THERE will be a real family atmosphere at a concert in St Bartholomew’s Church in Marsden tomorrow.

That is in part down to the presence of the Pennine Singers, a choir which prides itself on its musical standards and the warm welcome that it gives to new members.

But it also has much to do with the choir’s conductor, Gareth Beaumont, who will be sharing the platform with his daughter, Rhianydd Booth who is an accomplished soprano.

The concert’s other soloist, flautist and clarinetist Carol Baxter, continues that family theme - she’s the daughter of a choir member.

The choir performs at 7.30pm as part of a weekend-long flower festival at the church, called Simply Flowers.

It is the first such festival for several years but will be a celebration of the style of flowers regularly created in the church by a handful of its members.

You can see the flowers between 11am and 4pm tomorrow or between 11.30am and 4pm on Sunday.

It’s been a busy time for the choir since Gareth, who is himself a fine singer, took over as conductor last year, with four major concerts and other fund-raising events.

Rhianydd Booth spent several years as a professional singer, working on some of the biggest musicals in the country.

She toured in Phantom Of The Opera, spent two years in Berlin appearing in a show for Disney and toured the UK in Beauty And The Beast, understudying the lead role of Belle.

Constant touring exhausted Rhianydd and she decided to switch professions.

She went to college, got a first class honours teaching degree at Bradford and, for the last year, has been teaching happily at an infant and nursery school.

Living in Slaithwaite now with her husband Richard, who has an electrical business, Rhianydd does the occasional singing engagement and is re-establishing herself as a singing teacher. She is delighted to be singing in Marsden tomorrow with her dad and the choir.

She will sing some of the songs from the shows she worked on as a professional singer, as well as Without You from My Fair Lady which she sang with Slaithwaite Operatic Society before turning to professional singing nine years ago.

The accompanists for tomorrow’s concert will be Margaret Green and Philip Sutcliffe.

l The choir is holding an open rehearsal at Waverley House in Huddersfield on July 31 at 7.30pm. If you are interested in singing you’d be made very welcome.