A women’s vocal ensemble exploring a diverse range of musical styles, from classical and musical theatre to folk, soul and pop.
Rebelles is a vibrant Brighton-based choir specialising in SSA repertoire. We aim to maintain a membership pool of 13-16 experienced choral singers who can confidently memorise music, sing harmony and deliver high-quality performances.
While we value commitment and rehearsal attendance, our focus is on providing a supportive environment for regular singing and rehearsal, with enough members overall to rehearse effectively with flexibility to accommodate life’s demands.
Our arrangements are crafted for upper voices. Our adaptable sound has grown richer and more dynamic, shaped by the unique voices of our roster of accomplished singers. Each term, we challenge ourselves a little more.
We’re a friendly group with ambitious standards, great teamwork and a sense of a shared craft. Put simply, we love singing together.
We regularly join forces with our partner choir Resound for joint concerts.
We are always seeking confident harmony singers who can memorise music, hold their own line to deliver high-quality performances.
Our story
A history since 2014
Rebelles began in 2014, when the singer and teacher Stefan Holmström invited nine women to form a group built on three-part harmony. They gelled at once, becoming close friends and finding a balanced sound in which every voice carries equal weight.
From the start the group liked being stretched: classical music, folk songs from several countries, close-harmony arrangements of well-known songs old and new, and plenty of less familiar repertoire besides.
The first outing was a short, varied programme at the Brighton Dome, entertaining the audience over coffee after one of the hall’s Sunday morning jazz sessions. Then came the first joint Christmas concert with our partner male-voice group, Resound. Those Christmas concerts have continued ever since: each choir sings alone, then the two join forces for mixed-voice numbers.
In May 2016 the choir took a staged show to the Komedia Studio Theatre, called Nine. Each singer chose a solo, or a solo line within an ensemble piece, that said something about herself — a song long loved, one that suited her voice, one that spoke of her background. The group came to know one another far better for it.
She Will Survive followed, written by the group and directed by Rebelles member Julia Roberts. Set over a lunch break in a drab staff canteen, it wove its songs into the conversation: “a funny, heart-warming tea break with classical, jazz and pop music from Schubert to ABBA”. It opened at the Rialto Theatre in Brighton, then played the Purple Playhouse in support of Grace Eyre, and the Birley Centre in Eastbourne in support of CALM.
Rebelles have sung at the World AIDS Day benefit concerts at St Mary’s Church, Kemptown, alongside other Brighton groups, and more recently at the Henfield Arts Festival, at lunchtime recitals at the Church of St Peter, West Blatchington, and at afternoon concerts at St Nicolas Church, Shoreham, where we return on Saturday 7 November 2026.
The musicians who have shaped us
We have been lucky in our musicians. Our former pianist Tim Nail put on a Piano Bar fundraiser for the group and wrote some excellent arrangements for us. Howard Beach gave us much encouragement as we came back to performing after the Covid break. Our pianist now is the brilliant Gaynor Gallant.
Stefan Holmström retired from the group in 2020. Miriam Bouche de Vitray, a music teacher singing with us at the time, offered to take on the role of musical director and rehearsal pianist, and did a wonderful job of pulling everyone back together through 2020 and 2021, rehearsals and all, in her own home. Every year we also work with Resound’s musical director Sam Barton on the Christmas concerts; he keeps us on our toes, often choosing unusual and sometimes demanding mixed-voice repertoire that is always a joy to perform.
Today we are delighted to be directed by Antonia Hyatt, an excellent soprano and an inspiring conductor, who is taking us forward with some great ideas for the future.
Written by Sally, who has sung with Rebelles since the beginning.