Good morning friends, I hope you’re all well and have had a fantastic week. Please forgive me for not posting this sooner, it’s been a busy week, especially as I prepare for more concerts this weekend (more below). I was so pleased with last week’s concert, so do read my feedback below. There’s also some details about the summer too!
Concert Feedback
Well, a huge congratulations for another brilliant concert! It was such a pleasure leading you through it, and I thought you absolutely nailed the music! The Bible Songs had both beautiful reverence and great joy when they needed, and the quality of singing was fantastic. The choral sections perfectly complimented the soloists, so very well done in creating this wonderful connection throughout. I want to take this moment to thank our four incredible soloists for their excellent singing, and for supporting us in the choir; as I’ve said before, having those extra voices helps us perform to the best of our abilities, giving us the confidence to sing to our best!
The Songs of the Fleet were great!! I think you perfectly captured the different characters of each movement, and conveyed the text excellently. The last movement is definitely my favourite musically speaking, but I thought my favourite of the night was The Little Admiral which was full of energy and brought a smile to everyone’s faces – perfect! Another massive thank you to Andrew for playing that evening, but more importantly to Fiona for her accompanying throughout the term! We couldn’t do this without her and we’re very lucky to have her excellent playing each week!
Very well done everyone! A great concert with a fabulous buffet, and we’ve had a lot of great feedback. I’m very proud, and look forward to our next event!
Next Term
Next term is something new for us, as we’ve not had a proper summer term before. This time, as a trial, we’ll be doing a short 5-week term which culminates in a Come-and-Sing day, hopefully gaining us a few more members too! It’s going to be a really great short term, and I really look forward to it! Details below.
Dates:
Thursday 18th April,
Thursday 25th April,
Thursday 2nd May (in St Frideswide Church),
Thursday 9th May,
Thursday 16th May.
Come-and-Sing Day:
Saturday 18th May, 10:00 – 19:00.
We have a meeting to firm this up, but we expect the day to look like:
10:00 – registration,
10:30 – rehearsal 1,
11:40 – tea break,
11:50 – rehearsal 2,
13:00 – bring-and-share lunch,
14:00 – rehearsal 3,
15:20 – tea break,
15:30 – rehearsal 4,
16:45 – rehearsals finish, short break,
17:00 – informal run through,
18:00 – drinks reception,
19:00 – finish.
Repertoire:
I’m finalising the repertoire next week, but it’ll be choruses from Gilbert and Sullivan operas. A fun and relaxed theme for a fun Come-and-Sing.
I’ll share a marked score and the Spotify playlist on here once it’s all been finalised, so stay tuned for that over Easter.
Full Score
I’ve got two concerts this weekend which I thought you might like to know about. It’s not too late to get tickets! I’d be delighted to see you at either (or both) of the events.
Today (Saturday 23rd) is my auditioned chamber choir, newCHOIR, singing a programme which celebrates the joy of singing, and features music by underrepresented composers, including 2 female composers and 3 black composers, and a load of old and modern music. This is also paired alongside Vaughan Williams’s stunning Serenade to Music.
Then, on Sunday 24th, Chipping Norton Choral Society sing some choral jazz – George Shearing’s Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare, and Will Todd’s fiendishly difficult Mass in Blue. We’re joined by a professional jazz quartet, the Karen Sharp Jazz Quartet, and a great soprano soloist Becca Wilkins. The rehearsal on Wednesday sounded fabulous, so this is not one to miss!
That’s it for now! If I don’t get round to posting before Easter, have a lovely Easter holiday and I’ll see you all in April!
Very well done friends!
Ben
Cumnor Choral Society 
You must be logged in to post a comment.