Welcome to Macclesfield Singers. We are a friendly bunch of people who enjoy singing together and performing for our local community.
We perform three or four concerts per season and are fortunate to be accompanied by our own Macclesfield Symphony Orchestra or Macclesfield Concert Band – we all enjoy making great music together.
Under the baton of our talented Musical Director Mark McCombs, we sing a diverse range of repertoire, focussing on classical choral masterpieces and extending to jazz and modern classics.
Singing in a choir is very rewarding and great fun too! We are always happy for new singers to join us, without audition.
We currently rehearse on Monday evenings 7:15-9:15pm at Macclesfield Academy, Park Lane, Macclesfield SK11 8JR.
If you are interested in learning more about joining, please contact us here
Musical Director
Mark McCombs is a conductor, composer and vocal tutor based in Manchester, UK. He was a chorister of the critically acclaimed S.F.X Boys’ Choir, with whom he performed across Europe and the US. Mark holds a PhD in Music Composition from The University of Sheffield. He is Musical Director of Macclesfield Singers.
Mark is Head of Music at Sir Thomas Boteler High School, Warrington, and is also responsible for the school’s singing programme. He taught at Lymm High School, and was head of choral music at Cheadle Hulme School, one of the UK’s leading independent schools. Mark has also served as vocal tutor to the choristers at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, and at the Sheena Simon School of The Manchester College.
Mark was Choral Director at the University of Sheffield from 2011 to 2017, and the university chamber choir’s performances were broadcast nationally and internationally. He was Director of Music and organist at St Mark’s Church, Sheffield, from 2013-2018, and before that organ scholar at Sheffield Cathedral.
Mark is a member of the Independent Society of Musicians, the Royal College of Organists, and the Association of British Choral Directors.
Accompanist
James Heathcote is a versatile musician based in Manchester. He works with a number of choirs in the region as both an accompanist and a Musical Director. As well as Macclesfield Singers, he has accompanied Stafford Choral Society, Streetwise Opera, and the Philharmonic Choir, Manchester, and was Musical Director of Warrington Musical Society in the year until July 2023. The focus of his piano playing is choral accompaniment, but he has recorded some solo piano music for ‘Flip the Stem’, an initiative aimed at addressing the imbalance of gender and ethnicity represented in concert programmes. He is also Director of Music at the Manchester Oratory.
James is also a high-level cellist, and he has played with many of the country’s finest orchestras, including English Touring Opera, The Hallé, and the Orchestra of Opera North. A student of historical performance, he’s interested in finding new means of expression using old recordings and sources.