, and we run occasional workshops to build confidence and musical skills. We reckon we are the friendliest choir around and we run a range of social activities throughout the year, though with no compulsion to join in!
Our musical director
We are delighted to welcome Gerard Lim as our new Musical Director from January 2025.
Choral Conductor and Baritone Gerard Lim is a strong advocate of dynamic performances of choral music, through the idiomatic presentation of texts and vibrant singing. He recently obtained an MMus in choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, under Patrick Russill, graduating with distinction, and a DipRAM in the final recital. Gerard was the Alec Robertson conducting scholar at Westminster Cathedral in his final year at the Academy.
In 2024, he was placed 3rd at the first Magister Inside International Choral Conducting Competition (Arezzo, Italy), and received the Georghe Dima Special Prize in the final of the 20th Gheorghe Dima International Conducting Competition (Cluj-Napoca, Romania).
In 2022, he graduated with highest distinction, attaining BMus in vocal performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory (Singapore). He directed several digital productions while at Yong Siew Toh, during the Covid-19 lockdown. He also prepared the conservatory chorus for their performance of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion.
Gerard was director of music for St. Joseph Church (Bukit Timah) for nine years, prior to moving to the UK, conducting for several masses for the Archdiocese of Singapore. He is co-founder and co-artistic director of Chroma, which is a collective of singers who seek to present thematic choral programmes, based in Singapore.
Gerard currently works for the Westminster Schools Singing programme, and is the Music Director of the Arcadian Singers of Oxford. He was recently appointed as Director of Music at Holy Ghost Catholic Church Balham, and as well as directing Parenthesis, he is also taking on the role of Music Director of the London Concord Singers.
In his solo singing career, he has performed the baritone solo in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, and was praised for the ‘great expressiveness and characterisation’ in his singing by The Straits Times. Gerard has also sung the part of Adam in Haydn’s The Creation, the baritone solo in Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major, and in the role of Christus for the St. John Passion.
our twin choir
Since 2003 we have been visiting and welcoming a large choir from a small village in the French Alps, La Stephanelle from St Etienne de Crossey. We have got into the habit of singing together every other year, either in England or in France.
Our accompanist
Martin Jones has been our accompanist for over twenty years. His skills as an accompanist are wonderful, in concert and in rehearsal. He is, from time to time, a soloist in concerts for us, and he has composed several pieces for us to sing.
