Ardingly Choral Society and Sussex Chorus take to the stage in major concerts

Spokesman Melvyn Walmsley said: “This event has always been very popular in raising funds for the Royal British Legion but this year the collection will also support the Ukraine Crisis Fund which makes a vital contribution to support Ukraine in its heroic defence of its country. For this reason the concert will start with the choir's setting of Laurence Binyon's famous poem For the Fallen, after the sounding of the Last Post and Reveille. This will be followed by Robert Hammersley's setting of Take them Earth for Cherishing, the Kyiv Kontakion, which is a traditional prayer used in St Sophia Cathedral in Ukraine's capital city and sung at Queen Elizabeth's recent funeral, as was Purcell's Thou Knowest Lord, which follows. Fauré's beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine ends this section. With no interval, Pergolesi's delightful Magnificat and Mozart's Coronation Mass complete the programme. A combination of favourite soloists, Olivia Bell (soprano) and Jane Haughton (alto), is joined by the new voices of Robert Folkes (tenor) and Matthew Duncan (bass) in a good deal of quartet work, and the instrumentalists consist of the Mid-Sussex Chamber Ensemble, led by Kathy Adams and organist David Moore.” Tickets £13 from www.ardinglychoralsociety.org.uk or on the door £15. Free parking nearby.

Also coming up is Sussex Chorus’ autumn concert on Saturday, November 12 in St Andrew’s Church, 2 Cants Lane, Burgess Hill, RH15 0LG, starting at 7.30pm. Spokeswoman Anne Jordan said: “This is an opportunity to enjoy Haydn’s Nelson Mass, an old favourite composed in 1798, said to be Haydn’s greatest single composition. Also Hamilton’s Requiem, commissioned in 2012 by an aristocratic family who had lost relatives in both the world wars, to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War.

“The concert will be conducted by Stephen Anthony Brown with soloists Zita Syme (soprano), Tabitha Reynolds (mezzo soprano), James Schouten (tenor) and Peter Grevatt (baritone).” Tickets, £15 or £5 for students and under-16s, from Sussex Chorus (01444 412579); 01444 247726 and Eventbrite.co.uk