News
Barn Dance
We're organising a Barn Dance for members and friends at the Royal Hotel, Hayfield on Friday March 26th, with a hotpot supper (and vegetarian alternative). Details and ticket prices to follow.
Additional rehearsals
As well as the usual extra rehearsal on Thursday 22nd April and the Dress Rehearsal on the afternoon of Sunday 25th, there will be a rehearsal for soloists on Saturday 24th at St. Matthew's.
Christmas concert
Tricia writes:
Lots of 'thank yous'!
Thank you all so much for a splendid concert. You rose to the occasion and sang as well as you've ever sung. The sound was rich and well-blended. I think the first Bach movement was the best you've ever sung it — it sounded like 'a multitude of the heavenly host' — at last! There were some magic moments too.
I enjoyed the concert enormously and it looked and sounded as if you did too. All that hard work was worth it in the end — I hope you all feel that too.
The audience was large — thank you for getting 'bums on seats'. Thank you to everyone who put an advert in the programme or who asked other people to put one in.
Thanks too to the stage management team for setting up so efficiently.
Thank you very much for your generous gift: I greatly appreciate it and will spend it on singing lessons.
Dave writes:
Thanks to everyone involved for making our last-minute transfer to St John's go so amazingly smoothly. In my first concert as Chairman I quickly learnt how much goes on behind the scenes to make our concerts happen: thanks to everyone who worked so hard in preparation for the evening and "backstage" on the night. And thanks for indulging me by singing my carol arrangement...it was lovely to hear it sung so well (and I'm looking forward to hearing it on the recording that was taken). And I had shivers running down my spine during "He, watching over Israel" too.
Spring concert: Haydn's Creation
For those of you unable to attend, our Spring Concert was somewhat eventful, with our soprano soloist Jennifer France being taken ill at literally the last minute, having sung beautifully in rehearsal. Tenor soloist Graham Wili sight-read one of the soprano arias brilliantly (to a spontaneous round of applause) and Tricia took the soprano part in various duets and trios (while continuing to conduct). Jennifer was able to return to sing towards the end of the piece, again to generous applause.
Tricia writes:
Thank you very much for your generous gift—it will almost pay for 3 singing lessons and is much appreciated. What a good idea of someone's! I'm still in a daze and last night is a bizarre blur which I find difficult to evaluate. What I do know is that the choir’s performance was excellent: you knew the music, you sang with confidence, your rhythm never let you down—and you rose to the occasion and dealt with the strange situation brilliantly. Thank you and congratulations! And isn't the music wonderful! Thank you to Jonathan and Andrew for all their help—and Dave Hoult (from the back row!)
Linda Whitaker writes:
I just want to say how much I enjoyed singing The Creation on Sunday night and to congratulate Tricia on coping so well with such a difficult situation. Not only singing some of the soprano parts but conducting at the same time—brilliant! Then all the rearranging for the second half, well done everyone who helped. I thought all the singers and musicians did well in the circumstances and hope Jennifer is OK now.