TAUNTON Choral Society's musical director, Stephen Bell, is approaching his last concert next month after seven years at the helm.

Sephen was a successful head of music at both King's and then Queen's College in Taunton before retiring and taking on the choir in January 2009, among many other commitments.

His arrival came at a difficult period: financial constraints had grown with the recession and, musically, times were uncertain as there had been a rapid turnover of musical directors in the previous two years. Stephen joined as a stabilising force and his expert leadership allowed the choir to rebuild its confidence and, through his ability to design attractive concert programmes, its finances gradually improved.

One of the high points of his tenure was Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius' which he directed in memory of Dr John Cole in April 2013 with Amici Choir joining T C S to create the large numbers required. The soloists, as chosen by Dr Cole for such a performance, were outstanding and OrchestraWest did him proud. Stephen has directed many other memorable concerts: Mozart "Requiem", Orff "Carmina Burana", the first UK performance of "Hymn to Gaia" by Eric Sweeney and most recently, Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" in December; the bi-annual performances of Handel's "Messiah" by the choir have always been uplifting to hear. Superb solo performances in these and other works have been enjoyed by well-known regional singers like Lorna Anderson, Alison Kettlewell, Louise Innes, Eddie Wade, Rupert Charlesworth and Philip Tebb.

His final concert is taking place in King’s College Chapel, Taunton on Saturday, April 9 at 7.30 pm and will feature the 1980 Walker organ, installed in 1980 when Stephen arrived in Taunton as Director of Music at King’s.

The programme covers French and English choral music with Maurice Durufle’s beautiful 'Requiem' as the main attraction for music lovers. Tickets are now available at £15, £18 and half price for students from Taunton Information Centre, Market House or through: wwwtauntonchoralsociety.org.uk