The East Neuk’s Premier
Chamber Choir
Photograph courtesy of Kim Traynor
(CC -SA 3.0)
About us
Priory Singers is a friendly and high-quality chamber choir based in the East Neuk of Fife. Comprising between twenty and thirty singers, we welcome choristers from East Fife and St Andrews. We perform three times a year and give lively and varied programmes ranging from early classical works to contemporary compositions.
The choir with former musical director, Sarah Moerman, May 2024
Our musical director is Fiona Love. We rehearse weekly on a Monday night from 7.30pm in the Pittenweem Church Hall, 28 James Street, Pittenweem, KY10 2QN.
Succeeding the Pittenweem Madrigal Group, a choir of long standing in the East Neuk, the Priory Singers began life in the 1990’s. We initially rehearsed in St John’s Church and Priory, after which the choir was named. Twice a year concerts were given of religious or secular pieces, often a capella, ranging from Byrd to Ye Banks and Braes.
A love of early music, church music and madrigals, together with G & S in the early days, was maintained through a succession of wonderful musical directors, including Betty Penman, Albert Cochrane, Richard Evans, Jim Martin, Christopher Symons and Jill Craig. Then from 2015 until 2022 the amazing Walter Blair expanded the choir and broadened the repertoire to include works with a more popular appeal. This continued under the direction of Dr Sarah Moerman, before Fiona Love took the reins in 2026..
Musical Director
Fiona Love was born in London and after moving to Broughty Ferry at the age of 10, was educated at the High School of Dundee. Following school, she trained at the now named Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. With piano as her first study, she was taught by both Gustáv Fenyő and Jack Keaney, and Clarinet by Louis Morrison, Principal Clarinet of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She then went on to study at the University of Glasgow where she graduated with a BMus (Hons) in 1993. A PGCE at Jordanhill propelled her into the world of education where her career started at schools in the West of Scotland and concluded at St Leonards School in St Andrews where she taught from 1996 until 2026. Fiona was Director of Music at St Leonards for the last eleven years of her career there and left a formidable choral legacy in her wake. The St Leonards choir was 85 students strong as well as there being five vocal ensembles across the entire school age range – mostly totally inclusive but with two elite ensembles, the Legendary Loves Angels being one! The school year ran an impressive calendar of more than 26 concerts a year which were enjoyed by parents, staff and pupils alike.
Over three decades of music-making, Fiona has conducted repertoire from Vivaldi’s Gloria and Fauré’s Requiem to the choral music of Eric Whitacre, Bob Chilcott, John Rutter and Paul Mealor – commissioning Mealor to write a new work for the school’s 150th anniversary, which will be premiered in May 2027. She worked with the late David Fanshawe, composer of African Sanctus, and has come to know the Scottish composer Rory Boyle. Her musical tastes are eclectic and alongside her choir directorships she has been music director for a number of musical theatre productions over the last 32 years. Productions include Les Miserables, Guys and Dolls, Grease and Made in Dagenham. She brings to The Priory Singers the conviction behind all her work: music should be open to everyone, and singing together has a real power to change lives and communities.
Committee
Beth Kennaway – Chair
Maggie Cork – Vice Chair
David Allan – Secretary/Treasurer
Rachel Morland – Librarian
Eric Priest – Member
How to join /
Contact us
If you are interested in joining Priory singers or trying us out, please contact our musical director Fiona Love (email: [email protected]), who will arrange a gentle audition.
We rehearse weekly on a Monday night from 7.30pm – 9pm in the Pittenweem Church Hall, 28 James Street, Pittenweem, KY10 2QN. If you need a ride, please contact our secretary who will help arrange one. Several of our singers travel in from St Andrews, a ride of less than 20 minutes.
For other inquiries about Priory singers please contact our secretary David Allan (email: [email protected]) (phone: 07774 647 367)
The East Neuk’s Premier
Chamber Choir
About us
Priory Singers is a friendly and high-quality chamber choir based in the East Neuk of Fife. Comprising between twenty and thirty singers, we welcome choristers from East Fife and St Andrews. We perform three times a year and give lively and varied programmes ranging from early classical works to contemporary compositions.
The choir with former musical director, Sarah Moerman, May 2024
Our musical director is Fiona Love. We rehearse weekly on a Monday night from 7.30pm in the Pittenweem Church Hall, 28 James Street, Pittenweem, KY10 2QN.
Succeeding the Pittenweem Madrigal Group, a choir of long standing in the East Neuk, the Priory Singers began life in the 1990’s. We originally rehearsed in St John’s Church and Priory, after which the choir was named. Twice a year concerts were given of religious or secular pieces, often a capella, ranging from Byrd to Ye Banks and Braes.
A love of early music, church music and madrigals, together with G & S in the early days, was maintained through a succession of wonderful musical directors, including Betty Penman, Albert Cochrane, Richard Evans, Jim Martin, Christopher Symons and Jill Craig. Then from 2015 until 2022 the amazing Walter Blair expanded the choir and broadened the repertoire to include works with a more popular appeal. This continued under the direction of Dr Sarah Moerman, before Fiona Love took the reins in 2026.
Musical Director
Fiona Love was born in London and after moving to Broughty Ferry at the age of 10, was educated at the High School of Dundee. Following school, she trained at the now named Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. With piano as her first study, she was taught by both Gustáv Fenyő and Jack Keaney, and Clarinet by Louis Morrison, Principal Clarinet of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She then went on to study at the University of Glasgow where she graduated with a BMus (Hons) in 1993. A PGCE at Jordanhill propelled her into the world of education where her career started at schools in the West of Scotland and concluded at St Leonards School in St Andrews where she taught from 1996 until 2026. Fiona was Director of Music at St Leonards for the last eleven years of her career there and left a formidable choral legacy in her wake. The St Leonards choir was 85 students strong as well as there being five vocal ensembles across the entire school age range – mostly totally inclusive but with two elite ensembles, the Legendary Loves Angels being one! The school year ran an impressive calendar of more than 26 concerts a year which were enjoyed by parents, staff and pupils alike.
Over three decades of music-making, Fiona has conducted repertoire from Vivaldi’s Gloria and Fauré’s Requiem to the choral music of Eric Whitacre, Bob Chilcott, John Rutter and Paul Mealor – commissioning Mealor to write a new work for the school’s 150th anniversary, which will be premiered in May 2027. She worked with the late David Fanshawe, composer of African Sanctus, and has come to know the Scottish composer Rory Boyle. Her musical tastes are eclectic and alongside her choir directorships she has been music director for a number of musical theatre productions over the last 32 years. Productions include Les Miserables, Guys and Dolls, Grease and Made in Dagenham. She brings to The Priory Singers the conviction behind all her work: music should be open to everyone, and singing together has a real power to change lives and communities.
Committee
Beth Kennaway – Chair
Maggie Cork – Vice Chair
David Allan – Secretary/Treasurer
Rachel Morland – Librarian
Eric Priest – Member
How to join / Contact us
If you are interested in joining Priory singers or trying us out, please contact our musical director Fiona Love (email: [email protected]), who will arrange a gentle audition.
We rehearse weekly on a Monday night from 7.30pm – 9pm in the Pittenweem Church Hall, 28 James Street, Pittenweem, KY10 2QN. If you need a ride, please contact our secretary who will help arrange one. Several of our singers travel in from St Andrews, a ride of less than 20 minutes.
For other inquiries about Priory singers please contact our secretary David Allan (email: [email protected]) (phone: 07774 647 367)