Soloist confirmed

We are absolutely delighted to announce British Soprano, Cheryl Enever as our soloist once again for our 2026 concert. She has worked with the BBC singers, the Royal Opera House, and sung for royalty alongside a whole host of other accomplishments. We are thrilled to welcome Cheryl to the Great Hall stage in November 2026 to join us for Classics Galore!

Welcome Victoria

We are thrilled to introduce Victoria Graham as our compère for Classics Galore! 2026.

Victoria is the presenter of BBC Spotlight – the most watched TV news programme in the southwest.

Covering Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly it’s a massive news patch and she’s been at the helm for over 15 years.

From behind the camera to in front of it, Victoria has been in the media industry for over 25 years.  Location scouting in Hollywood; directing at ITV; BBC weather presenting; shopping television in the US and anchoring an African news channel.  Her knowledge of the industry is wide.

Telling people’s stories is her passion which is why she decided to train as a Celebrant.

From the beginning of someone’s journey to the end, Victoria writes and delivers wedding and funeral ceremonies across the region.

‘It’s the most rewarding and privileged job I have ever done – to write someone’s life story.  My inspiration is my dad who died of bowel cancer 8 years ago.  Whatever the circumstances, life should be celebrated.’

Victoria loves her border terrier Scampi – and you may remember Grizzle who used to join her on the TV!

History

Classics Galore! was established by Dick Passmore, who lived and worked in Exeter all his life, and his wife Posy. They have raised more than £130,000 for FORCE Cancer Charity.

Dick was first diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and knew of FORCE’s work to support anyone locally affected by cancer. His love of music convinced him that organising a concert was one small way to give something back for the excellent treatment and support he received during his illness. He and Posy put on the first Classics Galore! in 2007. It was such a massive success that they resolved to stage further shows in 2009 and 2011.

Because of the enormous amount of work involved, they decided to pass over the organisation to a committee in 2012 but still had huge input in the planning and staging of each Classics evening. The 2013, 2015 and 2017 concerts were also hugely successful, raising £15,000, £17,500 and £21,000 for FORCE.

Sadly Dick died in early 2019. His dream had been to take the overall total raised for FORCE to £100,000 at the seventh Classics Galore! concert in 2019 and, happily, that dream was realised.

Classics Galore! is one of Exeter’s largest and best-loved indoor concerts, filling the University of Exeter Great Hall to capacity with an audience of well over 1,000. A full orchestra under musical director Malcolm Matthews is joined by the SW Comms Band and two choral societies – Ottery St Mary Choral Society and St. David’s Players. The stage at the Great Hall is specially extended to accommodate more than 200 musicians and singers.

The concerts are specially arranged for those with an interest in the lighter side of classical music. They feature light, popular classical music with pieces of no more than seven or eight minutes long that everyone will either know or recognise. There might be film music, themes from television, songs from musicals mixed with more traditional classical music so there is something for everyone! The finale with audience participation is in true Proms tradition – Pomp and Circumstance, Rule Britannia! and the like, complete with a soprano soloist suitably attired!

Classics Galore! was held every two years until the postponement of the 2021 concert due to the pandemic but returned in November 2022.