The Buxton Musical Society
Founded in 1944, the Buxton Musical Society is the foremost performing group of concert music in the town. In November 2025 after a remarkable tenure of 57 years, its Musical Director, Michael Williams MBE passed on the baton to Sam Hayes who had previously served for a few years as Choral Director.
From small beginnings as an amalgamation of several other musical groups in the town, our musical repertoire has expanded to include much of the standard repertoire of great works for chorus and orchestra, the Masses, Passions, Requiems, Oratorios, with other less obvious choices for further variety. Messiah was produced annually at first, but by now only every three years. Christmas carol concerts with a local school choir are a well-established tradition, as are the Festival Masses – classical Masses (for instance Mozart, Schubert, Haydn) used liturgically at St John’s Church on the Sundays of the Buxton Festival. In October 2017 we presented our first Singing Day, Come & Sing Mozart’s Requiem. Following this very successful inauguration, we are planning further events. The list of works we have performed is long and varied. There have been repetitions, of course, not surprisingly over such a length of time, but always striving for improvement, and introducing more singers to the pleasures of being inside such great music.
Over time the competence of the choir has improved immeasurably, to enable a level of performance which is unusual for unauditioned singers. The choir rehearses weekly through the season. Our orchestra is made up of friends and contacts, who meet only on the day of the performance, but are of sufficient ability to produce results of a semi-professional standard on that one rehearsal, which speaks volumes for both their competence. Having an orchestra enables us to programme instrumental as well as choral works, with a concerto appearance by a student from Chetham’s School of Music – an annual feature and treat. Our soloists have included many fine and well known singers and instrumentalists, who take up return engagements with the Society with alacrity, appreciating our high standards of performance.
On occasions when the work to be performed calls for stronger forces, we have joined with other choirs, as with Bakewell Choral Society for a performance of Verdi’s Requiem and Hayfield Singers for Elgar’s The Apostles at Michael Williams’ retirement concert.
Sam Hayes – Musical Director
Sam Hayes joined Buxton Musical Society in May 2023 as Chorus Director, taking over the baton from the remarkable Michael Williams as Musical Director in November 2025.
He grew up in the Home Counties, studied Music at Cambridge University, as Organ Scholar at Queens’ College, and undertook further studies in Choral Directing in Uppsala (Sweden), and Paris.
He achieved the Associateship, Fellowship and Choral Directing Diplomas of the Royal College of Organists in the space of one year, in the latter, winning both of the major prizes.
Much of his early career was centered around Cambridge, where, between 2005 and 2022 was Director of Music at Great St Mary’s, The University Church, Cambridge, latterly also holding the historic and prestigious office of University Organist. Here, his responsibilities included directing the 70-strong choral foundation in services, concerts and recordings.
Alongside his career as a church musician, he has worked with concert choirs for twenty-five years, leading singing days across the South and East of the country, and serving as founding Musical Director of Phoenix Choir of Crawley, West Sussex, Musical Director of Godalming Choral Society and Godalming Children’s Choir, in Surrey, and, since January 2025, Musical Director of Stafford Choral Society.
As an educator, he taught and examined for the Music Degree course in Cambridge for a decade, and later served as a Musician in Residence, A-level specialist teacher and school choral director for a number of years. Following his relocation to the Midlands with his young family in 2022, he is now part of Ex Cathedra’s award-winning Education and Participation team in Birmingham, and directs the Senior Academy of Vocal Music.
He maintains a portfolio of keyboard-playing and singing across the region, and when not occupied with music or the school run, he loves walking, cooking, DIY and classic cars.
Michael Williams MBE – Conductor Emeritus
Michael Williams was born in Buxton. He read Law at Worcester College, Oxford and then returned home to qualify as a solicitor and he has practised in the area ever since. He first conducted the Buxton Musical Society in 1967 and has since conducted a wide repertoire of choral and orchestral music including all Elgar’s major choral works, Verdi Requiem, the Bach Passions, Handel oratorios and many works from the classical period, Mozart and Haydn in particular.
He has played organ in church regularly since his school days and has been organist and choirmaster at St John’s Church, Buxton since 1985. He has directed festival masses with orchestra from the church during the Buxton Festival which have been broadcast by the BBC since 1996.
In recognition of his role in helping the restoration of the Opera House and in supporting the Opera Festival he was appointed MBE in 1997 for services to the arts in Buxton.
In 2016 he was awarded the Cranmer Medal for Worship from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his services to music in churches in Buxton.
April 2017 saw the fifthtieth anniversary of his first appearance as conductor of the Society. He led a performance of Elgar’s The Kingdom which was followed by a celebratory party. A short video of the occasion can be seen here: