Amabile Girls' Choir strives for excellence in all areas of performance, communicating the beauty and diversity of music. Amabile Girls' Choir, for 13-18 year olds, gave its first formal concert in March 1996, founded and directed by Charlotte Jackson (currently on sabbatical). Amabile employs other highly trained musicians, who conduct and give singing lessons to each girl. The choir's success has come from numerous engagements in competitions, performances and workshops with distinguished artists such as Catherine Bott, Cantamus Girls Choir and Wyn Davies in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Britain. Amongst these are The Royal Festival Hall, The Sage Gateshead and the Cardiff Millennium Centre. Amabile has toured extensively, mainly by invitation, in Europe and North America and has appeared on British and Greek television.

Since its founding, Amabile Girls' Choir has enjoyed national and international success. An important moment in this success occurred in November 2006, when it won the BBC Radio 3 Youth Choir of the Year in the UK, with 134 out of 135 marks. At the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2002, Amabile won the Senior Children's Choir class, with a total of 194 marks out of 200 and in April 2006 the choir took part in the European Musical Festival for Youngsters in Neerpelt, Belgium where it was awarded a first prize. In March 2005, Amabile's outstanding contribution to the civic life of Kendal was formally recognised when it received the Alfred Wainwright Memorial Award.

Amabile has enjoyed workshops with a number of choral experts, including Pamela Cook (Amabile's President), Bob Chilcott and Mike Brewer and has an ongoing programme of combined singing and movement led by choreographer Wendy Cook.

Amabile Acting Musical Director Frances Chiasson
Amabile Pianist Lesley Talbot

Poco Amabile was established in September 2000 with the purpose of training girls for Amabile. In the first year, its membership was eight girls, and it now stands at over thirty-five. These girls, whose ages range from eight to thirteen, have very quickly moulded together to form a very committed choir with a unique identity. In July 2003 the choir was one of only four choirs invited to take part in A National Choral Festival at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Poco Amabile were chosen to take part in the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham in 2008 and won first place in the Youth Choir section in the Mary Wakefield Westmorland Festival in both 2007 and 2009. Poco Amabile has taken part in workshops with Bob Chilcott, David Lawrence, Deborah Catterall and Mike Brewer.

Poco Amabile Musical Director Rachel Little
Poco Amabile Pianist Mike Critchlow

Piccolo Amabile was established in April 2002 for girls aged four through eight years. It is intended to nurture singing and musicianship skills through songs and games. Great emphasis is placed on accurate pitching, rhythmic understanding, inner hearing and awareness of others in the group. Simple musical notation is introduced. At the end of each term the girls perform for parents and friends, by joining the other Amabile choirs for concerts at Christmas or at other significant points in the year.

Piccolo Amabile Musical Director Melody Rowe

Donne Amabile was formed in the Autumn of 2007, for women over the age of eighteen who love to sing. The choir has quickly become a formidable member of the Amabile family and includes past singers from Amabile Girls' Choir, mothers and grandmothers of current members of the Amabile choirs and other women from South Cumbria and North Lancashire. The singers are strong musicians who fit rehearsals around their busy careers and family lives. Donne Amabile forms periodically before specific concerts in the calendar, including performances on its own and with the other Amabile Choirs. Of particular success in the past season was its Dessert Concert, where the choir sang, but also provided amazing desserts and a wonderful summer atmosphere for the audience. Stay tuned for the 2010 version of Sweet Surprise!

Donne Amabile Musical Director Frances Chiasson
Donne Amabile Pianist Lesley Talbot